The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
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Overview
In this New York Times bestseller, Brian Fagan shows how climate transformed-and sometimes destroyed--human societies during the earth’s last global warming phase.
From the 10th to 15th centuries the earth experienced a rise in surface temperature that changed climate worldwide-a preview of today’s global warming. In some areas, including much of Western Europe, longer summers brought bountiful crops and population growth that led to cultural flowering. In others, drought shook long-established societies, such as the Maya and the Indians of the American Southwest, whose monumental buildings were left deserted as elaborate social structures collapsed. Brian Fagan examines how subtle changes in the environment had far-reaching effects on human life, in a narrative that sweeps from the Arctic ice cap to the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. The lessons of history suggest we may be yet be underestimating the power of climate change to disrupt our lives today.
In this New York Times bestseller, Brian Fagan shows how climate transformed-and sometimes destroyed-- human societies during the earth’s last global warming phase.
HARDCOVER BESTSELLER: The hardcover was featured on the Daily Show, reviewed widely, made the NYT bestseller list, and established Brian Fagan as a go-to expert for media.
HISTORICAL ANGLE ON GLOBAL WARMING: This is NOT another “sky is falling” book, but a history, showing how environment affects civilization-will appeal to readers of Jared Diamond
THE OVERLOOKED PERIL OF WARMING: History shows that drought, not rising sea levels, is potentially the greatest threat to human life and civilization.
HISTORY PLUS SCIENCE: Combines vivid historical narratives with fascinating explanations of how scientists reconstruct the environment of centuries past.
"In his ability to bring nature into our global, historical narratives, Fagan rivals Alfred Crosby, William H. McNeill, and Jared Diamond, scholars who revealed to large audiences the explanatory power of microscopic biota or gross geography. Fagan promises to do the same for longterm climate dynamics...We would be fools to ignore his warnings." - American Scholar
[A] fascinating account of shifting climatic conditions and their consequences.
Fagan is a great guide. His canvas may be smaller than Jared Diamond’s Collapse, but Fagan’s eye for detail and narrative skills are better.
The Great Warming is a thought-provoking read, which marshals a remarkable range of learning.
An alarm bell ringing out from a distant time.
Fagan’s expertise wears easily in a fine popular treatment relevant to contemporary debate about climate.
- Title: The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
- Author: Brian Fagan
- Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
- Print Publication Date: 2010
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 304
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781596917804, 9781596916012, 159691601X, 1596917806
- Resource ID: LLS:9781596917804
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T15:24:12Z
Brian Fagan was born in England and spent several years doing fieldwork in Africa. He is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of many books including Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting, and the Discovery of the New World, and several books on climate history, including The Little Ice Age and The Long Summer.