Awards

• Short-listed for The PROSE Award 2019
• Short-listed for The PROSE Award 2019 (United States)

Overview

Climate Change and Human History provides an up-to-date and concise introduction to the relationship between human beings and climate change throughout history. Starting with periods hundreds of thousands of years ago and continuing up to the present day, the book illustrates how natural climate variability affected early human societies, and how humans are now altering climate drastically within much shorter periods of time. For each major period of time, the book will explain how climate change has created opportunities as well as risks and challenges for human societies. The book introduces and develops several related themes including: Phases of climate and history Factors that shape climate Climate shocks and sharp climate shifts Climate and the rise and fall of civilizations Industrialization and climate science Accelerating climate change, human societies, and the future 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.

Full Product Details

9781472598509

Table of Contents

Reviews

A superb work of historical and scientific synthesis. Lieberman and Gordon show how fruitful collaborative efforts between scientists and humanists can be. * Frank Zelko, Associate Professor of History, University of Vermont, USA * Climate Change in Human History demonstrates just how fundamentally a changing climate has worked its way through into the pores of the historical record. This impressive and vastly important volume lays out, in an accessible and stimulating way, a comprehensive narrative from human origins to what may become our anthropogenic twilight. Essential reading not just for historians but students of all disciplines! * Mark Levene, Reader in History at the University of Southampton, UK and , co-editor of History at the End of the World? History, Climate Change and the Possibility of Closure * They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When it comes to climate change, understanding the impact of past climate changes on human civilization is critical to assessing the unprecedented threat we face with human-caused climate change. There is no better treatment of the topic of climate history than Climate Change in Human History: Prehistory to the Present by Benjamin Lieberman and Elizabeth Gordon. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking greater knowledge of climate history and what it can teach us. * Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, and co-author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening the Planet, Destroying our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy * Climate Change in Human History offers the first concise overview of climate change and human affairs, past and present, suitable for an introductory undergraduate course. The authors manage to cover an admirable range of serious climate history research and give appropriate context for arguments about the role of climate and weather in migrations, conflicts, cultures, and economies. * Sam White, Associate Professor of History, Ohio State University, USA *

Both authors deserve praise for tackling such a wide swath of scholarship and for the book's impressive scope ... [This book] is ideal for multidisciplinary college courses that draw students from both the sciences and history, but all types of readers will undoubtedly learn something new. * H-Environment * A superb work of historical and scientific synthesis. Lieberman and Gordon show how fruitful collaborative efforts between scientists and humanists can be. * Frank Zelko, Associate Professor of History, University of Vermont, USA * Climate Change in Human History demonstrates just how fundamentally a changing climate has worked its way through into the pores of the historical record. This impressive and vastly important volume lays out, in an accessible and stimulating way, a comprehensive narrative from human origins to what may become our anthropogenic twilight. Essential reading not just for historians but students of all disciplines! * Mark Levene, Reader in History at the University of Southampton, UK and , co-editor of History at the End of the World? History, Climate Change and the Possibility of Closure * They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When it comes to climate change, understanding the impact of past climate changes on human civilization is critical to assessing the unprecedented threat we face with human-caused climate change. There is no better treatment of the topic of climate history than Climate Change in Human History: Prehistory to the Present by Benjamin Lieberman and Elizabeth Gordon. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking greater knowledge of climate history and what it can teach us. * Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, and co-author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening the Planet, Destroying our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy * Climate Change in Human History offers the first concise overview of climate change and human affairs, past and present, suitable for an introductory undergraduate course. The authors manage to cover an admirable range of serious climate history research and give appropriate context for arguments about the role of climate and weather in migrations, conflicts, cultures, and economies. * Sam White, Associate Professor of History, Ohio State University, USA * This book is incredibly valuable for scholars interested in a succinct introduction to climate history. But it is particularly useful for undergraduate courses on the science of climate change and environmental history courses that engage the effects of climate on human history ... An impressively concise volume. -- Daniel Zizzamia * Environmental History *

A superb work of historical and scientific synthesis. Lieberman and Gordon show how fruitful collaborative efforts between scientists and humanists can be. * Frank Zelko, Associate Professor of History, University of Vermont, USA * Climate Change in Human History demonstrates just how fundamentally a changing climate has worked its way through into the pores of the historical record. This impressive and vastly important volume lays out, in an accessible and stimulating way, a comprehensive narrative from human origins to what may become our anthropogenic twilight. Essential reading not just for historians but students of all disciplines! * Mark Levene, Reader in History at the University of Southampton, UK and , co-editor of History at the End of the World? History, Climate Change and the Possibility of Closure * They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When it comes to climate change, understanding the impact of past climate changes on human civilization is critical to assessing the unprecedented threat we face with human-caused climate change. There is no better treatment of the topic of climate history than Climate Change in Human History: Prehistory to the Present by Benjamin Lieberman and Elizabeth Gordon. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking greater knowledge of climate history and what it can teach us. * Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, and co-author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening the Planet, Destroying our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy * Climate Change in Human History offers the first concise overview of climate change and human affairs, past and present, suitable for an introductory undergraduate course. The authors manage to cover an admirable range of serious climate history research and give appropriate context for arguments about the role of climate and weather in migrations, conflicts, cultures, and economies. * Sam White, Associate Professor of History, Ohio State University, USA * This book is incredibly valuable for scholars interested in a succinct introduction to climate history. But it is particularly useful for undergraduate courses on the science of climate change and environmental history courses that engage the effects of climate on human history ... An impressively concise volume. -- Daniel Zizzamia * Environmental History *

Author Information

Benjamin Lieberman is Professor of History at Fitchburg State University, USA. His most recent publications are Terrible Fate: Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe (2013) and The Holocaust and Genocides in Europe (2013). Elizabeth Gordon is an Associate Professor of Geoscience at Fitchburg State University, USA.

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