Meltdown: China's Environment Crisis

by Sean Gallagher

How can you make sense of the enormous scale of China’s environmental problems? With a delightfully affable and knowledgeable personal guide. Through beautiful images and engaging storytelling, award-winning photojournalist Sean Gallagher takes readers on a tour through China to places both familiar – like big megalopolises – and hidden, such as ancient cities wiped off the map by desertification. Gallagher captures everything from the lifestyle of nomadic herders of Tibet and some of China’s iconic animals and landscapes before they may disappear forever. Four chapters—one each on wetlands, forests, desertification and the Tibetan Plateau—move you 10,000 miles through China, from delta to glacier. Multimedia features including maps and videos allow readers to can see China as Gallagher does – beautiful and endangered.

Kirkus Reviews: "A sobering glimpse into China’s environmental degradation, matched with stirring photography of what’s threatened."

Genres: Nonfiction, China

119 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2013

Reviews

[Lisasue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel kind of bad not giving this book a better review, because the pictures were just exquisite. However, I just found the treatment of the subject matter to be superficial. The author describes travelling around to different parts of China, declaiming how crappy the treatment of the environment was in a few pages per region, with no real depth as to why, the time-frame involved for the degradation, meaningful scientific data, species lists or comparisons of similar environments in other parts of the world.

Another frustrating aspect was that often the author would highlight varying cultures in China, but with little explanation about those cultures. OK, I don't live in a cave, and I know about Tibetan people, but I would have liked to hear more about the Muslim cultures that are part of China, or the nomadic people that have had their way of life destroyed by Chinese government policy.

And lastly, my top pet peeve is the annoying glossary in the back of the book. I'm pretty sure that the target audience for this book probably knows the definitions of plateau, desertification, oasis and greenhouse. Really? He really thought the book was enhanced by this?

[Trace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick book on China and some of the problems it is facing environmentally. Some of the complaints against this book have been that it is too much of an overview. However, for someone like me who wants to be informed, but doesn't have time to read a long book about this topic, this book was great. As someone who has lived in China and traveled extensively in that country, I also know that there are some places where these things are not problems, but the issues listed in this book are very real and present.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning e-book, and one that takes advantages of the format. Great photography, powerful video, and words that really mean something.

Although a picture is worth a thousand words, the words in this book could be fleshed out more. Gallagher travels all over China and could have told these stories in much more detail. Many segments are less stories than anecdotes. It's worth reading and experiencing, but it does leave you wanting more.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really quick and interesting read about the environmental crisis in China. Having lived in China last year, this book increased my feelings of frustration regarding the Chinese government and their terrible thirst for money and power. I also thought the setup of this e-book was unique, and I really enjoyed the pictures.