{"product_id":"9781982111298","title":"After Cooling : On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eAfter Cooling\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Eric Dean Wilson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis “ambitious [and] delightful” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) work of literary nonfiction interweaves the science and history of the powerful refrigerant (and dangerous greenhouse gas) Freon with a haunting meditation on how to live meaningfully and morally in a rapidly heating world.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eAfter Cooling\u003c\/i\u003e, Eric Dean Wilson braids together air-conditioning history, climate science, road trips, and philosophy to tell the story of the birth, life, and afterlife of Freon, the refrigerant that ripped a hole larger than the continental United States in the ozone layer. As he traces the refrigerant’s life span from its invention in the 1920s—when it was hailed as a miracle of scientific progress—to efforts in the 1980s to ban the chemical (and the resulting political backlash), Wilson finds himself on a journey through the American heartland, trailing a man who buys up old tanks of Freon stockpiled in attics and basements to destroy what remains of the chemical before it can do further harm.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWilson is at heart an essayist, looking far and wide to tease out what particular forces in American culture—in capitalism, in systemic racism, in our values—combined to lead us into the Freon crisis and then out. “Meticulously researched and engagingly written” (Amitav Ghosh), this “knockout debut” (\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e) offers a rare glimpse of environmental hope, suggesting that maybe the vast and terrifying problem of global warming is not beyond our grasp to face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“Ambitious. Powerful. Delightful.”  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— Hope Jahren, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Meticulously researched and engagingly written, \u003ci\u003eAfter Cooling\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for the planetary crisis.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmitav Ghosh, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Derangement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eAfter Cooling\u003c\/i\u003e is a deeply discomforting book – and that's the point. Eric Dean Wilson's message, which could not be more timely, is that we need to rethink how we live and what we want.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eUnder a White Sky\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A spectacularly interesting read! \u003ci\u003eAfter Cooling\u003c\/i\u003e offers a lively history of air-conditioning and explores all the complexities of the fight over Freon.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEula Biss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eOn Immunity\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Excellent.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A knockout debut by a gifted writer.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As entertaining as it is edifying. You'll learn what put a ‘hole’ in the ozone layer, how the Rivoli movie theatre in New York inaugurated our present ice age, who in this country is still hoarding Freon, how air conditioning is exacerbating heat waves – and lots of other ecological horrors. This is a brilliantly researched book.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdmund White, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eCity Boy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As much sociopolitical commentary as history of science... Wilson digs deeply into the linkages between Western desire for material comfort and racial oppression, including critiques of capitalism and profit-seeking industry.”\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eScience\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Thoughtful, rigorous, and rich with lessons for our warming world.’” \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e— \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Moor, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eOn Trails\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A masterful piece of creative nonfiction… A must read.”\u003cbr\u003e — \u003cb\u003eThe Raven Bookstore (Lawrence, Kansas)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781982111298\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40928515162318,"sku":"9781982111298","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_feb39eca-c495-4915-a099-94f428715fab.jpg?v=1645646532","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781982111298","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}