Trading profiles of Michael Mann and Stephen McIntyre, and managing somehow to be funny about the whole thing, Kate Sheppard over at Mother Jones has published a wonderful narrative of “ClimateGate” and the lessons learned. As someone who reviewed one of the leading books on the subject–Fred Pearce’s The Climate Files, which really loses you in the weeds–I urge you to read Kate’s story and have no such fear. Here’s how it starts off:

IT’S DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE how a guy who spends most of his time looking at endless columns of temperature records became a “fucking terrorist,” “killer,” or “one-world-government socialist.” It’s even harder when you meet Michael Mann, a balding 45-year-old climate scientist who speaks haltingly and has a habit of nervously clearing his throat. And when you realize that the reason for all the hostility is a 12-year-old chart, it seems more than a little surreal.

Read on here.