The Year Science Changed Everything: 1957's International Geophysical Year and the Future of Our Planet
May 2025 Prometheus Books
by Mark O'Connell
The International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957—1958 marked humanity's first unified effort to understand our earth, our atmosphere, our oceans and our sun, producing groundbreaking climate research that shapes our world today. Through exclusive interviews with modern climate leaders—including the late marine biologist and climate researcher Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, science diplomat and Senior Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Paul Arthur Berkman, educator Frank Niepold at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), science historian Rebecca Charbonneau, and many more—author Mark O'Connell reveals how the historic—some might even say heroic— global collaboration of IGY offers a blueprint for tackling today's environmental challenges.
Key discoveries from this groundbreaking initiative:
Sparked the space race and satellite technology development
Led to the first comprehensive mapping of ocean floors
Produced the Antarctic Treaty, protecting an entire continent
Established the foundation for modern climate science
Created a model for international scientific cooperation
As climate change threatens our planet, The Year Science Changed Everything shows how the spirit of global scientific unity that transformed our world in 1957 might be our best hope for safeguarding Earth's future.
This book can be purchased at the following book sellers
Prometheus Books | Bookshop | Books A Million |
Barnes & Noble | Amazon
