Destroying Worlds and Saving Humanity: A quick history of civilisation. 3rd edition.
Lovejoy, James G
Synopsis "Destroying Worlds and Saving Humanity: A quick history of civilisation. 3rd edition."
Destroying Worlds and Saving Humanity ambitiously weaves recent research and new insights into a gripping history in which civilization is seen as the death gasp of humanity, trying to escape the fate of the Neanderthals and other extinct hominins. Destroying Worlds and Saving Humanity retraces the origins of injustice, inequality and environmental damage, questioning assumptions, challenging myths, and arguing forcefully against racially-biased versions of human history. The book is written in an accessible style, suitable for undergraduates with no previous specialist training. Different disciplines are introduced and related in a manner which enables students to see beyond the confines of their specialisations. With its broad coverage of world regions and historical epochs, Destroying Worlds and Saving Humanity can be used as a one-stop introduction to world history for university students. [From the 1st edition] During the short history of our species, worlds have come and gone. First there were dry and merciless worlds of sand and ice, which witnessed great camps of hunters. Later, the wet worlds of The Neolithic Subpluvial gave rise to myths of Eden, of an earthly paradise now lost. Yet later came the world of the Bronze Age which famously collapsed. As humanity advanced, famine, disease and climate change followed behind. Newer worlds of great empires came and went at ever increasing speed while some of humanity continued to save itself, racing through ever more fantastic worlds of magical technologies. And then finally the first of us emerged at a cliff edge: planetary boundaries, the chemical limits of what the earth’s biosphere permits to all life. In the race to survive, many fell behind and we divided into the haves and have-nots, those who have prestige, wealth and long-life, and those who do not. How do we continue from this point, to create justice and respect planetary boundaries?
