Studies the relationship between the environment and human history. This book examines world civilizations from Sumeria to ancient Egypt, from Easter Island to the Roman Empire and it argues that human beings have repeatedly built societies that have grown and prospered by exploiting the Earth's res[...]

Starting from the assumption that the human story has to be seen in the round, this history examines the evolution of humans, their lives as hunters and gatherers and their eventual adoption of agriculture, before looking at the emergence of civilization across the globe.[...]