"Beth Gardiner’s powerful account of what the air we breathe is doing to our bodies couldn’t be more timely. Choked tells a gripping, complex tale full of memorable characters  — starring one of the deadliest villains of all time, air pollution. This is an urgent, essential read."

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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"Some seven million people will die prematurely this year owing to the effects of air pollution. Beth Gardiner travels to some of the smoggiest places on earth to explore this grim statistic and explain what can be done to alter it. Choked is a compelling book about a critical subject.”

Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction 

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“Choked literally breathes life into the struggle for clean air in the U.S. and across the world. Gardiner is a masterful storyteller. This book doesn’t just make air pollution personal, it brings hope to all of us who remain in the fight for cleaner air and a stable climate.”

Gina McCarthy, former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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"Written with the profound wonder that defines the most engaging scientific narratives and with the deep concern that comes from being a parent, Choked is a personal journey to the heart of one of our planet’s most pressing problems.”

Elizabeth Rush, author of Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore 

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“Brilliantly reported and beautifully written. Gardiner sheds myths, wrestles with moral complexity, and reveals the social injustices that make air pollution a danger that both connects and divides us. Along the way, her candid interviews sketch an inspiring blueprint for how to move forward in one of our most elemental battles.”  

 Anna Clark, author of The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy 

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"This important book tells so many touching stories from bold voices from all over the world, each making it clear that we can no longer accept air pollution and the devastation it causes."

Christiana Figueres, former United Nations climate chief

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"The stories Gardiner tells paint a compelling picture of a critical issue. Choked weaves together science, politics and economics to show us the progress we’ve made toward healthier air and the work that still lies ahead."

 Christine Todd Whitman, former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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"With gripping stories and a keen understanding of science, Gardiner traces air pollution’s insidious impact on our bodies. Choked is chock full of frightening tales from places such as Krakow, London, Delhi and California’s San Joaquin Valley. Yet you’ll come away breathing a little easier, knowing that with the right choices we have the tools to make the world a healthier place."

Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D., author of Aroused 

"Weaving her curiosity as an investigative journalist with the concern of a parent (and human), accomplished journalist Beth Gardiner’s debut book Choked is an eminently readable exploration of air pollution across the globe. Taking her investigative skills from Delhi to Poland to L.A. and beyond, she brings back stories about how we are fundamentally fouling — and can save — that most essential element: the air we breathe."

Meera Subramanian, author of A River Runs Again

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“With Choked, Gardiner renders the oft-invisible assault of air pollution on our lungs and cities not just visible, but gripping. Gardiner is a deft reporter and a vivid story-teller. Choked should be required reading for anyone breathing today.” 

Carla Power, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist If the Oceans Were Ink

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“A brilliantly crafted, readable anatomy of an insidious but powerful threat. Choked exposes the tradeoffs and abuses that have left us breathing unhealthy air and also offers moving portraits of the clean air champions who are fighting back.”

Kate Winkler Dawson, author of Death in the Air

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“Choked is a deeply reported and powerfully written account of an invisible global health crisis. Beth Gardiner takes us on an eye-opening journey that packs an emotional punch, but also offers valuable lessons from scientists, politicians and ordinary people fighting for cleaner air."

Lisa Palmer, author of Hot, Hungry Planet

"Choked is a timely and potent look at the health threat air pollution poses around the world. The book’s focus on life’s most basic function -- breathing -- makes dirty air’s dangers both tangible and immediate. Gardiner has turned the fight for clean, healthy air into a compelling tale of the progress we’ve made and the work that still lies ahead.” 

Paul Billings, senior vice president of the American Lung Association

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“What are we doing to our lungs by burning fossil fuels? That's the profound question that this engaging book answers, traveling the world from Los Angeles to London, Beijing to Berlin. Air pollution is an insidious and often invisible threat, which makes it easy to overlook. But you will learn just how dangerous dirty air really is — and what we can do to clean it up — in this illuminating tale.”

 David Biello, TED Talks science curator and author of The Unnatural World

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"Choked is a vital book, both deeply reported and emotionally powerful. Beth Gardiner tells a sweeping, global story that also hits close to home, making the threat dirty air poses to every one of us frighteningly clear. As engaging as it is important, this book is a must read for anyone hoping for a healthier future." 

Terry Tamminen, President/CEO Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation

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