Introduction to modern climate change
This textbook is tightly focused on the problem of anthropogenic climate change. It is unique among textbooks on climate change in that it combines an introduction of the science with an introduction to the non-science issues such as the economic and policy options. Unlike more purely descriptive textbooks, it contains the quantitative depth that is necessary for an adequate understanding of the science of climate change. The goal of the book is for a student to leave the class ready to engage in the public policy debate on this issue. This is an invaluable textbook for any introductory survey course on the science and policy of climate change, for both non-science majors and introductory science students.
The third edition of the book is now available at Cambridge Univ. Press and Amazon
Winner of the 2014 American Meteorological Society Louis J. Battan Author's Award
"At last, a textbook about the scientific basis for global climate change that's well balanced, well written, highly illuminating, and accessible to non-science majors."
Professor John M. Wallace, University of Washington
"The book reads extremely well: It uses stories, analogues, and examples to draw the reader into the story of the science of our changing planet. Despite the complexity of the actual science, Dessler presents the material in a clear manner and does it without drawing on mathematics any more difficult than simple algebra. ... However, Introduction to Modern Climate Change does a better job than either of those books at getting to the heart of the science and at analyzing the philosophies leading to possible policy options. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about climate change and the challenges it presents to humanity."
Professor Donald J. Wuebbles, Physics Today, November 2012
"The text provides a readable, concise summary of the science of climate change, but it is the nonscientific aspects of the book that set it apart...Overall, I think this is a well-crafted textbook. The writing is very accessible without being too simplistic. The combination of a broad overview of the science and policy of climate change is both novel and appropriate for the intended audience: an introductory-level survey course on climate change. Reading the book was a learning experience for me, and I would happily recommend this book to anyone seeking an introduction to climate change."
Dr. Guillaume Mauger, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, January 2013
"As a whole the book is well written, clearly presented, and is certainly not the 'shrill advocacy' the author sets out to avoid. Written as a student textbook (a full set of figures are downloadable as Power Point files), it certainly would appear to serve that purpose extremely well and should be on the reading list of anyone with an interest in climate science, if for no other reason than it introduces a complex subject in such a coherent and comprehensible fashion."
John Brittan, The Leading Edge, Newsletter of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, September 2017