A comprehensive look at the relationship between water and violence, and how we can move from conflict to cooperation and peace, by one of the world’s leading water expertsThe first major water war erupted around 2500 BCE, when the Sumerian city-states of Lagash and Umma fought for a century over irrigation canals from the Tigris River. A few thousand years later, both Athenians and then Spartans were accused of poisoning the water supply of their enemies, in pursu...

A revelatory account of how water has shaped the course of human life and history, and a positive vision of what the future can hold—if we act nowFrom the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining force in the story of humanity.In The Three Ages of Water, Peter Gleick guides us through the long, fr...

A revelatory account of how water has shaped the course of human life and history, and a positive vision of what the future can hold—if we act nowFrom the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining force in the story of humanity.In The Three Ages of Water, Peter Gleick guides us through the long, fr...

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEARAn unsettling masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will impact us all.“The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read.” —Jonathan Lethem, New York Times bestselling author of The Fortress of SolitudeThe Ministry for t...

“A delightful and fascinating book filled with insight and wit, which will make you think twice and cheer up.” — Steven PinkerIn a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, Matt Ridley, the New York Times-bestselling author of Genome and The Red Queen, makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change—what Ridley calls cultural evolution—will inevitably increase human prosperity. Fans o...

Like Guns, Germs, and Steel, a work of breathtaking sweep and originality that reinterprets the human story.Although we usually think of technology as something unique to modern times, our ancestors began to create the first technologies millions of years ago in the form of prehistoric tools and weapons. Over time, eight key technologies gradually freed us from the limitations of our animal origins.The fabrication of weapons, the mastery of fire, a...

From one of the world’s great geopolitical analysts, a terrifying glimpse of the none-too-distant future, when climate change will force the world’s powers into a desperate struggle for advantage and even survival.Dwindling resources. Massive population shifts. Natural disasters. Spreading epidemics. Drought. Rising sea levels. Plummeting agricultural yields. Crashing economies. Political extremism. These are some of the expected consequences of runaway climate change in the decade...

While everything appears to be collapsing around us – ecodamage, genetic engineering, virulent diseases, the end of cheap oil, water shortages, global famine, wars – we can still do something about it and create a world that will work for us and for our children’s children. The inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s feature documentary movie The Eleventh Hour and soon to be released HBO special Ice on Fire, Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight details what is happening to...

"I read this wide-ranging and thoughtful book while sitting on the banks of the Ganges near Varanasi—it's a river already badly polluted, and now threatened by the melting of the loss of the glaciers at its source to global warming. Four hundred million people depend on it, and there's no backup plan. As Steven Solomon makes clear, the same is true the world over; this volume will give you the background to understand the forces that will drive much of 21st century history." —Bill McKibben...

'It's a paradox but this was one of the most chilling books I've read this year. It's the definitive guide to where we're heading' ANTHONY HOROWITZ'The Earth is already in a dangerous phase of heating. Many scientists admit privately to actually being "scared" by recent weather extremes. But the public doesn't like pessimism, so we environment journalists hint at future optimism. This book provides a more steely-eyed view on how we can cope...

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A revolutionary new history that reveals how climate change has dramatically shaped the development—and demise—of civilizations across time*The ebook edition now includes endnotes. Anyone who purchased the book previously can re-download this updated edition and access the notes.*Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces today. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, an...

From the internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist comes an awe-inspiring account of earth's evolution.Beginning at the moment of creation with the Big Bang, Here on Earth explores the evolution of Earth from a galactic cloud of dust and gas to a planet with a metallic core and early signs of life within a billion years of being created. In a compelling narrative, Flannery describes the formation of the Earth's crust and atmosphere...