An interesting popular science story, but I have to admit that I would prefere to read it than to listen to it – I got lost to many times and it was hard to focus on all the information. But it was my fault, not the author nor narrator.

Thanks to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I initially wanted to read this book because of my love of butterflies. I quickly realized that the beautiful cover had misled me, ha! However, I'm glad I stuck with this book. The science and life of Dr. Shukla is nothing short of amazing. I'm a better person for having listened to this book.

This is the most emotional science book I think I've ever read. Dr. Shukla talks about how he became interested in weather and climate because of his experiences growing up very poor in India, and I enjoyed how he spoke about his parents more than anything else. HIs father was so proud of him and never got to see how much he achieved.
From classes in a cow shed to his doctorate at MIT, Dr Shukla's journey is inspiring, but he continued to achieve more and more, working with scientists and even receiving an award from NASA for his outstanding contributions. His description of the conditions in his field are important and should not be ignored, and his explanation of the science behind climate change is clear and understandable.
Thanks to NetGalley, I got to listen to the audiobook, and it enhanced the experience, especially when it came to the personal parts.

A Billion Butterflies is a beautifully written and inspiring memoir that blends personal storytelling with a deep dive into the intricate world of climate science and chaos theory. I loved the serendipitous nature of the author's journey—how he ended up studying weather even though it wasn't what he initially set out to do. His deep connection to India, particularly its weather and monsoon seasons, added a wonderful cultural tie-in and tribute to his heritage that made the story even richer.

The book is a smart and accessible exploration of climate prediction, mathematics, coding, and the staggering complexity behind billions of climate equations. I learned so much about weather patterns, climate modeling, and the sheer dedication it takes to pursue this kind of scientific work. It's also a moving tribute to nature, the seasons, and the work ethic required to uncover their secrets.

Beyond the science, the author openly shares some of the personal struggles and hardships he faced along the way, giving the memoir a real emotional weight. He also writes candidly about the challenge of standing up to giants in his field, which added an inspiring layer of resilience to his story. What really stood out to me was how honest, emotional, and ultimately hopeful the book felt—it wasn't all doom and gloom, even when tackling such a serious topic as climate change.

The author does an incredible job weaving together stories of academics, culture, family, science, and politics into one cohesive and powerful narrative.

If you enjoy memoirs that expand your understanding of the world while telling a deeply personal and human story, A Billion Butterflies is worth the read.

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a meteorology buff, so I looked forward to reading this book. I didn't expect it to be this interesting. Not only does Shukla share the history of climate science and the strides the field of meteorology has made over the last several decades, but I learned a lot about Indian culture too. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A moving and informative reflection on a life lived in pursuit of an understanding of climate change and the impact it has on the world and each person in it. I loved the sense of humanity the author brought to such a macro issue, including his background and family struggles in the story of his journey to bring light to problem of predicting, seeing and believing the effects of global warming on the earth. This is a must read for anyone interested in the fight for climate justice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory by Dr. Jagadish Shukla, is part history, part memoir, and climate science nonfiction. Shukla seamlessly weaves in the science and history of climate science and his life story, and the reader gets some information on Indian culture as well. The science is accessible for a layperson such as me, and provides engaging explanations for such concepts as “The Butterfly Effect.”

I had the opportunity to read the book and listen to the audiobook side by side. The narration by Shahjehan Khan, provides an seamless, flawless and engaging experience, making the science and history as consumable, as the life story, coming from modest means to becoming a highly respected activist and scientist.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and read the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Book Rating: 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 22 2025

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Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Part memoir and part traditional non-fiction, this book was quite intriguing. I especially enjoyed the memoir portions that told about the life journey of Dr. Shukla, and how he weighed his decisions in life. Also, how he transformed from a meager village boy to a scientist helping others. The scientific jargon is sometimes a technical, but in the end ties into the overall story making it my opinion necessary to the story. One part that sticks out in my brain is the story of the origin of the butterfly effect. I enjoyed this book and would recommend to those who are interested in climate change, science and memoirs in general.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an audio ARC of this book!

I appreciated how much I learned from this excellent blend of memoir, history, and science. I now have a better understanding of weather, climate, the forces that are attacking climate scientists, and the bigger picture of what it all means. I loved the idea shared toward the end:

"Meteorology represents our species' longest and most concerted effort to take care of one another."

What a beautiful way of looking at it!

This was an interesting mix of memoir and history of meteorological/climate science. Dr. Shukla has been a witness and participant of many of the major developments in modern climate science. I appreciated how his personal background in India shaped his interest in the topic. He has been very focused on practical predictive applications to the science, which was very interesting to read about. The audiobook narrator, Shahjehan Khan, did a great job of telling this story and made the intricacies of the science easy to follow. I would recommend this to anyone interested in scientific history and multicultural memoirs.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing an eALC in return for my honest thoughts.

This is a timely read (listen) and quite intriguing. I loved the audio narrator and the author's way of making nature and non-fiction feel immersive and interesting. The memoir + science combination was very well done. It feels like a book along the same lines as Robin Wall Kimmerer's non-fiction, which the world absolutely needs more of.

I've been trying to read outside of the life sciences a bit more. With a title that includes butterflies, you might think this book is about entomology, but it is about climate science. In particular, it is about meteorology and predicting the weather.

I hadn't really given much thought to the history of weather prediction. I rather take for granted that we can predict what the weather will likely be next week though that wasn't always the case. There was a time when predicting tomorrow's weather was virtually impossible.

This book is just as much about the life of Jagadish Shukla as it is about climate science. He was born in India in the 1940s. He is from a very poor village and has led a remarkable life. He became a scientist when so many scientific breakthroughs occurred.

In addition to learning about science, I learned a lot about Indian and Indian culture. Some I was aware of through reading and some I've learned from my Indian colleagues but there was still so much I didn't know or hadn't fully comprehended. The cultural information was just as fascinating as the science.

I found the science very accessible. He didn't get into too much jargon or technical details. He had amusing stories about his school years and training.

You might be wondering why the title is A Billion Butterflies if it isn't about insects. Have you heard of the butterfly effect? It is the thought that the tiny flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a major disturbance further down the line. Shukla sees many of the events in his life as a result of tiny flaps of butterfly wings.

I listened to the audiobook and Shahjehan Khan did an excellent job with the narration. It was easy to follow and a real joy to listen to.

There is so much about this book that will appeal to many people. Whether you are interested in history or science or other cultures, this book has it all.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/04/two-new-memoirs-with-science-theme.html

This was an interesting book with an important message, but I was left wondering exactly who the target audience is. I very much enjoyed the memoir aspect of the book, as I know little about the scientific community and even less about what it must be like growing up in rural India, or even returning to participate in the family customs after having lived in the US for decades. I also enjoyed learning more about climate change and what causes it, though a fair portion of the book was too technical for me, so I retained virtually none of those details--which brings me back to the question of who the perfect reader for this work is, because it seems like it would be too basic for someone well versed in meteorology or climatology. Despite the too-technical aspect, I got enough out of the book--learning a bit about a different culture, about Dr Shukla himself, his struggles between trying to make the world better for humankind while sacrificing family time, about Dr Shukla's mentors (none of which, as a layperson, I'd heard of)--that I found it a worthwhile read. Like his students, though, I wanted more information about what we can do to help, short of writing letters to our legislators.

Wow! This was incredible: the story of a boy from a small village (so small it didn't have roads!) who grew up to be a world-renowned climate scientist, driven by his desire to predict monsoons to make life in his village better.

Dr. Shukla has an inspiring story, and I learned a lot about his life, the history of weather prediction, and what it was like being in the midst of climate change controversy. He owns the mistakes he made and regrets he has, which I appreciated. This book is well-paced too, and I was engaged the whole way through.

This is an enthusiastic five stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio!

Born in rural India, Dr. Jagadish Shukla rose to prominence as a leading climate scientist. This inspiring and informative memoir is mostly about his groundbreaking work, which revolutionized weather forecasting—enabling better predictions and saving countless lives. Beautifully written, the memoir is fascinating, compelling, and a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

✨Review - A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory by Dr Jagadish Shukla

Happy Memoir Monday!

This book releases April 22, and when it does everyone who is a lover of memoirs or popular science books should check it out. This is the story of Dr. Shukla, who was raised in a small village in Northern India and went on to become one of the world’s leading climate scientists.

His is a story of rags to riches, of chance meetings and hard work, of overcoming incredible odds and cultural barriers, of embracing life in all its complexities.

As someone who studied atmospheric science in university, I was fascinated by the descriptions of the climate science research. But it was the personal, cultural experiences that made this memoir something truly special.

A huge thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for an advanced audio copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

This is a fascinating memoir of Dr. Jagadish Shukula, without whom, modern weather forecasting would not be possible. His upbringing in India with The tumultuous weather in his native India had him bear witness to the destruction that is brought to bear when weather events arrive with no warning, After attending the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, he was eventually led to MIT and Princeton, His work earned him a shared Nobel Peace Prize. Most importantly he has earned debt of all inhabitants of this planet who rely on his science to grow crops, give early wanting for evacuations or, on the less extreme side, know if we need to grab our umbrella s we head out the door. An incredible man whose life should be known and shared.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fantastic look at how we have the weather prediction systems we have today, and the journey it took for us to get them. Great listen for anyone with an interest in science!

“Climate prediction is powerful, climate prediction in developing countries saves lives”

“The best response to climate anxiety, is climate action”

At its heart, this is about Dr. Jagadesh Shukla’s work in developing accurate weather and climate predictions. It reads as half memoir and half traditional nonfiction.

I ended up dinging it 1 star because I found the exploration of Dr. Shukla’s early life felt a bit out of place in the first bit of the book. I don’t mean to downplay the hurdles he endured- the detail on his early life in India just wasn’t what I was expecting. There are also a few details of his personal life that frustrated me a bit. They weren’t the focus of the book, and I recognize that some of what bugged me was cultural norms that I’ll never fully understand- but since he included the details his past marriages and children, I feel the need to mention in my review that some of that did irk me.

Aaaaaanyways- onto what I liked!

The climate is something I care about lot about, but admittedly, don’t understand as much as I’d like. This packed a lot of info on how we are able to predict basic weather forecasting, and long term climate models. Personally I found it really cool to learn about how forecasting has served as a public good (allowing people to be proactive rather than reactive to extreme weather events) and understand some of the “tools” we have better- and it’s incredibly encouraging to know that there are scientists out there doing a lot of work on understanding and coming up with ways to adapt, and respond to climate change.

The book ends on an incredibly hopeful note- we have the people, we have the tools- now we just need to clear the hurdle of getting people to listen, which Dr. Shukla postulates will happen as younger people begin to take on the leadership of companies and governments.

Overall, if you’re interested I’d recommend this (the narration is quite good too!), just be mindful that the first 15-20% isn’t as focused on the climate science as you might hope.

This was an easy to digest account of Shukla’s career and how some modern weather/climate prediction systems work. I think I might be more used to memoirs that get a bit more emotional and parts of the book felt like a resume flourished with anecdotes. I did find the bits about climate prediction and how it was developed really interesting.

From a pure narration stand point Shahjehan Khan’s narration flowed well and was easy to listen to. That being said, given the age of the author, Khan’s youth clashed a bit with what I found to be the intended aim.