Floods, Famines, And Emperors: El Nino And The Fate Of Civilizations

went back and read this book looking for some unbiased opinions about the climate debate. Fagan was really being more cautious with science that was new in 1998 than giving any credence to "global warming" being something out of man's control. It was very interesting to see just how poignant an event in the South Pacific can be to the rest of the world. I came away, not believing anymore about the human cause of climate change, but believing more that mother nature is biding its time as we accumulate a mass of problems that will lead to what Fagan calls a "knockout punch." We are focused so much on carbon emissions, that we don't seem to notice the overpopulation, the misuse of land, the deforestation, bad economics, etc. These are the show more things that will make it difficult to survive an ENSO event.

I originally bought this book after reading a textbook written by Fagan for an archaeology class I took. He is a gifted writer and presents the facts in a straightforward fashion. He is also not afraid to call out people who embellish the facts. This was really a well rounded, well written book. show less

Odd ragbag with occasional lyrical passages. the title certainly does not fit. Very few floods and not an emperor in sight. El Niño gets a look in but not clear what it has to do with the collapse of Viking Greenland or the Indian famine. I suspect a title imposed by the marketing department.

Very interesting, very readable book.

Climate Archeology