Eric Pooley, a former managing editor of Fortune, provides a narrative account of American climate politics from the emergence of climate change as a political issue through the failure of cap-and-trade legislation in 2010. Pooley follows the scientists, activists, politicians, and business leaders who tried to pass comprehensive climate legislation, showing how close they came and why they ultimately failed. The book provides detailed reporting on legislative maneuvering, interest group lobbying, and the internal debates within the environmental movement about strategy and tactics. Pooley captures individual personalities from Al Gore to the CEOs who joined the climate coalition to the senators whose votes proved decisive. He examines how the financial crisis diverted political attention, how the Tea Party movement changed the Republican Party's position, and how environmental groups' decisions shaped the outcome. The book shows climate politics as it actually operates rather than as either side's propaganda depicts it, with genuine complexity, strategic mistakes, and contingent outcomes. Though focused on a specific period, the book illuminates dynamics that continue to shape climate policy debates. Readers will gain understanding of why climate legislation has proven so difficult and what any future effort must overcome.