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Climate Change in Human History: Prehistory to the Present
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.
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.
334 pages, Hardcover
Published January 13, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 15, 2024
Traditional narrative of global human history, with frequent references to the climatic context and the impact of climate change. Lieberman and Gordon provide a rather dense and somewhat dry text, and the focus is very much on the material aspects of human evolution rather than the cultural ones. Climate science is relatively young, and the study of past climate is still full of gaps and uncertainties; as a result, this book often is highly speculative and vaguely general at the same time, which at times is quite frustrating. Fortunately, Lieberman and Gordon are not 'climate determinists' and frequently emphasize that climate is only one of the factors that influences human history. More in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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August 15, 2024Climate science is still relatively young and our knowledge of past climate in particular still is full of uncertainties and gaps. This makes it very risky to tell a coherent story about the influence of climate and climate change on human history. Lieberman and Gordon, both professors at Fitchburg State University (Massachusetts), dare to do so anyway. Fortunately, they do it with the necessary caution: “Climate change has influenced human history in many fundamental ways, but it is also important to keep in mind that climate has interacted with other factors in affecting history. Thus we should focus closely on the effects of climate, but we do not presume that any shift in climate has determined a particular historical outcome without interacting with other causes.”
This warning is appropriate, because a few years earlier (2014), John L. Brooke had been guilty of far-reaching “climate determinism” in his Climate Change and the Course of Global History: A Rough Journey: according to Brooke, almost every important development in human history was a response to a preceding change in the climate. Lieberman and Gordon do not make that mistake. They always point to multiple (multi-causal) elements that explain human development, and also regularly present alternative theories. That makes their text sometimes very dense, dry and occasionally a bit frustrating. For example, they keep it general when writing about the end of the Roman Empire and the Chinese Han dynasty: “with so many possible causes of decline, it is difficult to conclude that climate change determined the fate of either the Roman Empire or of the Han dynasty, but climate research has yielded evidence that climate shifts contributed to the struggles of both empires.” Quite vague, but at least that is more scientifically correct than many catastrophe theories.
Another positive aspect of this book is that the authors are not only focused on negative developments (the collapse of civilizations and cultures after a period of cooling, for example), but also on the positive reaction that this provokes. In this way, they fit in perfectly with the tendency in historical research to focus not only on ‘collapse’, but especially on ‘resilience’. And then it turns out that human cultures have continuously adapted to changing natural conditions, and have used nature as an ally with great creativity and ingenuity. In doing so, the authors also go against the very negative view on the relationship between man and nature, like in Daniel Headrick's Humans versus Nature: A Global Environmental History, that I read before.
That does not prevent them from occasionally overdoing it, and falling into a lot of speculative reasoning. An issue that I am very sensitive to, for example, is the correct assessment of what is generally called the Little Ice Age (LIA), the cooling of the climate, roughly between the 14th and the 18th century. That Little Ice Age has become particularly popular in recent years, and is invoked at every opportunity to explain all kinds of phenomena in human history. Also in this Lieberman and Gordon generally are cautious. For instance, they relativize the term Ice Age (it only cooled down by 1 to 2 degrees) and stick to very general statements: “the LIA challenged many states and civilizations while in the end revealing the growing resilience of the most advanced complex societies”. But now and then they are guilty of speculation, such as when they attribute the crisis of the Ottoman Empire to the Little Ice Age. And what I am particularly annoyed about is the different dating they use in subsequent references to the LIA: 1300-1800, 1300-1850, 1400-1850 etc. Or also the mention of the severe crisis due to volcanic eruptions at the end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th century, which obviously lie outside the LIA.
Conclusion: Lieberman and Gordon offer an interesting first inventory of the possible influence of climate changes on human history. But at the same time it is clear to me that historical climate science still has a long way to go.
This warning is appropriate, because a few years earlier (2014), John L. Brooke had been guilty of far-reaching “climate determinism” in his Climate Change and the Course of Global History: A Rough Journey: according to Brooke, almost every important development in human history was a response to a preceding change in the climate. Lieberman and Gordon do not make that mistake. They always point to multiple (multi-causal) elements that explain human development, and also regularly present alternative theories. That makes their text sometimes very dense, dry and occasionally a bit frustrating. For example, they keep it general when writing about the end of the Roman Empire and the Chinese Han dynasty: “with so many possible causes of decline, it is difficult to conclude that climate change determined the fate of either the Roman Empire or of the Han dynasty, but climate research has yielded evidence that climate shifts contributed to the struggles of both empires.” Quite vague, but at least that is more scientifically correct than many catastrophe theories.
Another positive aspect of this book is that the authors are not only focused on negative developments (the collapse of civilizations and cultures after a period of cooling, for example), but also on the positive reaction that this provokes. In this way, they fit in perfectly with the tendency in historical research to focus not only on ‘collapse’, but especially on ‘resilience’. And then it turns out that human cultures have continuously adapted to changing natural conditions, and have used nature as an ally with great creativity and ingenuity. In doing so, the authors also go against the very negative view on the relationship between man and nature, like in Daniel Headrick's Humans versus Nature: A Global Environmental History, that I read before.
That does not prevent them from occasionally overdoing it, and falling into a lot of speculative reasoning. An issue that I am very sensitive to, for example, is the correct assessment of what is generally called the Little Ice Age (LIA), the cooling of the climate, roughly between the 14th and the 18th century. That Little Ice Age has become particularly popular in recent years, and is invoked at every opportunity to explain all kinds of phenomena in human history. Also in this Lieberman and Gordon generally are cautious. For instance, they relativize the term Ice Age (it only cooled down by 1 to 2 degrees) and stick to very general statements: “the LIA challenged many states and civilizations while in the end revealing the growing resilience of the most advanced complex societies”. But now and then they are guilty of speculation, such as when they attribute the crisis of the Ottoman Empire to the Little Ice Age. And what I am particularly annoyed about is the different dating they use in subsequent references to the LIA: 1300-1800, 1300-1850, 1400-1850 etc. Or also the mention of the severe crisis due to volcanic eruptions at the end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th century, which obviously lie outside the LIA.
Conclusion: Lieberman and Gordon offer an interesting first inventory of the possible influence of climate changes on human history. But at the same time it is clear to me that historical climate science still has a long way to go.
October 4, 2019
An informative book, I learned quite a few things I was either not at all or only dimly aware of concerning the links between the evolution of human civilizations and climate fluctuations. It also contains extensive notes and references for follow-up reading should one wish.
It is not a page-turner however, and can be a bit of a slog to read through. The odd typo and inconsistency in units used didn't help matters.
Overall it was worth the time it took to read it for the information it provides, just don't expect a compelling read.
It is not a page-turner however, and can be a bit of a slog to read through. The odd typo and inconsistency in units used didn't help matters.
Overall it was worth the time it took to read it for the information it provides, just don't expect a compelling read.
August 6, 2023
This is a highly informative, comprehensive work on the history of our civilisation.
It's in line with other recent works on anthropology and refers to all regions of our planet.
Great work!
It's in line with other recent works on anthropology and refers to all regions of our planet.
Great work!
July 3, 2024
fine ig? i read it for class
May 31, 2023
In my opinion, the book is ok, but in the end, it contradicts everything that is said about ancient times.
It begins telling us climate change is a constant in the history of the planet. In pag 73 it states that we don't see it that way because our species lived during a "comparatively stable climate".
Although stable, we had a severe cold period that ended 150 years ago. And CURRENT world temperature is compared against the temperature in that period, the coldest in the last 10,000 year. This doesn't seem to be fair, to say the least.
Then it is said we can't be sure about the reasons why the Little Ice Age happened from XVI to XIX centuries. But it is assured that current warm period is caused my human activity. Temperatures are sure rising in the last 150 years. No questioning about that. But how can we be sure human activities are the major factor in the current climate fluctuations? Shouldn't temperatures be expected to naturally rise after a cold period? Could our activity be ONE OF THE FACTORS to affect climate instead of being the major one?
BTW, current temperatures are NOT the highest for the last 300,000 years or so. Around 6,000 BCE, there was a hotter period. When men were beginning to domesticate animals and establish themselves as agricultors. This is not said in this book.
All in all, it seems to me the entire book is written over the author's bias towards manmade climate changes.
It begins telling us climate change is a constant in the history of the planet. In pag 73 it states that we don't see it that way because our species lived during a "comparatively stable climate".
Although stable, we had a severe cold period that ended 150 years ago. And CURRENT world temperature is compared against the temperature in that period, the coldest in the last 10,000 year. This doesn't seem to be fair, to say the least.
Then it is said we can't be sure about the reasons why the Little Ice Age happened from XVI to XIX centuries. But it is assured that current warm period is caused my human activity. Temperatures are sure rising in the last 150 years. No questioning about that. But how can we be sure human activities are the major factor in the current climate fluctuations? Shouldn't temperatures be expected to naturally rise after a cold period? Could our activity be ONE OF THE FACTORS to affect climate instead of being the major one?
BTW, current temperatures are NOT the highest for the last 300,000 years or so. Around 6,000 BCE, there was a hotter period. When men were beginning to domesticate animals and establish themselves as agricultors. This is not said in this book.
All in all, it seems to me the entire book is written over the author's bias towards manmade climate changes.
July 31, 2022
Interesting content but a pretty heavy read
February 11, 2025
can’t wait for the updated volume where everyone dies bc of climate change
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April 12, 2019304.25 L7164 2018
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews