PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Alice Bell is a researcher, campaigner and writer based in London, specialising in the politics of science, technology, environment and health. She was a co-director at the climate change charity Possible for several years, working on a range of projects from community tree-planting events to solar-powered railways. She has a PhD in science communication from Imperial College, where she also held a lectureship in science communication and launched an interdisciplinary course on climate change. Alice has also worked at the University of Sussex’s Science Policy Research Unit, City Journalism School, the Science Museum and as a freelance writer and editor. She has written for a host of publications including The Times, The Observer and New Humanist, researched the 1970s radical science movement for Mosaic magazine, co-founded the Guardian’s science policy blog, and edited the 'magazine for the future', How We Get to Next.
Alice Bell’s Our Biggest Experiment reads like a “chocolate box of a book”—regaling readers with a curated history of the people, science, politics, and technology that have intersected with the current climate crisis. She deftly weaves subtle and lesser-known details about the brilliant (and sometimes eccentric) individuals who have worked out how to measure and describe what we, as a species, have wrought upon Earth. * Science * Bell's book is nuanced, which is welcome in an often oversimplified and polarising topic … an insightful and informative read. * Geographical * A highly enjoyable rabbit hole of a book … Alice Bell chronicles the science and history of climate change in an intuitive manner that glides easily from one episode to the next. It’s a sweeping narrative of industry, energy and atmospheric science, and much of Bell’s achievement lies in artfully assembling pieces of the climate puzzle scattered across time and space. * New Statesman * The climate crisis is so overwhelming it can be easier not to engage with the problem. However, Alice had me every step of the way. She guides the reader on an international journey through time, focusing not on statistics but the complex human story and fascinating characters that have led us to where we are now. * Maddie Moate * Our Biggest Experiment is a spectacular achievement – the definitive history of the most consequential issue of our time. Majestic in scope, it offers not one but two epic stories – how we changed the world, and how we came to realize what we’ve done – told through Alice Bell’s charming, witty, and authoritative writing. * Ed Yong, The Atlantic * Vibrant and wonderfully detailed … Alice Bell brings to life the characters and corporations from the past whose names we all know, from Tesla and Watt to Esso and Shell. You might think it’s more important to focus on the future of our planet, but only by understanding our history can we start to shape what happens next. Read this and be energised to save the world. * Rowan Hooper, New Scientist *
