The Pocket Guide to Planetary Peril: An A to Z

(Hardback)

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The perfect gift for the doomsayers, cynics and pessimists in your life, by internationally renowned finance expert and Thinktank founder Jakob Thom . An A to Z of the calamities and catastrophes that could end life as we know it - and a look at what should really be keeping us awake at night. From the Atomic bomb to the Zombie apocalypse (via Black holes, Killer diseases and Space invaders), The Pocket Guide to Planetary Peril explores twenty-six doomsday scenarios that could spell the end of humanity as we know it. Using scientific facts and entertaining anecdotes, Professor Jakob Thom (a global expert in long-term risks and sustainable finance) explains how likely it is that we will survive climate change or be turned into grey goo by nanobots - and what we can do about it. Funny, eye-opening and charmingly illustrated, this is the perfect book for doomsayers, cynics and pessimists everywhere.

Reviews

Eye-opening, engaging . . . an indispensable guide to the existential risks facing humanity. Thom masterfully presents complex issues with clarity and insight, empowering us to face these shared threats without being overwhelmed by their gravity -- Ben Caldecott, founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
A lively, fascinating guide to the many existential risks faced by 21st-century humanity - from those that we can't do much about, to those that we very much can -- Simon Mundy, Financial Times journalist and author of 'Race for Tomorrow'
This book of perils, naturally, will make you gasp and grimace; it will also make you grin. Thoma is an erudite yet charming tour guide, inviting you through his personally selected A to Z of existential threats -- Catherine Howarth OBE, Chief Executive of ShareAction
Thoma has pulled together some fascinating data about the perils we face, real and imagined. It should encourage senior executives and risk managers of all kinds to think more broadly about the hazardous and fast-changing world we live in, and how to survive in it -- Howard Davies, author of 'The Chancellors'
Irreverently insightful and all encompassing, The Pocket Guide to Planetary Peril is essential reading for anyone grappling with the polycrises threatening human existence. Equal parts wit and wisdom, this book will have you rethinking all manner of existential risk and the future of our world -- Lauren Smart, Head of S&P Global Sustainable1

Author Bio

Jakob Thom is a leading global expert on sustainability risks to financial markets. He is the co-Founder of several think tanks (2 Investing Initiative, Theia Finance Labs) and incubator of sustainability initiatives and companies (PACTA, tilt, MyFairMoney). Jakob is Professor in Practice at SOAS, University of London, where he teaches a course on Green Finance, columnist at Responsible Investor, and author of multiple books on sustainability and existential risks.