The Face of the Earth: Environment and World History: Environment and World History

By adopting the ecological process as their major theme, these essays show how the process of human interaction with the natural environment unfolded in the past, and offer perspectives on the ecological crises in our world at the beginning of the 21st century. Topics range from broad regional studies that examine important aspects of the global environment that affect nations, to a study of the widespread influence of one important individual on his nation and beyond. The contributors take different approaches, but all share a conviction that world history must take ecological process seriously, and they all recognize the ways in which the living and non-living systems of the earth have influenced the course of human affairs.