I'm With The Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet

Ten award-winning writers respond to a plea for fiction that addresses the realities of climate change and portray potential future environments. The title references environmentalist John Muir's remark "when it comes to a war between the races, I'm with the bears.%E2%80%9D T.C. Boyle's horrific opener, "The Siskiyou,%E2%80%9D follows naive activists who immerse their feet in cement to close a road against destroyers of a forest. Lydia Millet's "Zoogoing%E2%80%9D follows with a businessman obsessed with zoo creatures who secretly spends nights in world zoos. Friends reunite in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Sacred Space%E2%80%9D to hike in the Sierras only to find signs of death. With "Hermie,%E2%80%9D Nathaniel Rich details a crab's return to confront a marine biologist who played with him years ago. Helen Simpson offers "Diary of an Interesting Year,%E2%80%9D a woman's account of survival terrors in post-collapse England. "The Siphoners%E2%80%9D is David Mitchell's examination of elderly life in a world where only youth has value. More tales from Toby Litt, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Margaret Atwood round out this volume of gripping science fiction from the near future. (Oct.)