The Hockey Stick achieved prominence in a 2001 UN report on climate change and quickly became a central icon in the ¿climate wars.¿ The real issue has never been the graph¿s data but rather its implied threat to those who oppose governmental regulation and other restraints to protect the environment and planet. Mann, lead author of the original paper in which the Hockey Stick first appeared, shares the story of the science and politics behind this controversy. He reveals key figures in the oil and energy industries and the media front groups who do their bidding in sometimes slick, sometimes bare-knuckled ways. Mann concludes with the real story of the 2009 ¿Climategate¿ scandal, in which climate scientists¿ emails were hacked. This is essential reading for all who care about our planet¿s health and our own well-being.