Concordia College

Summer Book Read

Get drawn into a story of ice, butterflies, permafrost holes and political wrangling in a literary work author Elizabeth Kolbert wants people to understand is much more than a story.

“Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change” is this year’s Concordia Summer Book Read selection. Written by political journalist Kolbert, the book got its start from a three-part series she wrote for The New Yorker. Kolbert traveled to Greenland, Oregon, Alaska and many other locations gathering real-world examples of our changing climate. She sites butterflies shifting their ranges to cooler northern areas, permafrost melting in Alaska that is causing holes under house foundations and in yards, as well as the ice melting in far northern climates which is increasing the bodies of water.

Dr. Gregg Muilenburg and Angela Seewald-Marquardt are co-chairs of the Summer Book Read steering committee, a team of faculty, staff and students that selects one book the entire campus community is encouraged to read during the summer. All new students are expected to read the book, as it is discussed during Orientation and in some first-year classes.

“I think Elizabeth Kolbert’s book is a great introductory book to climate change that Concordia’s student body and community will hopefully enjoy and embrace,” says Orientation Committee chair Leah Enger ’09. “The book may be some students’ first taste of dialogue concerning climate change and for others it may not be. Regardless, it’s important for the issue to be addressed and talked about, and this book serves as an introduction to the crucial conversations to come.”

The book will prepare the campus community to participate in the Faith, Reason, and World Affairs Symposium Sept. 16-17. The theme of this year’s Symposium is “Changing with the Climate: How Far, How Fast?” and has the goal of convening the entire campus to hear views from a variety of scientists, regional experts and businesspeople about the warming of the planet.

Learn More:
•    Summer Book Read History