Natures Mutiny, Philipp Blom
Natures Mutiny, Philipp Blom
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Nature's Mutiny
How the Little Ice Age of the Long Seventeenth Century Transformed the West and Shaped the Present

Author: Philipp Blom

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble

Unabridged: 10 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/16/2019


Synopsis

An illuminating work of environmental history that chronicles the great climate crisis of the 1600s, which transformed the social and political fabric of Europe.

Although hints of a crisis appeared as early as the 1570s, the temperature by the end of the sixteenth century plummeted so drastically that Mediterranean harbors were covered with ice, birds literally dropped out of the sky, and "frost fairs" were erected on a frozen Thames—with kiosks, taverns, and even brothels that become a semi-permanent part of the city.

Recounting the deep legacy and far-ranging consequences of this "Little Ice Age," acclaimed historian Philipp Blom reveals how the European landscape had subtly, but ineradicably, changed by the mid-seventeenth century. While apocalyptic weather patterns destroyed entire harvests and incited mass migrations, they gave rise to the growth of European cities, the emergence of early capitalism, and the vigorous stirrings of the Enlightenment. A timely examination of how a society responds to profound and unexpected change, Nature's Mutiny will transform the way we think about climate change in the twenty-first century and beyond.

About Philipp Blom

The author of Fracture: Life and Culture in the West and The Vertigo Years, Philipp Blom was born in Hamburg in 1970. After studying in Vienna and Oxford, he worked in publishing as a journalist and translator in London and Paris. He lives in Vienna.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dave on June 17, 2024

I had heard about the colder temperatures prevalent in Europe of the 16th and 17th centuries and expected this book to be a series of answers to the "How cold was it?". There was some of that, but Blum makes it clear that he is not a climatologist and that he is skeptical that any of the explanation......more

Goodreads review by Occhionelcielo on May 02, 2020

Divagazione personale: soltanto nel 1996, a 32 anni suonati, sentivo parlare della cosiddetta "Piccola Glaciazione" degli anni 1570 - 1720. La scoperta non scaturì però dal ciclo di studi completo, con tanto di esame di storia economica. Devo infatti ringraziare la "Gambero Rosso Editore" con il suo......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on June 28, 2020

However enjoyable and readable this books is, I find some of the research and reasoning problematic. For instance, the author mentions Shakespeare's play "Coriolanus" and dates it to 1608 exactly and states that bread riots were happening in London on exactly the same year. The issue I have with this......more

Goodreads review by Karel on May 25, 2017

Afgelopen weekend verscheen in De Morgen een artikel over de electorale kloof tussen platteland en stad, waarin verwezen werd naar 'Hoe God verdween uit Jorwerd' van Geert Mak. Net zoals Mak schrijft Philipp Blom goed gedocumenteerde en uiterst toegankelijke boeken die de lezer toelaten met een ande......more

Goodreads review by Bonnie on March 30, 2020

I had mixed reactions to this book. Starting with what’s good about it, the author has lots of interesting things to say about various historical personages. I never heard of Uriel da Costa, a member of the Amsterdam Jewish community, who was excluded from the community for heretical ideas, and ulti......more