Download or read book Energy and Civilization written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.
Download or read book History written by Adam Hart-Davis and published by Dk Pub. This book was released on 2012 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronologically traces the course of human history and civilization from prehistoric times to the present day, covering key events, people, inventions and discoveries, and ideas and beliefs.
Download or read book Making Civilizations written by Hans-Joachim Gehrke and published by Belknap Press. This book was released on 2020-05-09 with total page 1120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the History of the World series, Making Civilizations traces the origins of large-scale organized human societies. Led by archaeologist Hans-Joachim Gehrke, a distinguished group of scholars lays out latest findings about Neanderthals, the Agrarian Revolution, the founding of imperial China, the world of Western classical antiquity, and more.
Download or read book History of Civilization in England written by Henry Thomas Buckle and published by . This book was released on 1861 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Walls written by David Frye and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society” (Library Journal)—walls—and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live. With esteemed historian David Frye as our raconteur-guide in Walls, which Publishers Weekly praises as “informative, relevant, and thought-provoking,” we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed—to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone, and with them effectively divide humanity: on one side were those the walls protected; on the other, those the walls kept out. The stars of this narrative are the walls themselves—rising up in places as ancient and exotic as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Greece, China, Rome, Mongolia, Afghanistan, the lower Mississippi, and even Central America. As we journey across time and place, we discover a hidden, thousand-mile-long wall in Asia's steppes; learn of bizarre Spartan rituals; watch Mongol chieftains lead their miles-long hordes; witness the epic siege of Constantinople; chill at the fate of French explorers; marvel at the folly of the Maginot Line; tense at the gathering crisis in Cold War Berlin; gape at Hollywood’s gated royalty; and contemplate the wall mania of our own era. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “provocative, well-written, and—with walls rising everywhere on the planet—timely,” Walls gradually reveals the startling ways that barriers have affected our psyches. The questions this book summons are both intriguing and profound: Did walls make civilization possible? And can we live without them? Find out in this masterpiece of historical recovery and preeminent storytelling.
Download or read book A Brief Natural History of Civilization written by Mark Bertness and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling evolutionary narrative that reveals how human civilization follows the same ecological rules that shape all life on Earth Offering a bold new understanding of who we are, where we came from, and where we are going, noted ecologist Mark Bertness argues that human beings and their civilization are the products of the same self-organization, evolutionary adaptation, and natural selection processes that have created all other life on Earth. Bertness follows the evolutionary process from the primordial soup of two billion years ago through today, exploring the ways opposing forces of competition and cooperation have led to current assemblages of people, animals, and plants. Bertness’s thoughtful examination of human history from the perspective of natural history provides new insights about why and how civilization developed as it has and explores how humans, as a species, might have to consciously overrule our evolutionary drivers to survive future challenges.
Download or read book The Rise of Civilization written by John Farndon and published by Hungry Tomato ®. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take an enthralling journey from the Stone Age onward, and see how our ancestors became great builders and rulers. They grew food, discovered metals, made tools, and invented writing. You will see a mighty civilization in Egypt, wise Chinese philosophy, Maya culture in Central America, the colossal Roman Empire, and much more. Illustrated maps let you compare what is happening across the globe at various moments in time. While the Santorini volcano was wiping out the Minoan civilization, flushing toilets were being invented in the Indus Valley (Pakistan). The Greeks held the earliest Olympic Games while the Zapotec built pyramids in Mexico. Find out where it all started!
Download or read book The Origins of Civilization written by Peter Roger Stuart Moorey and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1979 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays by leading scholars of archaeology and prehistory examines the emergence of permanent human settlements and the social, political, and religious ideas that may have accompanied this development. Two introductory lectures sketch the emergence of man and his development as hunter, farmer, and fisherman. Then, taking civilization in its most precise sense, separate essays review the evolution of urban societies in the Near East, Europe, China, and Mesoamerica. Final lectures address the role of religion in early human societies, and the development of writing in the Old World. This disinguished and highly accessible collection will appeal to both the specialist and the interested general reader.
Download or read book The Story of Civilization written by Will Durant and published by . This book was released on 1939 with total page 828 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pt. II: The life of Greece -- Pt. III: Caesar and Christ. -- Pt. VIII: The age of Louis XIV.
Download or read book History of Ancient Civilization written by Charles Seignobos and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A People s History of Civilization written by John Zerzan and published by Feral House. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American anarchist, primitivist philosopher, and author John Zerzan critiques agriculture-based civilization as inherently oppressive and advocates drawing upon the life of hunter-gatherers as an inspiration for what free society should look like. Subjects of his criticism include domestication, language, symbolic thought, and the concept of time. This book includes sixteen essays ranging from the beginning of civilization to today’s general crisis. Zerzan provides a critical perspective about civilization. A People’s History of Civilization includes chapters about: Patriarchy The City and its Inmates War Enters the Picture The Bronze Age The Axial Age The Crisis of Late Antiquity Revolt and Heresy Modernity Takes Charge Who Killed Ned Ludd Cultural Luddism Industrialism and Resistance Decadence WWI Civilization’s Pathological Endgame In recent years, John Zerzan, co-editor of Black and Green Review, has successfully toured Europe to speak from his primitivist perspective regarding contemporary civilization. Zerzan calls Eugene, Oregon
Download or read book Heroes of History written by Will Durant and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2012-01-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of his own bestselling masterpieces The Story of Civilization and The Lessons of History, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Will Durant traces the lives and ideas of those who have helped to define civilization, from its dawn to the beginning of the modern world. Heroes of History is a book of life-enhancing wisdom and optimism, complete with Durant's wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple, exciting terms. It is the lessons of our heritage passed on for the edification and benefit of future generations—a fitting legacy from America's most beloved historian and philosopher. Will Durant's popularity as America's favorite teacher of history and philosophy remains undiminished by time. His books are accessible to readers of every kind, and his unique ability to compress complicated ideas and events into a few pages without ever "talking down" to the reader, enhanced by his memorable wit and a razor-sharp judgment about men and their motives, made all of his books huge bestsellers. Heroes of History carries on this tradition of making scholarship and philosophy understandable to the general reader, and making them good reading, as well. At the dawn of a new millennium and the beginning of a new century, nothing could be more appropriate than this brilliant book that examines the meaning of human civilization and history and draws from the experience of the past the lessons we need to know to put the future into context and live in confidence, rather than fear and ignorance.
Download or read book Newton and the Origin of Civilization written by Jed Z. Buchwald and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals the manner in which Newton strove for nearly half a century to rectify universal history by reading ancient texts through the lens of astronomy, and to create a tight theoretical system for interpreting the evolution of civilization on the basis of population dynamics
Download or read book 1177 B C written by Eric H. Cline and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-22 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapse In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen? In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages," Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries. A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age—and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.
Download or read book The Story of Civilization Vol 4 The History of the United States One Nation Under God Activity Book written by Phillip Campbell and published by Tan Books. This book was released on 2019-06-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Activity Book provides a complete review of everything read in The Story of Civilization: The History of the United States, along with creative activities to accompany each chapter, including: * Reading comprehension questions * Narration Exercises * Map Activities * Coloring Pages * Crossword Puzzles and Word Searches * Craft Projects unique to each chapter * Fun Snack Ideas and Recipes * Science Projects that illustrate the lessons learned in the chapters These books provide a complete and creative overview to teacher and student alike, reaffirming the content found in The Story of Civilization.
Download or read book Five Epochs of Civilization written by William McGaughey and published by Thistlerose Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the idea that communication technologies are a primary shaping force of civilizations, "Five Epochs of Civilization" presents a new scheme of world history. It identifies five epochs of historical experience and associates each with a civilization focused on particular institutions. These are: -- Civilization I focused on government, ending in large political empires -- Civilization II focused on religion, ending in the three world religions -- Civilization III focused on commerce and education within the nation state -- Civilization IV focused on the media of news and entertainment -- Civilization V focused on the internet and beyond The communication technologies which triggered these changes in culture (and their approximate dates of introduction) include: ideographic writing (3100 B.C.), alphabetic writing (800 B.C.), printing (1450 A.D.), electronic recording and broadcasting (1920 A.D.), and computer networks (1990 A.D.). McGaughey includes separate narratives for each of the four civilizations that have appeared to date in a developed form plus 'imaginative and plausible speculations concerning a possible fifth, computer-based civilization'.
Download or read book The History of Civilization from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution written by François Guizot and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
