A heroic and important work

An excellent book... Vince writes with great freshness and vigour, and her stories are hard to stop reading

It holds a mirror up to humanity and says: look what you have done to the world, the only world you will ever have... in every sense a good book, as well as a compelling read

A masterpiece... a wondrous, remarkable, but heart-rending story

A story of optimism about how 10 billion people can in future live together and prosper... Fresh and unencumbered, Vince glides from ecology to economics, politics to philosophy, seeing it all through the people she meets

Ambitious and provocative... brilliant

Vince's broader discussions of the biological and Earth science are as cogent as her close reportage

A beautifully human and optimistic book filled with stories of ordinary people who simply refuse to give up

A beautifully written book that raises the most profound question of our time: "How should we live?" In the past, this has been primarily a personal question. But, as Gaia Vince amply demonstrates, what was once a personal question has become the central question for us as a species -- and the fate of nearly every species on our planet (including our own) rests on our answer.

A richly textured account of the post-wilderness years (and this year's winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books)

Ms Vince's focus on individuals and places helps ground the science in reality... [her] case studies are fascinating

I love this book. Gaia Vince effortlessly weaves individual stories into an epic, global narrative, to present us with a positive vision of a humane, brave new world

A fine and timely book. Gaia Vince shows us how to stay steady and cheerful despite the ever intensifying drama of the Anthropocene

Fascinating, troubling and remarkably cool-headed

Gaia's remarkable journey is a unique inventory of life on earth, both wild and human, at this important moment in our history.

A brilliant book, full of examples of fighting back against climate change in unexpected and courageous ways

Gaia Vince discovers how ingenious individuals around the world cope with the consequences of environmental changes and sees how our relationship with the natural world have evolved over the centuries

Our species has exploded into a new kind of force – one species able to alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. Gaia Vince’s important book provides the evolutionary, temporal and biophysical context to show with clarity the stunning speed and magnitude of the human footprint on the planet. She manages to inspire with hope while conveying a cry of urgency.

Have you seen the state of our planet? Gaia Vince has. She travelled the globe for two years to investigate what we are doing to it, and this heroic feat of reporting is the result. She, and her readers, are left wiser, sometimes sadder, but still holding on to a core optimism about possible futures for our world.

A literal walk through the far reaches of our planet, a biosphere now governed as much by human activity as by the forces of nature. We should take heed of these hard won stories by Gaia Vince, and wise up

Makes it easier to look at the Earth’s future without pessimism, and is a delight to read for the science alone

This is a transformative book and will inspire all of its readers to think more carefully about the way we interact with the environment

A world tour of how our transformation of the planet is playing out on the ground

holds a mirror up to humanity and says: look what you have done to the world, the only world you will ever have… a compelling read

A travelogue that tries to explain the enormous changes occurring on Earth at the level of the individual citizen.

The book’s personal nature makes it a joy to read… Despite being densely filled with meticulously researched facts, it always flows like a good travel journal.

The book’s personal nature makes it a joy to read. Added to this is the book’s excellent structure, examining each habitat in turn…and looking at the solutions science might provide… Despite being densely filled with meticulously researched facts, it always flows like a good travel journal.

The writing is fluent… I think this is an important book, which shows us what we have done to our world and what we might have to do if we are to survive in it. This is a book for anyone who cares about the planet and the environment.

Perhaps the best book so far to trace the epoch’s impacts on the world’s poor, and the slow violence that climate change metes out to them.

Through reading this book I have looked the bogeyman death in the face. Maybe it was the briefest of glances, and I want to play a little before I look again, but I feel richer for it. It is a sombre richness and there is sadness in it, but I am grateful. Grateful for this book and to its valiant author.

His exquisitely written, inspiring memoir is inevitably unfinished, but delivers the final word on dying with dignity.

Wrenching memoir…Moving, humble and impossible to ignore.

An unforgettable reflection on the practice of medicine and the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

An honest and eye-opening memoir.

Deeply moving memoir… Lessons on life and how to cherish it.

Immensely powerful and poignant.

The best book I’ve read this year.

Heart-breaking memoir.

The effect of reading such clear-sighted and intelligent commentary on life and death is exhilarating… Astonishing and invigorating book... Rarely have words on both life and death made such an impact.

A brilliant memoir.

A sad but beautiful story… A remarkable book… A moving and thoughtful memoir of family, medicine and literature.

Profoundly moving book… A life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

[Kalanithi] wrote about practising medicine, about mortality, about finite time, with unfathomable tranquility and humour.

He writes with clarity, elegance, and honesty… When Breath Becomes Air is a deeply personal and moving book… Kalanithi died leaving the book unfinished. He left, though, his voice, speaking through this book about death and implicitly about life.

Writing isn't brain surgery, but it's rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former... A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.

An extraordinary voice… His account is matter-of-fact, never self-pitying and often funny.

Wrenching memoir… Moving, humble, and impossible to ignore.

A sparely lyrical account of excruciated ambition… Fairly dotted with insights.

In this slim but extraordinarily powerful memoir, Kalanithi grapples with the hardest questions with grace and courage... Lucid, humbling and heartbreaking.

Heart-wrenching memoir

When Breath Becomes Air is an eloquent evocation of a life defined by success and tragedy… Paul’s unravelling of unimaginable circumstances is terrifyingly real and heartbreakingly honest.

The line between life and death has never been explored quite so personally as in Paul Kalanithi’s wrenching memoir… The Final pages, from Paul and then Lucy, are moving, humble, and impossible to ignore’

It’s elegantly constructed, as befits a man who had a lifelong passion for reading and writing, and heartbreakingly honest too, with unflinching reflections on all the beloved people he must leave behind, and all the things left undone’

Absolutely compelling… This is not a depressing book, but it will stay with you for a long time.

A true and heart-breaking tale.

This dying doctor’s gripping memoir is a natural, honest, and unflinching account of his journey. Paul’s willingness to reflect and share and not avert his eyes from death, will undoubtedly inspire and comfort others who are ill or who experience loss. The final paragraph is directed towards his infant daughter and it is breathtakingly beautiful… one to recommend to anyone and everyone.

Beautifully written… Healthcare professionals and civilians alike should find much that resonates here.

His book is suitable for, and deserves, a wide audience… Whilst this book is emotional and moving to read, it is beautifully written and many readers will find Paul's way of dealing with terminal illness inspirational. It is a book that I will go back to again and again for emotional support.

This is a tearjerker… Kalanithi was as skilled with words as he was with the knife.

Kalanithi is warm and full of wit... His writing is seamless, poetic, beautiful and transfixing. His bravery is rather astonishing at times… He is a wonderful storyteller and dizzily sweeps you along.

You’ll read this in one unforgettable afternoon.

A gripping and emotionally charged account.

Poignant, honest, brave and yes, at times, incredibly raw… A beautiful and unforgettable book.

[A] beautiful memoir… Kalanithi’s eloquent and elegant writing is deeply affecting.

[An] inspiring book.

A thoughtful, deep and learned meditation on the meaning of life… The best book of the year

An emotional ride.

A book that leaves its reader full-hearted… moved and enriched by its humanity and accomplishment.

A fast read that won’t fail to move you.

John Updike said that every writer is simply unpacking their own bag, describing writing as a way to come to terms with one’s current and historical life experience. If that is the case Paul Kalanithi, in When Breath Becomes Air, is unpacking a very large bag indeed, and not just his own.

When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

Far more than a beautifully written account of a life cut cruelly short: it is a meditation on living well.

[H]e writes with an eloquence that befits his love of the literary.

An eloquent meditation on our mortality, the brain, the meaning of life, fatherhood and the doctor-patient relationship, this powerful, inspirational book should appeal to readers who are enjoying watching BBC2’s current Hospital series. I couldn’t put this profoundly moving memoir down – but it is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, and may scare hypochondriacs.

It’s not just that Kalanathi has a remarkable story to tell. The way he tells it is phenomenal… This is a superbly written and must-read autobiography – beautiful, poignant and thought-provoking.

He writes movingly about how to make sense of a life so suddenly interrupted and what makes life worth living even as it fades away. A beautiful book about the resilience of the human spirit.

Kalanithi’s candid yet artistic prose, peppered with medical terminology, conveys his life beautifully. We are taken on a journey from the nostalgic memories of his childhood in Arizona to his final days in the hospital bed… he raw and emotional portrayal of his pain and their family’s grief is not an easy read, but a compelling one.

A thoroughly enjoyable, epic read, When Breath Becomes Air should be at the top of everyone’s ‘to read’ list. Paul Kalanithi beautifully bridges the gaps between philosophy, science and literature in his memoir which depicts the reality of life lived in the face of death… Kalanithi writes sublimely, elegantly and honestly. His words are spun together as though with a golden thread, and all that he writes is from the heart. His admiration for the written word shines through and the mammoth task of composing his memoir, after receiving his diagnosis, is executed exquisitely… It is a novel filled with tenderness, heartbreak and bittersweet nostalgia. It is a novel containing power, strength and beauty. And it is a novel that will stay with you long after its cover has been closed.

Informative, emotive, honest and a stark look at the path one takes when life pulls the rug out from under you.

This book has stayed with me ever since I put it down. Absolutely extraordinary. This book is an example of how fragile and unfair life can be.

It was a really incredible read and I couldn’t recommend it more.

As a book detailing the insight into our own mortality, and the dedication of medical professionals who place their lives on hold to learn their craft, it’s fascinating. His accounts of coming face to face with cadavers – "donors" – and performing autopsies, his experiences with patients as he gave good and bad news, his mistakes as a surgeon which caused irreparable damage coupled with his success as a physician are an incredible insight into his life’s work… A melancholic read that I’d recommend to all student nurses, and anyone interested in reading the final thoughts of a doomed surgeon.

Poignant and life-affirming, it's a devastating must-read

Beautifully written... utterly heartbreaking and yet somehow life-affirming

The writing is beautiful and the whole book feels like a wondrous gift

At a time when the NHS and key workers are doing their utmost to make sure people are safe, this medical memoir is one that will make you realise how courageous and hard-working our medical staff really are... The moving and intimidate book brings readers on a valuable and gut-wrenching journey through the meaning of life, exposes universal truths surrounding terminal illnesses and highlights the fragile relationship between doctor and patient