在线阅读本书 Thomas L. Friedman’s no. 1 bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see globalization in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy—both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all of us who are concerned about the state of America in the global future. Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy— which he calls “Geo-Greenism”—is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure. As in The World Is Flat , he explains a new era—the Energy-Climate era—through an illuminating account of recent events. He shows how 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the flattening of the world by the Internet (which brought 3 billion new consumers onto the world stage) have combined to bring climate and energy issues to Main Street. But they have not gone very far down Main Street; the much-touted “green revolution” has hardly begun. With all that in mind, Friedman sets out the clean-technology breakthroughs we, and the world, will need; he shows that the ET (Energy Technology) revolution will be both transformative and disruptive; and he explains why America must lead this revolution—with the first Green President and a Green New Deal, spurred by the Greenest Generation. Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman—fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the world we live in today.

在《难以忽视的真相》中戈尔站在“非政治”的立场，从保护环境的角度，以具思考深度和令人注目的方式，向大家展示了大量有关全球气候变暖给人类带来的巨大危害。书里并没有教条般的说教和政治性的演讲，只是以幽默而客观的态度列出了种种事实，让读者自己得出结论，文字和图片都有很强的感染力。他不断提醒人类，只有十年的时间挽救全球变暖现象。书中，他指着北极地区冰山融解海面升高的现象，问无视未来的当代：十年后我们怎么办？ 　　有一个考验行销创意的老笑话，“在阿拉斯加如何推销冰箱”。如今它已不好笑，而成为事实。今年在一个接近北极的爱斯基摩人社区，七月中曾一度热至32℃，一生没见过空调的爱斯基摩人，今年夏天光一个小镇就装了十台空调。他们的屋子主要为御寒设计，32℃对爱斯基摩人简直见鬼，没窗、没风；如今那个行销冰箱的老笑话，答案变得太专业：“把全球搞暖化了，阿拉斯加人人买冰箱！” 　　我们坐在一枚定时炸弹上面——戈尔的《难以忽视的真相》逼着人类面临生态浩劫的真相。那些旱灾、海啸、热浪不是新闻，不是一时，它会一而再再而三地不断降临，而且越演越烈。戈尔说，这是一场“全球性的紧急状况”，人类必须尽快采取行动，阻止浩劫。戈尔以乐观的态度说：“只要从今天起，大家团结一致，为环保行动起来，我们还是可以阻止地球的迅速变暖，以及其所带来的后遗症。” 　　这位曾经差一点当上美国总统的人，远离权力，放下身段，为全球暖化公益事业，自己出书，自己募款，自己投资拍纪录片，还自己巡回全球作媒体行销，人们预测他将凭借《难以忽视的真相》从此登上了真正获得影响力的世界性舞台。