From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Using a highly publicized thousand-dollar wager made between two scholars as a narrative framework, this gem of a book elucidates the extreme polarity between those who believe human ingenuity can solve the world's problems and those who foresee imminent doom. Sabin (Crude Politics) cleverly traces the ideological extremes through the careers of Paul Ehrlich, known for his warnings about explosive population growth, and his lesser known adversary Julian Simon, who advocated that technological advancement and market flexible would resolve threats of overpopulation. Sabin shows the evolution of both arguments through various presidencies. The Carter administration leaned toward Ehrlich's apocalyptic point of view; whereas Regan thought Simon's theories fit his own, especially in expanded energy production. The contrast between Al Gore and George W. Bush reflects the of polarization in the United States over environmental issues. Sabin offers a reasoned summary of the strengths and weaknesses on both sides, but ultimately he is interested in showing "how intelligent people are drawn to vilify their opponents and to reduce the issue that they care about to stark and divisive terms." To this end, Sabin provides a fascinating and highly readable archaeology of political science in America. (Sept.)
Review
“Provides surprising insights for anyone involved in addressing the world’s ‘wicked problems.’ Most of all, it gave me new perspective on why so many big challenges get bogged down in political battles rather than being focused on problem-solving."—Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, "The Best Books I Read in 2013," TheGatesNotes.com (Bill Gates TheGatesNotes.com)
“[A] gem of a book. . . Sabin provides a fascinating and highly readable archaeology of political science in America.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review (Publishers Weekly)
“A brilliant idea for a book. . . . Sabin has produced an absorbing narrative of how two people’s ‘clashing insights’ unleashed on the world polarised views of the environmental and resource threats we face in the 21st century.”—Fred Pearce, New Scientist (Fred Pearce New Scientist)
“In his new book, The Bet, Paul Sabin has managed to write a work of serious historical scholarship about a vexing political issue — and make it read like a character-driven novel.”—David Leonhardt, The New York Times, Economix blog (David Leonhardt The New York Times, Economix blog)
“The Bet provides an important contribution to canonical works in environmental history and environmental studies. It is a remarkable story of a critical moment in the environmental movement, and Sabin has told it expertly.”—Frederick R. Davis, Florida State University (Frederick R. Davis 2013-03-14)
“In telling the story of Ehrlich and Simon's bet, Paul Sabin offers a compelling analysis of two very different, but equally important, ways of understanding the future of humans and the environment that still shape the world of environmental politics today."—Jay Turner, Wellesley College (Jay Turner 2013-03-14)
"Paul Sabin's The Bet is wonderfully conceived, sharply focused and entertainingly executed. In the story of a famous bet between two men of large egos, he manages to touch on the most basic problems we face in trying to come to terms with our current environmental crisis."—Richard White, author of Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (Richard White 2013-04-04)
"A refreshingly readable and consistently insightful portrait of the ferocious American politics of global population and resources since the 1960s – and of two implacable enemies who strangely resembled one another."—J.R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the 20th-century World (J.R. McNeill 2013-04-15)
"Paul Sabin vividly and creatively explores the half century battle over environmental policy by telling the story of the clash —and famous “bet” — between Paul Ehrlich, the prophet of population doom, and Julian Simon, the advocate of technology and markets. My own wager is that The Bet will also provide a very valuable and timely framework for understanding today’s great environmental debates. In fact, I will double down on that bet!”— Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World and of The Prize (Daniel Yergin 2013-05-13)
"Have you ever wondered why environmental politics became so bitterly divided along partisan party lines? Why does the left believe that climate change will harm us, while the right is certain that technological innovation will prevail? Paul Sabin’s smart, compelling analysis in The Bet helps us understand these ideological divides. Beautifully written, non-partisan, and filled with surprising insights, The Bet is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern environmental politics."—Nancy Langston, author of Toxic Bodies: DES and the Lessons of History (Nancy Langston 2013-05-13)
“Not so fast, argues historian Paul Sabin, who in The Bet attempts to use their wager to narrate parallel biographies of Simon and Ehrlich, as well as a US political environmental history of the past half-century. The result is a revealing tale.”—Jon Christensen, Nature (Nature Jon Christensen 2013-08-15)
"Informative, charming, and highly readable."—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution (Tyler Cowen Marginal Revolution)
"A wonderful new book . . . . and a fantastic introduction to population-resource debates of the late-twentieth century. It will be the required first reading on this topic in my future courses."—Roger Pielke, Jr., The Energy Collective (Roger Pielke, Jr. The Energy Collective)
“An illuminating, judicious, and engaging examination of the conflict between environmentalists and their critics over the past five decades.”—Glenn C. Altschuler, Tulsa World (Glenn C. Altschuler Tulsa World)
A Best Science Book of 2013, New Scientist (New Scientist)
About the Author
Paul Sabin is associate professor, Department of History, Yale University. He was founding director of the Environmental Leadership Program and is the author of Crude Politics: The California Oil Market, 19001940.
