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There is no longer any doubt that the earth
is warming; the question remains, why? For historian Gale
Christianson, the emergence of global warming is one of
the most compelling stories in the history of humankind,
made all the richer for having been a slowly developing
phenomenon.
In his brilliantly constructed book Greenhouse,
Christianson blends the research of a scholar with a novelist's
storytelling skill, offering an invaluable perspective on
what may be the most remarkable change in nature since the
retreat of the glaciers some 10,000 years ago. Like a train
coming at you from a distance, global warming is first a
faint, echoing whistle, then a puff of smoke, and ultimately,
with a rush, an unavoidable reality.
Finding the clues to global warming both
deep in the past and right before our eyes, Christianson
introduces a memorable and unlikely cast of characters and
events. From the demise of the Anasazi in the American Southwest
and the Vikings in Greenland, which unveil the close connection
between global warming and cooling, to the politics behind
the 1987 Kyoto Conference on the Environment, Christianson
delves deep into the connection between human beings and
the planet. Scientists, inventors, and other pioneers are
woven into the narrative -- among them, Joseph Fournier,
the French natural philosopher who, at the turn of the nineteenth
century, first envisioned the Earth as a bell jar, Richard
Arkwright, who launched the modern factory system, and chemist
Charles Keeling, who accidentally discovered, in 1955, that
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were rising. Their
stories, in Christianson's crystal prose, urgently lead
us to rethink what used to be called "man's place in
nature."
By gradually bringing the full range of
its elements into focus, Christianson allows readers to
make up their own minds as to the causes and consequences
of global warming. For anyone interested in the history
of science and the fate of the planet Earth, Greenhouse
is a unique and landmark book that will help shape the issues
of the inevitable public debate to come.
Gale E. Christianson is Distinguished
Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences and teaches
history at Indiana State University. He is the author of
several books, including Edwin Hubble: Mariner of the
Nebulae and In The Presence of the Creator: Isaac
Newton and His Times. A winner of many awards, including
a Guggenheim Fellowship, Christianson teaches a variety
of courses on several subjects, including science and society
and world civilization. He lives in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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