Changing the Face of the Earth

This is a history of the impact of humankind on the natural environment from earliest times to the present. The first edition has been widely adopted in universities, acclaimed both for its wide scholarship and its author's readable style. The new edition is fully revised throughout and takes account of comments and suggestions received from all over the world. It has been restructured into a form appropriate for new methods of university teaching, the diagrams have been clarified, and references and sections of further reading provided at the end of each chapter. Revised edition of a widely-used textbook. More concise, more chapters, better adapted to course use. Revised further reading. Clearly-written, well-illustrated, popular with students.

Preface to the First Edition. Preface to the Second Edition. Acknowledgements. Units and References. 1. General Introduction. 2. Organizing Concepts. 3. Hunter-Gatherers. 4. The Development of Agriculture. 5. Advanced Solar Agriculture. 6. Industrialism: Energy after the Nineteenth Century. 7. Industrialisation: the Impact on Related Systems. 8. New Energies, New Thinking?. 9. Meditations. Index.