Fagan, Brian. The little ice age; how climate made history, 1300-1850.Perseus, Basic Books. 248p. maps. graphs. notes. index. c2000. 0-465-02272-3. $16.00. SA In this account of how climate affected history, Brian Fagan catalogues the "endless zigzags of climatic shifts, few lasting more than a quarter century." These shifts are followed from the medieval era through the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, the Enlightenment Enlightenment, term applied to the mainstream of thought of 18th-century Europe and America. Background and Basic Tenets The scientific and intellectual developments of the 17th cent. , the French and Industrial Revolutions, and into modern Europe. The book is divided into four parts: The Medieval Warm Period Medieval Warm Period n. The period from about 1000 to 1400 in which global temperatures are thought to have been a few degrees warmer than those of the preceding and following periods. , A.D. 900 to 1200; Part Two, Cooling Begins; Part Three, The End of the Full World, 15th and 16th Centuries; and Part Four, The Modern Warm Period, The lessons Fagan draws from his study are twofold: first, that climate change comes in sudden shifts; and second, that climate influences human life. Numerous charts, graphs, and maps accompany the text, which is full of climatic, agricultural, political, medical and military facts. We follow the Norse as they search for fish in the frozen Atlantic. Lief Erickson and his band visit Newfoundland Newfoundland, breed of dog Newfoundland, breed of massive, powerful working dog developed in Newfoundland, probably in the 17th cent., and later perfected in England. It stands from 25 to 28 in. (63.5–71. . Europe is a feudal feu·dal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of feudalism. 2. Of or relating to lands held in fee or to the holding of such lands. feu state, rural, and affected by shifts in weather. However, the 14th century saw famine famine Extreme and protracted shortage of food, resulting in widespread hunger and a substantial increase in the death rate. General famines affect all classes or groups in the region of food shortage; class famines affect some classes or groups much more severely than and flood, and starting in about 1310, a cooling, a "little ice age." Fagan brings the reader up the present day with serious doubts about humanity's ability to adapt to severe climatic changes Climatic Change is a journal published by Springer.[1] Climatic Change is dedicated to the totality of the problem of climatic variability and change - its descriptions, causes, implications and interactions among these. . The volume is fascinating reading and leaves the reader with questions. Recommended for serious students of history and science. Janet Julian, former English Teacher, Grafton H.S., Grafton, MA |
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