Carbon

‘Endlessly, endlessly fascinating!...There’s information, and then there’s wisdom—and this book is a compendium of the latter.’

Bill McKibben

‘Carbon offers a new way of thinking about planetary crisis, its causes, and solutions. By encouraging us to recover our wild natures, Hawken moves us away from narratives of scarcity and austerity to a vision of Earthly abundance.’

Conversation

‘A book you’ll find yourself quoting and reading aloud to anyone who will listen. Hawken tells the beautiful story of carbon’s role in our world—as our lifeblood, our synthesis with all living things, our planet’s protector—with the grace and fluency of a deep, compassionate thinker. A masterful, urgent, powerful book.’

Isabella Tree

‘Imagine putting on a pair of glasses that suddenly revealed the world as a fabric woven of miracles. Carbon reads like an extended love poem about life’s most basic chemical. Here, carbon’s dance of life does not take sides; it is never right or wrong. In Paul Hawken’s telling, carbon might just be the sexiest element, “available, loyal, and fickle in its versatility”. In Hawken’s hands and in these pages, the chemistry is always right.’

Carl Safina

‘5 stars. Carbon takes an unconventional approach, drawing from science with broader perspectives that make human existence enjoyable and profound…A thought-provoking read.’

Good Reading

'Carbon is mind bending. It is the book carbon deserves. In his paradigm-shifting Book of Life, Paul Hawken is a one-man 'wisdom dome'--brimming over with insight, hope, and, perhaps surprisingly, joy. For this dome to replicate and scale worldwide, Carbon must become a keystone text for tomorrow's changemakers and leaders.’

John Elkington

‘Carbon is the invisible thread that binds all living things. With lyrical prose and deep insight, Hawken reframes our relationship to nature and charts a path toward planetary healing.’

Christiana Figueres

‘This is a book that nourishes both the intellect and the spirit—a rare achievement in environmental literature.’

Chris Reed, NZ Booklovers

‘Paul Hawken's powerful new book mirrors the profound beauty that can save our world. Most books view carbon as a culprit. Hawken reminds us that carbon is the source of all planetary life. If you are looking for hope—for a way past climate denial and despair—Carbon is a must-read.’

Van Jones

‘I work on climate solutions, electrification, and the decarbonisation of our energy economy because I had the privilege of being raised on reefs and rivers, farms and fields, mangroves, and bird hides…Carbon endows the climate and environment movement with beauty, magic, majesty, and wonder, not just a carbon budget.’

Saul Griffith