Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 95 ratings

Price: 18.42

Last update: 11-04-2024


About this item

Renowned investor and climate champion Tom Steyer gives us a unique and unvarnished perspective on how we can all fight climate change—joyfully, knowledgeably, and even profitably—at a time of unparalleled consequence and opportunity.

Every day the news is filled with stories of extreme weather that threatens our cities, our health, our futures: tornadoes wiping out whole communities; droughts that ignite catastrophic wildfires; storms destroying roads and infrastructure; rising water levels that jeopardize entire nations; new climate-related diseases that threaten our health. Just as World War II raised an existential threat that united Americans in a common cause, the dangers of climate change are now challenging all our previously held notions of the future. Our only hope, as Tom Steyer sees it, is to unite together to take action in a collective movement akin to a war effort.

Steyer has been on the forefront of the climate war for well over a decade, leveraging his investment expertise, business knowledge, and community-organizing skills to support sustainable climate solutions. In this accessible book, he explains how capitalism is an effective tool for scaling climate progress, offers his candid take on fossil fuel enablers, and explains why immediate action on the climate front will be an investment in our economy and our key to a healthy and viable future. Steyer tells his own story of coming to understand the urgency of climate action, and, in short, interstitial chapters, he showcases the inspiring work of people on the front lines, whose innovative approaches provide hope for meaningful change.

The urgency to act is imperative—time is running out—and yet Steyer feels confident that we will win this war, precisely because there has never before been a moment more necessary or more rewarding to come together to secure a healthy future for ourselves and the planet.


Top reviews from the United States

AL
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, great read for the rest of us
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024
This is a great read for the rest of us – non-scientists who want to be informed about climate change but are sometimes confused by conflicting sound bytes in popular media. Steyer conveys important information in an easy to read, practical manner, enabling his readers to better understand the issues. His analogies comparing big oil to tobacco companies are particularly compelling. Should be required reading for every American voter.
Mark hollingsworth
5.0 out of 5 stars Strategies for our planet's survival.
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2024
Tom Steyer makes an extremely compelling case for "climate capitalism." With better tech, ideas, rules, and metrics, Steyer argues we can “shift the incentives so that even the most self-interested people make choices that help stabilize our planet and prevent human catastrophe.” Cheaper Faster Better is very readable and offers scientific information, investment insights, and personal details about Steyer’s fight for our planet’s survival. A brilliant book.
D. Woollard
4.0 out of 5 stars building a climate army
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2024
Tom Steyer has been banging the climate drum for a while. The billionaire investor has spent years and no small amount of money working on climate issues. A former presidential candidate who ran nearly exclusively on climate issues, Steyer co-chaired President Biden’s Climate Engagement Advisory Council. These bona fides are just to prove that Steyer is no newcomer to the climate wars. His new book Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win The Climate War isn’t another climate gloom-and-doom book. Instead, it’s a fierce, optimistic call to action that seeks to evangelize a climate army.

In the book, Steyer offers a different approach than the usual carbon footprint shaming and let’s all recycle rhetoric. His approach is from a business standpoint and in each chapter, he showcases a variety of entrepreneurs making progress on the climate front. In addition to being a climate optimist, Steyer is a capitalism optimist. He believes that the right mix of governmental, institutional, corporate, and venture investing in climate tech will usher us into a bright new future.

Steyer’s book is inspiring, full-throated, and full of examples of positive activity on the climate front. Still, his enthusiasm for building the next generation of climate warriors falls a little short on the specifics on how the rest of us can join the movement.
acsim123
5.0 out of 5 stars An optimistic breakdown and call to action
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2024
This book is both a level set and a call-to-action for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Tom breaks down the science of climate change and the roadblocks to action using simple, persuasive stories and language. He tells us what we have to gain and what we have to lose, but ultimately, he believes we will win.

""The tide has already turned. Thanks to new tech, increased public awareness, new laws and rules, and new ways of measuring and understanding the impact of greenhouse gas pollution on our planet, the clean energy revolution hasn't just begun — it's become unstoppable."

Highly recommended reading that will challenge individuals, organizations, and governments to do better.
Evi Steyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Actually Optimistic and Fun!
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
I had pretty much stopped reading climate books because I found them so depressing, and I already believe in the climate crisis and am working on it so didn't see the point in just feeling terrible. But this book is practical, insightful, AND fun - especially if you like stories about new technologies and business intrigue! I really recommend it to anyone at any point on their climate journey - from new learner to wizened activist.
Charles Steyer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic and hopeful book about human adaptation to climate change
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
This was the best book on climate change I've ever read, and that was my topic of study in school for two years. Steyer is realistic but hopeful in his appraisal of humanity and the environment. The content is approachable if you've just started learning about climate change but engrossing if you've spent your lifetime studying it. Tom includes anecdotes and personal history but keeps the book rooted in a rigorous understanding of the science. Couldn't recommend more highly!
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for climate activists
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
This book is a combination of inspirational true stories about "climate people" (including the amazing author Tom Dryer), the realities of the climate change challenges and climate activist pathways to solving the climate crisis with community engagement, political campaigns and policies, and investing and scaling climate change solutions (technological and nature based).
Steve Roukis
2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written book on climate as the author rambles from topic to topic
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2024
I was looking forward to reading this book after a review in Barron's on laying out the business case for climate solutions. The author rambles from topic to topic with little depth and clarity while giving anecdotal topics and stories about himself while name dropping along the way (Dimon, Buffett, Hellman, etc) . While Tom may be knowledgeable on the topic, this book lacks complete depth of the subject in the chapters - he assumes every statement he makes is axiomatically correct and constantly challenges anyone that disagrees doesn't know what they are taking about. There are better books on the topic by Bill Gates and John Doerr who lay out a better case and more concrete solutions.

Best Sellers in

 
 

The Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 307
22.04
 
 

T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone That Dominates and Divides Us

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 540
16.87
 
 

Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 583
19.68
 
 

The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 432
17.72
 
 

Spillover

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4765
30.57
 
 

Vital Organs

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 113
20.92
 
 

My Favorite Universe

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 3
14.26
 
 

The Universal One

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 446
4.28