About this title: The Earth's climate has always been in flux: glacial periods and warm ones have slowly and relentlessly alternated for millennia. But the period of global warming of the last 15,000 years is without precedent, and it set the conditions which enabled civilization to arise. It is our 'long summer'. From the almost unimaginably hostile climate of the ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Granta Books 2005. Good clean reading copy. Text clean. Spine hinges creased. Some handling wear to page edges. Corners and cover edges scuffed. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: Good. May or may not contain CDs, Access Codes, or Online Registration Codes. May contain highlighting, underlining or written sidenotes. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: GRANTA BOOKS
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781862077515ISBN:1862077517
Description: Published by Granta Books in 2005. Paperback. Number of pages: 320. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. Ex-library book (usual stamps and marks). Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: Very Good. 0465022820. Cover has only a hint of corner scuff, a small mystery stain near bottom corner & on closed page edges, otherwise cover & text unmarked & very clean.; 0.87 x 7.95 x 5.28 Inches; 304 pages. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Granta Books
Date Published: 27/05/2004
ISBN-13:9781862076440ISBN:1862076448
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Perseus Books Group
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: New. From the author of "The Little Ice Age, " a wide-ranging and surprising look at how climate changes have affected the whole of human history. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: New York, New York, U.S.A. : Basic Books
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022816ISBN:0465022812
Description: Fine in Fair jacket. First edition, hardcover, fine condition. Remainder marks and bottom and top edges. Dust jacket in fair condition, sizeable tear and bumping on back. read more
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Slight edge wear to cover, book near fine, pages clear and unmarked. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 304 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Perseus Books Group
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: New. The anthropologist-author of The Little Ice Age analyzes the seminal impact of climatic change on the evolution of all of human history over the course of the last fifteen thousand years since the last Ice Age. Reprint. 30, 000 first printing. read more
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
"Historically Earth has been much cooler than it has been for the last 15,000 years, according to Fagan we're overdue for a cooling cycle and nearing the end of this "Long Summer". Interesting to consider how for the first time in this cycle man has the ability to alter the climate - how does global warming affect this, if at all. No answers here in this book, but a worthwhile read certainly."
"Interesting and thought-provoking. The basic thesis is that climate has hugely affected, and driven, changes in human development and civilization, from the development of agriculture and herding to the rise and fall of Rome. A subthesis is that human societies have steadily taken steps to reduce short-term risks that make them more vulnerable in the long run (to bigger risks).
The book is a fascinating tour of climate shifts of the past twelve millenia, plus suppositions (backed up by research) on how these climate shifts affected various human societies. Fagan makes an excellent case for his primary thesis, but I think his secondary thesis is still a bit dubious: more realistically, he makes the unsurprising observation that improved food technology leads to an increase in mouths until the carrying capacity of the land is reached and disaster is always a step away.
Two things that I got out of this are:
1. Climate shifts can be mitigated with technology, if you plan for it. An example is the steps the ancient Egyptians took after catastrophic droughts ended the Old Kingdom, and which served them well through later long-term droughts.
2. Climate shifts can be much, much larger than anything we expect. This was particularly acute in ancient human societies with limited generational memory, but is still true even today, as we learn that the "historical climate" of the American West was in fact anomalously stable and wet compared to the long term."
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