The Coming Global Superstorm

It's time to stop talking about the weather and do something about it. Paranormal superstars Art Bell and Whitley Strieber bring environmentalism to the masses tabloid-style in The Coming Global Superstorm, a quick look at global warming and its potentially catastrophic effects. Like Old Testament prophets, Bell and Strieber embrace lovingly detailed depictions of global cataclysm; unlike them, our modern-day doomsayers have more to go on than that old-time religion. Their writing is clear and straightforward, interspersing hard data with dramatization and speculation to create an engaging, enjoyable, but thoroughly spooky warning of the next Ice Age.

Scoffers would do well to remember the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston, Texas, despite the clear warnings--we may have advanced our meteorological knowledge over the 20th century, but is our judgment any better? Bell and Strieber are ultimately optimistic that quick behavior change can avert the big storm for a while, even if archaeological evidence suggests its inevitability. Their solutions range from the small scale (buy fuel-efficient cars) to the grandiose (global cooperation in weather monitoring). Whether their suggestions will help is a moot question (how could we ever know?); surely, though, they won't hurt. --Rob Lightner