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Cataclysms: An Environmental History of Humanity de Laurent Testot

Cataclysms: An Environmental History of Humanity

Autor Laurent Testot Traducere de Katherine Throssell
en Limba Engleză Hardback – 9 noi 2020

Recomandăm volumul Cataclysms ca o resursă fundamentală pentru nivelul de licență și master în cadrul facultăților de Istorie, Geografie sau Științe de Mediu. Lucrarea lui Laurent Testot, publicată de University of Chicago Press, propune o sinteză ambițioasă a istoriei mediului, analizând modul în care specia noastră a modificat ireversibil ecosistemele planetare pe parcursul a trei milioane de ani. Considerăm că forța acestui text rezidă în capacitatea de a transforma datele științifice despre încălzirea globală și defrișări într-o narațiune coerentă despre „succesul” biologic al omului, plătit cu un cost ecologic incalculabil.

Structura cărții este tripartită, urmărind progresia de la „maimuța care cucerește lumea” la „dominarea naturii” și, în final, la „transformarea Pământului”. Autorul utilizează șapte revoluții tehnologice drept piloni de analiză, explicând cum domesticirea speciilor și exploatarea combustibililor fosili ne-au permis să depășim limitele biologice naturale. Alternativă la The Earth Transformed de Professor Peter Frankopan pentru cursurile de istorie globală, Cataclysms are avantajul unui stil mai direct, aproape provocator, concentrându-se pe impactul distructiv al inovației umane. De asemenea, spre deosebire de manualele clasice precum Global Environmental History de I. G. Simmons, Laurent Testot evită abordarea pur eurocentrică, oferind o perspectivă globală veritabilă asupra extincțiilor și hazardelor demografice.

Tonul este unul echilibrat, evitând catastrofismul gratuit, dar menținând o rigoare factuală necesară. Ediția în limba engleză, tradusă de Katherine Throssell, aduce un plus de relevanță prin epilogul ce actualizează contextul global la câțiva ani după apariția inițială în Franța, fiind un instrument de studiu actualizat pentru înțelegerea crizei climatice contemporane.

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Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780226609126
ISBN-10: 022660912X
Pagini: 480
Ilustrații: 1 halftone, 1 table
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 38 mm
Greutate: 0.77 kg
Ediția:First Edition
Editura: University of Chicago Press
Colecția University of Chicago Press

De ce să citești această carte

Această carte se adresează studenților și profesioniștilor care doresc să înțeleagă rădăcinile istorice ale crizei ecologice actuale. Cititorul câștigă o perspectivă de ansamblu asupra modului în care tehnologia și demografia au modelat planeta, primind un instrument critic pentru a evalua viitorul sustenabilității. Este o lectură esențială pentru oricine caută să depășească viziunea fragmentată asupra istoriei, integrând natura ca actor central în evoluția umanității.

Despre autor

Laurent Testot este un jurnalist științific și scriitor francez specializat în istorie globală și istoria mediului. Prin activitatea sa editorială, Testot s-a remarcat ca un popularizator al conceptului de „istorie totală”, încercând să conecteze discipline precum biologia, antropologia și economia pentru a explica parcursul speciei Homo sapiens. În Cataclysms, el sintetizează decenii de cercetare academică într-un format accesibil, reflectând preocuparea sa constantă pentru impactul umanității asupra biosferei. Lucrările sale sunt apreciate pentru rigoarea documentării și pentru capacitatea de a oferi perspective non-occidentale asupra marilor procese istorice.

Descriere scurtă

Humanity is by many measures the biggest success story in the animal kingdom; but what are the costs of this triumph? Over its three million years of existence, the human species has continuously modified nature and drained its resources. In Cataclysms, Laurent Testot provides the full tally, offering a comprehensive environmental history of humanity’s unmatched and perhaps irreversible influence on the world.

Testot explores the interconnected histories of human evolution and planetary deterioration, arguing that our development from naked apes to Homo sapiens has entailed wide-scale environmental harm. Testot makes the case that humans have usually been catastrophic for the planet, “hyperpredators” responsible for mass extinctions, deforestation, global warming, ocean acidification, and unchecked pollution, as well as the slaughter of our own species. Organized chronologically around seven technological revolutions, Cataclysms unspools the intertwined saga of humanity and our environment, from our shy beginnings in Africa to today’s domination of the planet, revealing how we have blown past any limits along the way—whether by exploding our own population numbers, domesticating countless other species, or harnessing energy from fossils. Testot’s book, while sweeping, is light and approachable, telling the stories—sometimes rambunctious, sometimes appalling—of how a glorified monkey transformed its own environment beyond all recognition.
 
In order to begin reversing our environmental disaster, we must have a better understanding of our own past and the incalculable environmental costs incurred at every stage of human innovation. Cataclysms offers that understanding and the hope that we can now begin to reform our relationship to the Earth.
 

Notă biografică

Laurent Testot is a French journalist and lecturer who specializes in global history. His books include Homo Canis and The New World History. Katharine Throssell is a professional translator.
 

Cuprins

Introduction

Part I: Monkey Conquers the World

1 We Are the Children of the Climate
2 The End of the Elephants
3 The Wheat Deal
4 Collapse

Part II: Monkey Dominates Nature

5 When Gods Guide the Way
6 All Empires Will Fall
7 After Summer Comes Winter
8 Biological Hazards
9 Demographic Hazards

Part III: Monkey Transforms the Earth

10 The Promises of Quicksilver
11 Cold, Cold Earth
12 Dying for the Forest
13 Unlimited Energy
14 The Cold Chill of Catastrophe
15 A Time of Excess
16 The Blind Flock
17 Tomorrow’s World
Conclusion
Epilogue to the English Edition: Two and a Half Years after the French Edition . . .
 
Appendix A: Glossary
Appendix B: Chronology
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Recenzii

"In Cataclysms, Laurent Testot, a historian and science journalist, invites the readers to follow the story of humankind from three million years ago to the 21st century. Cataclysms has the subtitle An Environmental History of Humanity. Traditionally, environmental history books span decades, at most centuries. However, Testot’s grander timescale allows for a greater understanding of the human history he wants to chronicle. . . . A general audience will enjoy the narrative style, accessible writing and the quick pace with which Testot takes the reader through the timescale of three million years and from continent to continent. This writing style and language make the book suitable for scholars from a broad range of disciplines, which is particularly helpful given the transdisciplinary nature of environmental history."

“Testot’s message, that humanity is quickly losing its window for averting environmental collapse and that ‘neoliberal ideology’ is the main culprit, is crystal clear and hammered home regularly. There’s a great deal of breadth in this ambitious work.”

"Testot, a science journalist, shows how humanity's achievements have undermined the environment we depend on, or, as he puts it, 'humanity is waging war on our planet.'" . . . An informative book. . . . Recommended."

“It will undoubtedly charm newcomers to the field with its narrative style and ambitious scope–Testot knows how to spin a fine yarn and provides an entry point to many fascinating chapters in world history that readers will want to explore further."

"Testot's Cataclysms: An Environmental History of Humanity is a global and historical tour de force of humans facing nature; from the earliest of times to our present days. Testot's book demonstrates that we still are monkeys; basically seeking the tribal pleasures of a warm pool. Yes, the human monkey has conquered the world, dominated nature, and transformed the Earth. But that's it. Nothing more. Thus, in 2020, this monkey world is as vulnerable as ever in its struggle to cope with a single, tiny virus—COVID-19. Now is the time to stop, think, and read this book."

'Whether it be the internet or the coronavirus, we all know the world is connected. But how did we get here? In this brilliant, highly readable book, Testot answers that question. He follows humanity’s trek out of Africa and the footprint this ‘naked ape’ left behind as humans conquered the world’s continents. It is a study of environmental tragedy, but Testot also tells a story of hope. He provides a history of our shared past from the earliest times to the present and, in so doing, suggests how this can help us to make the future better."

“Welcome to the world that the alpha predator—we, of course—have made. Roving the globe to chronicle the catastrophes that humans have visited on the planet, Testot brings to the abstract idea of environmental collapse wisdom, warmth, and warning. This is the book we all need to read.”

“In this essential book, Testot has written a fascinating history of the relationship of mankind with its environment. At each stage of its historical evolution since the Neolithic, mankind has led a more and more aggressive war on nature. The question remains: who will end this war and prevent us from entering into chaos? To answer, this book is a must-read."

"This book is quite a tour de force of human history and prehistory that spans all the continents and avoids being overly Eurocentric, as many earlier accounts have been. It is full of amazing details and stories that will delight the reader."