The Wizard and the Prophet
Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World
About the book
Charles C. Mann, author of 1491 and 1493, profiles two twentieth-century scientists, William Vogt (1902 to 1968) and Norman Borlaug (1914 to 2009), whose opposing views shaped how people think about the environment. The Prophets follow Vogt, a founding environmentalist who held that consuming more than the planet can give leads to ruin, so humanity must cut back. The Wizards follow Borlaug, whose high-yield crops saved millions from starvation and who believed innovation lets everyone win. Mann applies both outlooks to four great challenges, food, water, energy and climate change, giving each its historical background and weighing the choices ahead. The question running through it is how a planet heading toward ten billion people will live.
Elizabeth Kolbert praised it as a fascinating portrait of two men who likely shaped how readers think about the future, and Gary Taubes called it balanced and thoughtful. Blogger Jason Kottke urged readers to pick it up, saying the chapter on climate change alone justifies the effort.
We hope you love the books people recommend! Just so you know, The CEO Library may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.
This book has 3 recommendations
Jason Kottke (Blogger & Designer)
The Wizard and the Prophet is an important book, and I urge you to read it. (The chapter on climate change, including its fascinating history, is alone worth the effort.)
To combat climate change, should we stop flying (as meteorologist Eric Holthaus has urged) & switch to renewable energy or should we capture carbon from coal plants & build nuclear power plants? GMO crops or community-based organic farming? How can 10 billion people be happy and prosperous without ruining the planet?
I came to this book with an open mind, and came away far more informed about the debate but even more unsure about the way forward. The book offers no easy answers — it’s difficult to tell where Mann himself stands on the wizard/prophet continuum (although I would suspect more wizard than prophet, which is likely my leaning as well) — but it does ask many of the right questions. Wizards can order the book from Amazon while Prophets should seek it out at their local bookstore or library.
Elizabeth Kolbert (Author)
The Wizard and the Prophet is a fascinating portrait of two men who probably shaped your thinking about the future, whether you realize it or not. Charles Mann proves, once again, a masterful storyteller.
Gary Taubes (Author)
Brilliantly conceived and executed, Charles Mann’s The Wizard and the Prophet is the book I have long awaited—thoughtful, balanced and unbiased—to understand the challenges that humanity will face as the twenty-first century progresses. Mann’s historical perspective provides the critically important context for us to understand how we got here and how we might solve the problems presented by a finite world of ten billion humans.
Get this book on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books
See more books recommended by
Jason Kottke, Elizabeth Kolbert, Gary Taubes