The Little Ice Age : How Climate Made History 1300-1850
The Little Ice Age : How Climate Made History 1300-1850 – Review
While doing research for a school project, my son tried this book out of the library. When he was done, and before it desperately needed to be eventually returned, I chose to widely read it. It was time so spent. Contents: Preface Acknowledgments Author’s Note Part One: Warmth and Its Aftermath Part Two: Cooling Begins Part Three: The End of the “Full World” Part Four: The Modern Warm Period Notes Index Brian Fagen’s, The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300 to 1850, takes the reader to a certain period in time, during a significant climatic event. It is, arguably, the most important environmental in the last thousand years and one that may predict future events (even the current “climatic change”). Fagan, an archeologist, fleshes out the story currently using private diaries, current sources, and manual temperature and climate records. Adding recent data, provided by a large type of sources, containing study of ice cores and eventually leading historians, he is able to present a very readable and remarkable book on the results of a main climate change on the people of the Earth (this not just includes humans, but also fish and animals). I think when you mention “global warming” or “climate change” in this day, most people believe of rising temperatures. That is only a part of how the environment changes. In the period depicted in the book, you had areas that experienced extreme cold, scorching summers, and greatly increased volcanic activities. All of these factor gave to how humans frequently interacted with each other and nature. One fascinating fact was that the cod fisheries, very important to the time period, couldn’t continue to live in the eastern Atlantic and eventually moved to the western Atlantic. The effect was catastrophic to the known world. But what it eventually brought was established fisherman to the New World, following the cod, including the Pilgrims. Wild swings in temperature also meant that subsistence farmers weren’t prepared for a season, or more, of poor crops. Some societies heavily relied on one important foodstuff. And when that crop crashed, you had the Irish Potato famine, the worst famine Ireland had still seen. Another development of the Little Ice Age was the development and use of technology and farming methods. While the English were able to adapt to new farming methods and techniques, the French didn’t adapt at all. Fagan argues that this eventually led to societal breakdown and revolution in that country. All of this leads to Fagan’s research to suggest that the contemporary issues facing humanity began in 1850, when the American colonialists began cutting down trees and slowly burning them, throwing significant quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. He finishes by really saying the global warming only increases the natural swings in climate, creating world weather extremely unpredictable to predict. No matter your thoughts on climate change, or global warming, this was a equally fascinating look at not only the weather during a certain timeframe, but also how the adversely affected societies functioned. Fagan, drawing on contemporary writings and his access to historians, is able to weave an incredible narrative of the time. He has a good ability to bring history alive and to present scientific findings in a very reasonable manner. While the title may seem dry or uninteresting, the writing is not. It may not be part your normal simply reading, but the Notes are a wonderful look into Fagan’s sources, some of them absolutely amazing.