There is lots of media out there on climate change. Documentaries, TED talks, articles, essays. And all sorts of books: political books, meteorological books, social justice & animal rights books, personal books. Fighting climate change is the cause I’ve dedicated my career to, but even I can admit that “climate change”, as a genre, is a glutted one.

If you are to consume one piece of media on climate change, it should be this book. Not Before the Flood or An Inconvenient Truth, not The Uninhabitable Earth or The Sixth Extinction - make it this book. It’s very, very good.

It’s good because it’s an incredible primer: it’s aimed at people who know little or nothing about climate change, and provides a lot of information in an extremely clear manner. It summarizes complex problems and presents them in a straightforward way, without ever misinforming or patronizing the reader.

It’s also good because it has an incredible breadth: it covers the biological, meteorological, legislative, economic, ethical, and engineering challenges that we need to take on. It doesn’t just focus on clean energy, or on food production, or on deforestation: it also covers often over looked but vitally important concepts like cement and steel production (I learned the most in this book in the sections on manufacturing and on commercial transportation).

Thirdly, and maybe most importantly: it’s good because doesn’t allow the reader to walk away with an ending to the story of the human race’s fight on climate change. Every reader wants - and every writer is tempted to give - closure one way or the other: either we’re doomed, or it’s all going to be fine. But both of these paths can be used to excuse inaction: either it’s all going to be ok and I don’t have to do anything, or we’re all doomed so it’s not worth doing anything. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, climate inaction now will lead to greater human suffering, and as such, this inaction is inexcusable. It’s a service to the reader and to the victims of climate disaster, then, that Bill Gates does not invite the reader to sit back and watch it happen by providing an answer. Instead, he makes thoughtful observations and gives actionable advice, and invites the reader to join in.