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The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850
 
 
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The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850 [Paperback]

Brian M. Fagan (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850 + The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization + The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books (6 Dec 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0465022723
  • ISBN-13: 978-0465022724
  • Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 233,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Brian M. Fagan
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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

"Climate change is the ignored player on the historical stage," writes archeologist Brian Fagan. But it shouldn't be, not if we know what's good for us. We can't judge what future climate change will mean unless we know something about its effects in the past: "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". And Fagan's story of the last thousand years, centered on the "Little Ice Age," reminds us of what we could end up repeating: flood, fire, and famine--acts of God exacerbated by acts of man.

For all that he takes a broad--a very broad--view of European history, Fagan's writing is laced with human faces, fascinating anecdotes, and a gift for the telling detail that makes history live, very much in the style of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror. When Fagan talks about the voyages of Basque fishermen to American shores (probably landing before Columbus sailed), he puts in the taste of dried cod and the terrifying suddenness of fogs on the Grand Banks. The Great Fire of London, what it was like when the Dutch dikes broke, the Irish Potato Famine, the year without a summer, ice fairs on the Thames, and volcanoes in the South Pacific--Fagan makes history a ripping yarn in which we are all actors, on a stage that has always been changing. --Mary Ellen Curtin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[The Little Ice Age] could do for the historical study of climate what Michel Foucault's classic Madness and Civilization did for the historical study of mental illness: make it a respectable subject for scholarly inquiry." -Scientific American.
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First Sentence
The fog lies close to the oily, heaving water, swirling gently as a bitterly cold air wafts in from the north. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this fascinating book, Professor Fagan introduces something of a climactic history of Europe. The first chapter covers the Medieval Warm Period of 900 to 1300 AD, when Greenland supported a thriving dairy-producing economy, and when French vintners sought protection against the import of fine English wines! Also sprinkled through the book are references to a Mini-Ice Age that extended from 500 to 900 AD, and an earlier warm period extending from 100 to 400 AD.

The second chapter chronicles the traumatic ordeal that Europe experienced as the planet cooled and weather took on new, harsher patterns. The author then continues on to document the tribulations of Little Ice Age Europe, and the changes that the new environment spurred. In the final chapter, the end of the Little Ice Age is covered, along with the author's thoughts on Global Warming.

This book is absolutely fascinating. Most history books do not mention the climate, except as background. Professor Fagan, on the other hand, rightly shows how the climate can be a major factor. The book is easily read (and not academic in tone), and very informative.

I must admit that this book has changed some of my opinions on Global Warming, and given me a great deal to think about. I am fascinated by the apparent yo-yoing of global temperatures throughout history, and hope to find a book that looks at the subject over a longer timeframe. This is a great book, and I recommend it to everyone.

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By clairefromwales VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is extremely well written. The science is comprehensible, but doesn't seem to have been oversimplified. The analysis of the impact of climate changes on European history in the period is convincing. The inadequacies in much of the data is made clear and serves to illustrate the difficulties in drawing conclusions about a system as complex as the Earth's climate.

The descriptive passages of life in times past are particularly interesting, for instance the sections on Viking settlements in Iceland and Greenland and cod fishing.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in climate or those who want to expand their understanding of history by considering the impact of some of the more subtle, but overwhelmeing forces that shape human destiny.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Interesting read 14 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback
An interesting little book for the layman that actually pulls quite a punch when looking at the future of our warming globe, having drawn references from the past. In quite a short read Fagan draws together the dynamic forces of climate, politics, agriculture and the upheavals in society during those years covered in the book. The only drawbook are the, at times, woefully inadequate maps and diagrams.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A terrible disappointment
The Little Ice Age was recommended to me. I checked the reviews here... generally pretty good. So I bought it.
What a disappointment. This book is repetitive and dull. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Dr Jonathan H Berber
Historically interesting - my jury's still out on global warming
This is a most interesting book which I picked up quite by chance. It tells the story of the "Little Ice Age" where temperatures and climatic conditions were quite different... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keen Reader
Succinct and understandable
This is an excellent introduction to the past effects of climate change. As a practicising archaeologist it has started to provide a few answers for some of my research. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Mr. D. W. Hall
The missing dimension
Roughly speaking, the Little Ice Age lasted from 1300 through to around 1850. This fascinating little book looks at the consequences of that event, without being at all... Read more
Published on 15 July 2009 by Alan Lenton
Drought, discontent and decapitation
A few years ago historians proposing history was driven by climate aroused a squall of controversy. Global warming, so clearly impacted, if not driven, by humanity is leading to... Read more
Published on 7 May 2004 by Stephen A. Haines
Weather is important
This is a fascinating read on the Little Ice Age that gripped the world from 1200 to 1850 - particularly 1600 -1800- and how it affected history. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2002
A fascinating insight into Medieval climatic changes
This is in many ways a frustrating book. The subject matter is fascinating - the climatic changes of the last 1500 years and their effect on history. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2001 by Don Hallett (donski@cableinet.co.uk)
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