Profoundly disturbing, great reportage, full of facts about the progression to our current state. Another indictment of the petro industry.

Excellent read on climate

For me, this book was fascinating, gripping, and I learned a lot. Of course, we hear about CO2 levels all the time but really don't understand what it means. At least I did not understand what it meant.
This book put it in perspective as it made a huge forest fire in Alberta, Canada, which burned down almost all of Fort McMurray (a place located about 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle) in 2016 the compelling example of what's NOT normal now. Ironically, Fort McMurray is a center for extracting oil from sand (there's terms for all this). This book is powerful in showing how an out of control wildfire, unlike wildfires of the past, fueled by hotter temperatures caused by added CO2 in atmosphere caused by humans' dependence on oil is affecting many areas and not just northern Alberta. Reading something like this can be overwhelming because as individuals, it's a helpless feeling. Still it's better to understand what is happening and why. My only disappointment with this book is no real options were offered such as coming up with methods (gosh, I still believe in science) in reduce CO2 in the atmosphere other than reducing the use of petroleum and oil. This is the world we live in now and I think it's important to understand that. My rating is 5 stars.

My favorite piece of nonfiction I've read in years. The continuing narrative of the Fort McMurray wildfire forming and then bursting out of control is incredible, as is the depth of analysis of the broader factors that enabled it, from the history of bitumen extraction and the increasing use of flammable materials in home developments to more than a century of developing climate science.

Excellent juxtaposition of the massive climate change-fueled fire of Fort McMurray with the historical analysis of a petro-boom-town. I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling aspect, as well as the colorful use of language. The final chapters are marvelous and epic.

The amount of research that went into this book is truly astonishing! The author spins a very depressing environmental accounting of our obsession with oil into an engrossing narrative that is difficult to put down. However, I did find that at times it was simply overwhelming and I had to stop reading to let some of the facts truly sink in or it became to much to absorb.
This has the potential to make a true impact on our lifestyles especially if it is shared enough to get a broad perspective of society reading it but maybe that is wishful thinking?