Here Comes the Sun by Andy McCarthy [6/10]

Here Comes the Sun: How a High-School Dropout Brought Renewable Energy to Coal Country is what it sounds like, a heartfelt memoir of a successful entrepreneur, and whether you enjoy it depends on whether you seek insights from such folks and whether the tale intrigues you. The author established Gippsland Solar, a solar panel provider in, as he so aptly puts it, “the heart of coal country.” The book is also the tale of a boy, teenager, and man with nerdy concentration, a dislike of authority, and prodigious energy. In the end, Gippsland Solar prospers, partly due to the author’s leadership (a “learn as you go” style of leading that is portrayed with refreshing honest), but mainly due to the emergence of energy from the sun as the next societal energy source. I found the battle between the inevitable (solar) and the all-domineering (coal) to be fascinating. Less fascinating were the humble “lessons learned,” but that reflects my stage of life. Here Comes the Sun is a refreshing tale of climate crisis success told with candor and spark.