From the New York Times bestselling author of Regeneration comes a fresh and insightful look at life on Earth through the lens of carbon- the element essential to every living thing.

A fascinating exploration of life through the lens of carbon, the most versatile element on the planet, by New York Times bestselling author Paul Hawken.

Carbon animates the entirety of the living world. Though it comprises only a tiny fraction of Earth’s composition, our planet would be lifeless without it. From the intricate microscopic networks of fungi in the Earth’s soils to the tallest trees of the forests to every cell in every animal, the very fabric of life on Earth is shaped by carbon. Though it is much maligned as a driver of climate change, blamed for the possible demise of civilisation, that is only one part of its story.

In this stirring, hopeful and deeply humane book, Paul Hawken illuminates the omnipresence of this life-giving element and the possibilities it provides for the future of human endeavour, inviting us to see nature, carbon and ourselves as exquisitely intertwined and inseparably connected.

PRAISE-

‘Carbon is an enormously hopeful book-hopeful about the creatures we live among and about our innate human capacities.’ Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

‘Endlessly, endlessly fascinating!…There’s information, and then there’s wisdom-and this book is a compendium of the latter.’ Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur and bestselling author, and one of the leading voices calling for the regeneration of nature and humanity. He has written and edited eight books, which have been published in thirty languages in over fifty countries and sold over two million copies. They include Drawdown, Blessed Unrest and Regeneration. He is a renowned lecturer and consults with NGOs, governments, and corporations on environmental issues worldwide.