Sverker Sörlin is a public intellectual, policy advisor, and a leading name in environmental history. He is a recipient of the August Prize for Non-fiction. Eric Paglia is an environmental historian researching global environmental governance, the 1972 Stockholm Conference, the Anthropocene and the Arctic.

• List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Prologue; 1. The Stockholm story – a progressive counter-narrative; 2. Sweden and Nature – the Model Country Paradox; 3. Stockholm – a Climate Science Node; 4. The Swedish UN Initiative; 5. Twelve Days in Stockholm, June 1972; 6. Enter the Earth System; 7. Planetary Boundaries and Big Tent Science; 8. 'Listen to the Scientists' – yes, but what is the message?; 9. Conclusion – An Environmentalism of the Rich?; Bibliography; Index.

'This masterful book tells the story of the celebrated United Nations Conference on The Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972. Here highbrow politicians, shrewd scientists, and vocal environmentalists debated one of the most important issues of our time. The Conference was inspiring back then, and its history should inspire us all today.' Peder Anker, New York University