Sunday July 6, 2008 6:10 am Lethbridge

This novel was a surprise. I was expecting a fast-paced adventure novel. It was that. What I was not expecting was the lesson on global warming and ecology. This was a very intelligent argument about the dangers when science and society become too politicized.

This is another book that I think everyone would benefit from reading. It never hurts to occasionally ask oneself why one believes what one believes. But the reason should not be because everyone else believes it. What evidence has been presented to support, or refute, a position? And then, once again, the difficulties inherent in a very complex situation. Sometimes even the experts are not that knowledgeable, nor should we expect them to be. There are limits to what we know at any particular time.

The book had two additional features that I have never seen before in a novel. One was a section on what the author believes. The second was an extensive annotated bibliography of the scientific information on global warming and ecology.

I would rate this story as 5 out of 5.

Tags: novel, USA