Professor Rubin WRITES TO POTENTIAL PREVIEW REVIEWERS of
''THE HEATSTROKE LINE'':
Dear Friends:
I can send you, if you wish, a copy of a novel I've written, ''The Heatstroke Line,'' for preview and reviewing, because it is designed to be of interest to you. I can send a paperback book or a Kindle.
In my academic work, I've tried to understand why so many Americans are willing to deny the reality of climate change. One reason is that they think it will only affect tropical countries and oceanic islands that are far away from us. The Heatstroke Line depicts a United States with its coastal cities flooded and its remaining land sweltering under debilitating heat. It has broken into smaller units that are in conflict with each other and it is dominated by more northerly nations, such as Canada, that now have temperate climates.
There are already a number of "cli-fi" novels that deal with global warming. But most of these belong within the category of post-apocalyptic science fiction. They use a disaster -- nuclear war, epidemic or ecological disaster -- to wipe away the complexities of modern civilization and tell an adventure story.
My novel shows an imaginable future, not very distant from the present, when there are still modern houses, cars, governments, schools and political conflicts. The purpose is to bring home to Americans the devastating effects that climate change might have on our nation.
The Heatstroke Line is a real story -- relatively short, fast-paced, and written in simple, easy to read prose. It does not preach and it does not try to advance scientific arguments. It is intended to motivate people who believe that climate change is occurring to take action, and to induce those who deny climate change to re-think their position.
Thanks for your interest,
Sincerely,
-- Edward Rubin
- University Professor of Law and Political Science
---- VANDERBILIT UNIVERSITY,
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment