Shelter from the Storm - by Julian Hattem (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An urgent wake-up call about the coming large-scale human displacement caused by climate change, from one of the world's leading experts

Mere decades from now, millions of people all over the world will be forced to move because of climate change. Entire islands will disappear into the sea. Once-in-a-century hurricanes will occur on a regular basis, decimating cities and wiping out peoples' homes. Wildfires fed by prolonged drought will rage through communities. No one will be immune: in countries rich and poor, climate change will usher in a new era of migration.

In Shelter from the Storm noted journalist and migration researcher Julian Hattem tells the story of the massive human displacement that is already being caused by climate change. With hard-hitting journalism from the front lines of the environmental apocalypse, Hattem takes the reader on a journey from the South Pacific to the Indian subcontinent, the Mediterranean, and beyond, offering a shocking glimpse into the human geography wrecked by a warming planet.

Shelter from the Storm also provides rich historical perspective on how climate has impacted migration and a primer on cutting-edge climatological research, creating a multidimensional portrait of this uncertain new age. A work of profound expertise and storytelling, Shelter from the Storm gives a human face to the millions of climate migrants who are leaving their homes--and the millions more who will follow.

Review Quotes

"Shelter From the Storm presents a harrowing and urgent tale about what is at stake in the global attack on climate science and disregard for environmental protections. Everyone--including the rich urban elite--is being impacted in various ways as ecological systems collapse and weather catastrophes unfold."
--Eve Darian-Smith author of Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis

"The climate crisis is a challenge to the very idea of 'home' as this book makes powerfully clear. We need to slow the rise in temperature and we need to lower the temperature around the idea of migration--both of those are simply realities of our time."
--Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun

"This timely book is a must-read for everyone concerned with climate change and migration. Packed with well-chosen examples, facts and clear arguments, it throws much-needed light on the vital question of who will migrate and why as humanity experiences more extreme weather and ocean rise."
--Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, Oxford University, and author of The Shortest History of Migration

About the Author

Julian Hattem has been a journalist, writer, and editor focused on politics, government, and migration for more than fifteen years. He has been on staff with the Associated Press, The Hill, and The Yomiuri Shimbun, and has written for outlets including The Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and The Atlantic. He has reported from four continents and is currently the editor of Migration Information Source, the online magazine of the Migration Policy Institute, and founder and host of the podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration. Shelter from the Storm (The New Press) is his first book. He lives in Washington, DC.