Climate book is judges' hot pick
June 17, 2008
A book about global warming has won this year's Royal Society prize for popular science writing.
Mark Lynas' Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet has already been turned into a TV programme and is now almost certain to experience a jump in sales. The book explains how Earth will change for every degree rise in temperature - from droughts to mass extinctions.
Mr Lynas was presented with the winner's £10,000 cheque at a ceremony hosted by the UK academy of science.
The award is one of the major publishing events of the year in the UK. Previous winners have included Bill Bryson, Stephen J Gould, Roger Penrose, and Stephen Hawking.
Six Degrees uses published scientific data and interviews with leading researchers to illustrate the changes we could witness in a warmer world.
Professor Jonathan Ashmore, the chair of the judges, described the book as "compelling and gripping".
"It presents a series of scientifically plausible, worst-case scenarios without tipping into hysteria," he said.
"Six Degrees is not just a great read, written in an original way, but also provides a good overview of the latest science on this highly topical issue.
"This is a book that will stimulate debate and that will, Lynas hopes, move us to action in the hope that this is a disaster movie that never happens. Everyone should read this book."
The bookies' favourite had been A Life Decoded, the autobiography of genetics pioneer Craig Venter.
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