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Title details for The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan - Available

The Earth Transformed

An Untold History

by Peter Frankopan
Peter Frankopan
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A revolutionary new history that reveals how climate change has dramatically shaped the development—and demise—of civilizations across time
Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces today. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, and natural disasters escalate, our current environmental crisis feels difficult to predict and understand. But climate change and its effects on us are not new. In a bold narrative that spans centuries and continents, Peter Frankopan argues that nature has always played a fundamental role in the writing of history. From the fall of the Moche civilization in South America that came about because of the cyclical pressures of El Niño to volcanic eruptions in Iceland that affected Egypt and helped bring the Ottoman empire to its knees, climate change and its influences have always been with us. 
Frankopan explains how the Vikings emerged thanks to catastrophic crop failure, why the roots of regime change in eleventh-century Baghdad lay in the collapse of cotton prices resulting from unusual climate patterns, and why the western expansion of the frontiers in North America was directly affected by solar flare activity in the eighteenth century. Again and again, Frankopan shows that when past empires have failed to act sustainably, they have been met with catastrophe. Blending brilliant historical writing and cutting-edge scientific research, The Earth Transformed will radically reframe the way we look at the world and our future.
*Includes a downloadable PDF of historic maps and global charts from the book, as well as the written acknowledgements

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 18, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593740385
      • File size: 840622 KB
      • Duration: 29:11:17

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      With a cultured British accent and detached lecture style, Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University, outlines ways that climate change may have influenced human development and, conversely, the ways human development may have influenced and accelerated climate change. Frankopan cites extensive research demonstrating the reality of climate and environmental change, as well as the natural volatility of the planet--for example, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes--and how it has impacted events ranging from agricultural disasters to disease and political turmoil. He goes on to alert listeners to the dangers of continuing to degrade the environment. Sadly, Frankopan as narrator does not serve his long text well. A plodding cadence and unvaried tonal quality detract from what might otherwise be an engrossing listen. S.G. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2023

      Frankopan (global history, Oxford Univ.; The New Silk Roads) narrates his work examining how climate change has altered human history and how, in turn, people have dramatically contributed to it. As a narrator, Frankopan brings a sense of immediacy and intimacy to his carefully researched and timely work, transporting listeners through a sweeping history of climatic shifts and drawing connections to today's debate about anthropogenic climate change. Frankopan describes many instances where human history was altered by climate: Hitler's unsuccessful Operation Barbarossa, complicated by a brutal Russian winter; volcanic eruptions in the 530s and 540s CE, which ushered in a time of global cooling and political regime change; environmental disasters that brought down South America's Moche civilization in 700 CE. Some communities were able to adapt to changes, but others were decimated by inflexibility. VERDICT This thorough nonfiction title is recommended for those who have found works by Jared Diamond, Clive Ponting, or Brian Fagan to be enlightening. A hefty but significant addition to any library's collection on science, climatology, or history.--David Faucheux

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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