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List of contents
Glossary
Timeline
Introduction
1. A Fragile Start: Ice Ages
2. The Rise of Farming
3. Complex Societies
4. Climate and Civilizations of the Middle Ages
5. Little Ice Age and Regional Climate Change
6. Humans Take Over: Industrialization and Climate Change
7. The Future is Now: Climate Change and Human Societies in the 21st Century
8. Climate Change and Human Responses: Projections and Controversies
9. Declarations, Rebellions and Marches: The Climate Change Emergency
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Benjamin Lieberman is Professor of History at Fitchburg State University, Massachusetts, USA. His research interests include ethnic cleansing and genocide. He is the author of Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing and the Making of Modern Europe (2006).Elizabeth Gordon is Professor of Geoscience at Fitchburg State University, USA.
Summary
Climate Change and Human History provides a concise introduction to the relationship between human beings and climate change throughout history.
Starting hundreds of thousands of years ago and going up to the present day, this book illustrates how natural climate variability affected early human societies and how human activity is now leading to drastic changes to our climate. Taking a chronological approach the authors explain how climate change created opportunities and challenges for human societies in each major time period, covering themes such as phases of climate and history, climate shocks, the rise and fall of civilizations, industrialization, accelerating climate change and our future outlook.
This 2nd edition includes a new chapter on the explosion of social movements, protest groups and key individuals since 2017 and the implications this has had on the history of climate change, an improved introduction to the Anthropocene and extra content on the basic dynamics of the climate system alongside updated historiography. With more case studies, images and individuals throughout the text, the second edition also includes a glossary of terms and further reading to aid students in understanding this interdisciplinary subject.
An ideal companion for all students of environmental history, Climate Change and Human History clearly demonstrates the critical role of climate in shaping human history and of the experience of humans in both adapting to and shaping climate change.
Foreword
An overview of the interaction between climate and human society from prehistoric times to the present day, combining the latest findings from science and history.
Additional text
Climate Change and Human History remains easily the best introduction to this topic for students. Each chapter combines up-to-date climate science and apt historical interpretation with a global scope. The new edition brings the story up to the present, with a concise explanation of climate change impacts, adaptations, and policies. I recommend it to anyone seeking historical perspectives on our current crisis.
