The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300–1850
About this audiobook
The Little Ice Age tells the story of the turbulent, unpredictable, and often very cold years of modern European history, how climate altered historical events, and what they mean in the context of today’s global warming.
Only in the last decade have climatologists developed an accurate picture of yearly climate conditions in historical times. This development confirmed a long-standing suspicion: that the world endured a 500-year cold snap, a little ice age, that lasted roughly from AD 1300 until 1850.
With its basis in cutting-edge science, The Little Ice Age offers a new perspective on familiar events. Renowned archaeologist Brian Fagan shows how the increasing cold affected Norse exploration; how changing sea temperatures caused English and Basque fishermen to follow vast shoals of cod all the way to the New World; how a generations-long subsistence crisis in France contributed to social disintegration and ultimately revolution; and how English efforts to improve farm productivity in the face of a deteriorating climate helped pave the way for the Industrial Revolution and hence for global warming.
This is a fascinating, original book for anyone interested in history, climate, or the new subject of how they interact.
About the author
Brian Fagan was born in England, did fieldwork in Africa, and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Fish on Friday, The Little Ice Age, The Long Summer, and the New York Times bestseller The Great Warming.
As the middle of six children, Michael Langan quickly carved out his space in the group; he was the storyteller. Out in the real world, he would gravitate to office and administration roles until he quit his job in 2020, deciding to become a full-time voice-over artist and a background artist in film and television productions. When he's not on set, in his home studio, or being forcibly dragged across rugby fields by his dog Oisin, he can be found in his kitchen, setting off the fire alarm on a regular basis with his attempts at cooking and baking.
