The Water Will Come

An eye-opening and essential tour of the vanishing world

What if Atlantis wasn’t a myth, but an early precursor to a new age of great flooding? Across the globe, scientists and civilians alike are noticing rapidly rising sea levels, and higher and higher tides pushing more water directly into the places we live, from our most vibrant, historic cities to our last remaining traditional coastal villages. With each crack in the great ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctica, and each tick upwards of Earth's thermometer, we are moving closer to the brink of broad disaster.

By century’s end, hundreds of millions of people will be retreating from the world's shores as our coasts become inundated and our landscapes transformed. From island nations to the world's major cities, coastal regions will disappear. Engineering projects to hold back the water are bold and may buy some time. Yet despite international efforts and tireless research, there is no permanent solution — no barriers to erect or walls to build — that will protect us in the end from the drowning of the world as we know it.

The Water Will Come is the definitive account of the coming water, why and how this will happen, and what it will all mean. As he travels across twelve countries and reports from the front lines, acclaimed journalist Jeff Goodell employs fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism to show vivid scenes from what already is becoming a water world.

‘This harrowing, compulsively readable, and carefully researched book lays out in clear-eyed detail what Earth’s changing climate means for us today, and what it will mean for future generations… It’s a thriller in which the hero in peril is us.’ ―John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

‘Jeff Goodell grabs you on the first page and doesn't hold up until this essential story is told. He presents a vivid warning and a call to arms to the generation that gets to decide how fast, and how high, the water will come.’ ―Scott Ludlam, former Australian Greens Senator

‘A well-rounded, persuasive survey…. A frightening, scientifically grounded, and starkly relevant look at how climate change will affect coastal cities.’ ―Kirkus, Starred Review

‘In this engaging book, environmental writer Goodell points out that while sea levels have always risen and fallen, the current rise is driven primarily by the dramatically accelerating melting of the arctic ice caps, and with so many cities on seashores, this will be devastating.’ ―Booklist, Starred Review