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 late Ice to the onset of 'Little Ice Age', which began in 1315 and lasted half a millennium, this book tells the remarkable story of how human history has been influenced by the planet's ever-changing climate. Brian Fagan deploys all the resources ...
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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: 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
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: Basic Books
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 2004-12-28
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780465022823. read more
Edition: First Edition, First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Basic Books; Perseus, New York
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780465022816ISBN:0465022812
Description: Very Good in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. xvii, 284 pp., illus., bib. notes, index; 24 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Remainder mark/tail edge. Dust jacket protected in a mylar book cover. "For more than a century we've known that much of human evolution occurred in an Ice Age. Starting about 15, 000 years ago, temperatures began to rise, the glaciers receded, and sea levels rose. The rise of human civilization and all of recorded history occurred in this warm period, known as the ... 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
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 12/24/2003
ISBN-13:9780465022816ISBN:0465022812
Description: New. FIRST EDITION (with all numbers). Hardback w/ DJ. Enjoyable reading copy for your personal pleasure. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 2004-12-28
ISBN-13:9780465022823ISBN:0465022820
Description: Good. Very clean from cover to cover. No highlighter, pen or pencil markings on the text. Binding is creased. Cover has minimal shelf wear. -Free Delivery Confirmation for Domestic orders- 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
"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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