The Surge - Jeevan Vasagar on How We Can Protect Ourselves From A World of Floods.

Join us online at 6.30pm on 15th September as the author gives a lecture on the subject of his most recent book. Free, but please register to attend below.

An introduction from author, activist and Guild Companion Michelle Lovric: I urge all Companions to attend this talk if they can. I think this book is so important to our cause as a community that lives by Ruskin’s teachings on the environment. Jeevan’s writing has two clear messages. One is … that we didn’t listen to what was already known in the 1930s: that our addiction to the combustion engine would cause global warming that would melt the ice. As we didn’t deal with emissions … now we shall have to deal with water. And water, as Nepal has just shown, can devastate us. The other message is about how we deal with the surge that is coming for us. Walls do not keep water out. Nature-based solutions exist and are effective, but they can involve a sacrifice of expensive land. It is a sacrifice that we must make. Jeevan’s book could not be more topical. It combines an examination of what has gone wrong with at least an element of hope. But, for hope to be enacted, we must be educated. So please do listen to what Jeevan has to say on September 15th.

Jeevan Vasagar is the author of THE SURGE, about floods and how they have shaped humanity, which was published by HarperCollins in 2026.

His first book LION CITY, about Singapore, was published by Little, Brown in 2021. He is an editor at The Observer, where his work focuses on the environment and climate change. He is a former Singapore correspondent for the Financial Times, where he covered flows of illicit money, a dynastic feud in the ruling family and why Singapore's children are so good at maths.

Before joining the FT, he was a reporter for the Guardian, including stints as education editor and Nairobi correspondent.

PLEASE REGISTER TO ATTEND

To confirm your wish to attend this free talk, and to receive the zoom link into your inbox, please email us HERE (communications@guildofstgeorge.org.uk).

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7070805610?omn=82846901802

READ THE BOOK IN ADVANCE

We warmly encourage anyone planning to attend this talk to read Jeevan's book in advance. Here is the Bookshop.org link  for THE SURGE but it's available on all platforms including Amazon and Waterstones.