The Great Warming Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations

From the 10th to the 15th cent. the earth experienced a rise in average temperature that changed climate worldwide -- a preview of today's global warming. Archaeologist Fagan shows that subtle shifts in the environment had far-reaching effects on human life. In western Europe, longer summers brought bountiful harvests and population growth that led to cultural flowering. In the Arctic, Inuit and Norse sailors made connections across thousands of miles. In the Pacific, Polynesian sailors rode new wind patterns to settle remote islands. In North and Central Amer., elaborate societies collapsed. "A scientific detective story, showing how centuries-old weather patterns can be reconstructed from scattered clues, and a vivid and timely historical narrative." Illus.