Jeff Goodell
Jeff Goodell’s most recent book, The Heat Will Kill You First, Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, was published by Little, Brown in July 2023, and was an instant New York Times Bestseller. His last book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World,was a New York Times CriticsTop Book of 2017 as well as one of The Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2017. He is the author of five other previous books, including Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future. He is a Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone, where he has covered climate change for more than a decade. As a commentator on energy and climate issues, he has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He was a 2016-2017 fellow at New America and is currently a Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council.
Jeff Goodell has a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia University. He began his career as a journalist covering crime and politics in New York City for 7 Days. Since 1996, he has worked as a Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone, where he has covered a wide variety of subjects, from politicians to climate scientists to internet billionaires. "Down and Out in Silicon Valley," a Rolling Stone story chronicling life in homeless shelters in the Valley, was chosen as one of the best business stories of the year by the editors of BusinessWeek. Jeff has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Wired.
Jeff Goodell's books include The Cyberthief and the Samurai (Dell, 1996), Sunnyvale (Villard, 2000) a memoir about growing up in Silicon Valley which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book, Our Story (Hyperion, 2002), a national bestselling account of nine miners trapped in a Pennsylvania coal mine for 77 hours, and Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future (Houghton Mifflin, 2006).
A remarkable and terrifying journey through the landscape of what heat is doing to the planet, global stability and to the human race both now and in the future.
A New York Times Bestseller
An Indiebound Bestseller
A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book Pick for July
A New York Times Must-Read Book for July
A Los Angeles Times Must-Read Book for July
A Washington Post Most Anticipated Books of the Summer Pick
Praise For The Heat will Kill you First
“In this gripping examination, Goodell demonstrates the deleterious effects of rising
temperatures and the frightening possibilities of what lies ahead if we don’t take immediate, globally coordinated action. A stark, crucial reminder that we are running out of time to save humankind.”—Starred Kirkus Review
“The alarming case studies are well complemented by elegant reportage on overheated
regions and disturbing explanations of the dire physical effects of excessive heat (a 107 °F body temperature melts cell membranes). The result is a sobering assessment of the risks of global warming.”—Publishers Weekly
As the planet warms, all our assumptions are going to be upended. Jeff Goodell asks us to imagine the impact on our minds and bodies, our communities and economies. The Heat Will Kill You First is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future. — Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction
Listen to Jeff on NPR’s Fresh Air!
"Jeff Goodell’s ‘The Heat Will Kill You First’ lives up to its terrifying title — and shows why we need to adapt." Shannon Osaka, The Washington Post
“In his fast-paced new book about climate change…Goodell denounces the term “globalwarming” for sounding “gentle and soothing.” As this terrifying book makes exceptionally clear, thinking we can just crank up the AC is a dangerous way to live. This is a propulsive book, one to be raced through; the planet is burning, and we are running out of time.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
It is already a new world, hotter than ever before in human history and getting rapidly hotter still. The Heat Will Kill You First is a masterful, bracing, vivid portrait of the future we now know will be shaped, like clay, by that heat—a godlike force, as Goodell writes, governing all life conducted under its profound and brutal reign. — David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth
The climate crisis brings no greater threat than the prospect of deadly extreme heat. In The Heat Will Kill You First Jeff Goodell brings a mix of fantastic storytelling, lucid science communication, and eternal optimism in detailing the profound threat we face with the climate crisis and what we can still do about it. —Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor, University of Pennsylvania and author of The New Climate War
“Through stellar reporting, artful storytelling and fascinating scientific explanations, Goodell brings to life heat as a world re-making force. In his skillful hands, the climbing temperature is revealed as an invisible, planetary animator that is already pushing landscapes, bodies, and social systems to their limits – and, unless we change course, it will take humanity to an oven-like climate that will feel more like a war than a home. This searing plea for a better, fairer and cooler future should be read by anyone with skin in the game – which is every single one of us.” — Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything
“Entertaining and thoroughly researched, Jeff Goodell brings the subject of climate-driven extreme heat to life in his comprehensive look at heat’s substantial impact on humanity’s past, present, and future.” — Former Vice President Al Gore
PRAISE FOR THE WATER WILL COME
A Publishers Weekly top 10 science book for Fall 2017
A Critics' Top Book of 2017 in The New York Times
A Notable Work of Nonfiction for 2017 in the Wall Street Journal
The Water Will Come is one of John Green's picks for 2017 on Omnivoracious.com
Watch Jeff Goodell discuss The Water Will Come on PBS Newshour
“Science books aren’t usually page-turners, but The Water Will Come really is… it’s a thriller in which the hero in peril is us.” – John Green
“Other writers have told the story of sea-level rise, but perhaps none as compellingly as Goodell. His riveting stories, from traveling to a Native American village on the Alaskan coast with President Obama, to the dilemma facing the Pentagon concerning the world's largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk, clarify the implications of sea-level rise and the choices communities face.” – The New York Times Book Review
"Once you’ve read an excellent book about climate change, which Jeff Goodell’s “The Water Will Come” most certainly is, you can never unremember the facts." – The New York Times
"This thought-provoking tour through our watery futures offers both challenge and inspiration." – Science
"[E]ngaging. . . .Goodell circles the globe, interviewing scientists and those responsible for keeping people and their homes above water, observing how cities and nations. . . are able to adapt." – Booklist (starred review)
"Gripping. . . . A frightening, scientifically grounded, and starkly relevant look at how climate change will affect coastal cities." – Kirkus (starred review)
"Anyone worried about the planet should check this one out, and coastal residents in particular should read this and consider their options." – Library Journal
"The Water Will Come concretely and compellingly tracks the reasons why our current production and consumption patterns are unsustainable." – L.A. Review of Books
"A page-turner of a book that everyone in the Lowcountry should read" – The Post and Courier
"Goodell writes with compassion and clarity" – London Review of Books
"Jeff Goodell has taken on some of the most important issues of our time, from coal mining to geoengineering. In The Water Will Come, he explains the threat of sea level rise with characteristic rigor and intelligence. The result is at once deeply persuasive and deeply unsettling" – Elizabeth Kolbert
"Even if we could halt further growth in greenhouse gas emissions today, we would remain locked into several centuries of sea level rise ahead. Jeff Goodell's THE WATER WILL COME shows us how this stark truth will unfold, right down to individual human experiences." – Laurence C. Smith
“People who believe in climate change will find themselves nodding and tsk-tsking as they zip through this easy-to-read volume. Global-warming skeptics might want to invest in some diving gear.” — USA Today
PRAISE FOR HOW TO COOL THE PLANET
“How to Cool the Planet is thoughtful, informative, and darkly entertaining. It’s the best treatment of this important (and scary) topic you can find.” – Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe
“This could be the most important book written about climate.”
– James Lovelock, author of Gaia and The Vanishing Face of Gaia
“In a genre dominated by doomsday scenarios, Goodell’s treatment is refreshingly lighthearted—and his provocative account achieves a fine balance between the inventor’s enthusiasm and the scientist’s skepticism.” – Publishers Weekly
NPR, Can We "Cool the Planet" Through Geoengineering?, April 15, 2010
The Oregonian, Nonfiction review: How to Cool the Planet, April 24, 2010
PRAISE FOR BIG COAL
The New York Times, Black Coal, June 24, 2006
PRAISE FOR OUR STORY
“A blessedly unsentimental and true-to-life account of a horrifying situation and a triumphant escape.” – Publishers Weekly
PRAISE FOR SUNNYVALE
"Techie journalist Goodell presents a touching family portrait as well as an acute look at the social implications of the information age... Anyone who has ever had a family or a computer can relate to Goodell's story." – Kirkus
"Riveting." – The New York Times
"While the high-tech Valley subtext is not without interest (Apple gurus Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak make cameo appearances), Goodell's real subject is the paternal negligence that was carried from father to son through three generations in his family." – Publishers Weekly
More From Jeff Goodell
Read his work for Rolling Stone here.