Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Thomas L. Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, argues that the solutions to two problems are linked: the global environmental crisis and America's loss of focus and national purpose after 9/11. The title joins three forces: global warming (hot), globalization as described in his earlier The World Is Flat (flat), and population growth (crowded). Friedman argues that the Cold War era has given way to an Energy-Climate Era, marked by scarcer supplies, wealth flowing to dictators, climate disruption, the poor falling behind and lost biodiversity. His answer, which he calls Code Green, is a national strategy of clean energy, efficiency and conservation, with the United States leading. An updated and expanded Release 2.0 edition followed.

It appears in a roundup of every book Barack Obama recommended during his presidency.