Third edition
Introduction to
Modern Climate Change
The science, economics, and policy of a changing planet.
Understand the problem.
Engage with the solutions.
This textbook is tightly focused on anthropogenic climate change. It combines an introduction to the science with the economic and policy questions that shape the public debate.
With quantitative depth that requires no more than simple algebra, the book prepares science and non-science students alike to reason clearly about one of the defining issues of our time.
Join the book’s Google groupwinner of the American Meteorological Society
Louis J. Battan Author’s Award
Resources for every chapter
What reviewers say
“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.”
“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.”
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“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.”
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“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.”
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