I'm With the Bears
Short Stories from a Damaged Planet
Mark Martin (Editor)
With an Introduction by Bill McKibben, With contributions from Margaret Atwood, With contributions from Paolo Bacigalupi, With contributions from T.C. Boyle, With contributions from Toby Litt, With contributions from Lydia Millet, With contributions from David MItchell, With contributions from Nathaniel Rich, With contributions from Kim Stanley Robinson, With contributions from Helen Simpson, With contributions from Wu Ming
A Verso book
A stellar line-up of fiction writers envision the terrors of impending climate change.
The size and severity of the global climate crisis is such that even the most committed environmentalists are liable to live in a state of denial. The award-winning writers collected here have made it their task to shake off this nagging disbelief, bringing the incomprehensible within our grasp and shaping an emotional response to the deterioration of our global habitat. From T. C. Boyle’s account of early eco-activists, to Nathaniel Rich’s vision of a near future where oil sells for $800 a barrel—these ten provocative, occasionally chilling, sometimes satirical stories bring a human reality to disasters of inhuman proportions.
Royalties from I’m With the Bears will go to 350.org, an international grassroots movement working to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Book Details
- Paperback
- October 2011
-
ISBN 978-1-84467-744-3
- 5.2 × 7.8 in
/ 208 pages
- Territory Rights: USA and Dependencies and the Philippines.
Endorsements & Reviews
“Each story packs an emotional punch that staid reports of melting ice caps can’t rival.” — Mother Jones
“Ten authors at the top of their game, tackling the most pressing issue of our generation.” — New Internationalist
“All the writing in this volume is excellent.” — The Times of London
“The line-up of mostly British and North American talent is impressive—TC Boyle, Toby Litt, David Mitchell—and while they sometimes bash you around the head with a blunt instrument (Nathaniel Rich), the best are fierce and fearless, including Helen Simpson’s acerbic, apocalyptic “Diary of an Interesting Year.”” — Metro
“It makes climate change feel real.” — New Scientist
“A wonderful idea.” — Daily Mail
“About what might happen if our worst nightmares come true.” — Evening Standard
“These ten stories avoid the sort of didactic, righteous preaching that elsewhere grates … any reader with an interest in environmental issues will appreciate these different angles on the most pressing of our many current crises.” — L Magazine
“The stories dazzle the reader with their imaginative range and depth.” — Independent
“Compelling ... these stories inspire both fear and hope. The other reason this little volume is so terrific is that the stories are written with verve and style.” — Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune
“It's not what you may think—some sort of enviro agitprop. These are literary artists responding to our situation head-on, as artists, and with striking results … It's acute psychological portraits, the way they cut through abstractions like 'climate crisis' to bring it home, make it real.” — Boston Sunday Globe