Forces of change : an unorthodox view of history / Henry Hobhouse.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hobhouse, Henry.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Modern.

Population.

Food supply.

Diseases and history.

Physical Description:

310 pages : maps ; 21 cm

Edition:

First Shoemaker and Hoard edition, [2005 edition].

Place of Publication:

[Emeryville, Calif.] : Shoemaker & Hoard ; [Berkeley, Calif.] : Distributed by Publishers Group West, 2005.

Summary:

In Forces of Change, Henry Hobhouse argues provocatively, and most convincingly, that modern history has been shaped less by the actions of human beings than by three natural forces: population growth, food supply, and disease. Examining 500 years of history, Hobhouse observes the relative roles of these forces from the time of the Black Plague to the present day. Invigorating and immediate, his unconventional approach sheds a whole new light on history as we have presumed to know it. Revised and updated, this new edition is as witty and eminently readable as the original. Few books possess the insight and power to alter the way we think. Forces of Change is one.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Ill Winds Across the Land and Sea 9

Chapter 2 Bread to Make the Old World Strong 55

Chapter 3 New Worlds, New Crops, New Beasts 95

Chapter 4 Challenge and Response 143

Chapter 5 Malthus Defeated? 201.

Notes:

Originally published: New York : Arcade Pub., 1990.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [289]-299) and index.

ISBN:

1593760752

OCLC:

57692991

Publisher Number:

9781593760755