Too Hot to Handle: Summer’s Must-Read Climate Wake-Up Call

As the planet continues to shatter heat records, Jeff Goodell’s The Heat Will Kill You First has become a defining read of the summer, an urgent, unflinching look at the deadliest consequence of climate change: extreme heat.

Recently recommended by The New Yorker as essential reading, Goodell’s book combines personal stories, scientific insight, and global reporting to reveal how rising temperatures are silently reshaping lives, cities, and ecosystems.

Goodell warns that heat is not just a background symptom of climate change but its most lethal and underestimated force.

Goodwell explores how it affects the human body, disrupts food systems, and intensifies inequality, particularly in cities already grappling with infrastructure stress. As electrification and renewables gain traction, The Heat Will Kill You First argues that technological fixes alone won’t save us; we need to rethink how we live, build, and prepare for a hotter world.

Joining Goodell’s book on climate reading lists are two other thought-provoking works. James Hansen’s Storms of My Grandchildren offers a prescient, science-driven forecast from one of NASA’s most outspoken climate scientists. At the same time, Lucas Bessire’s Running Out blends memoir with environmental critique, examining water scarcity through his family’s Kansas farmland.

Together, these books provide a powerful narrative of what’s at stake and how intertwined our futures are with the planet’s. They aren’t just doom-and-gloom reports; they’re calls to awareness and action, providing readers with context, urgency, and a deeper understanding of how climate change is already shaping our world.

Whether you're a policymaker, student, or concerned citizen, these titles are essential companions for anyone who wants to stay informed about climate change.