Rev. ed. of: A green history of the world. 1991. Includes bibliographical references (p. [424]-434) and index.

The lessons of Easter Island -- The foundations of history -- Ninety-nine per cent of human history -- The first great transition -- Destruction and survival -- The long struggle -- Ways of thought -- The rape of the world -- The foundations of inequality -- Disease and death -- The weight of numbers -- The second great transition -- The rise of the city -- Creating the affluent society -- Polluting the world -- The threat to global systems -- The shadow of the past. Clive Ponting's original and provocative history of human civilization'now in a thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated edition Years ahead of its time, Clive Ponting captivated readers with A Green History of the World, his study of great civilizations and the causes of their fall. Using the Roman empire as its central example, this classic work reveals how overexpansion and the exhaustion of available natural resources have played key roles in the collapse of all great cultures in human history. With an argument of urgent relevance to our modern society, A Green History of the Worldoffers a provocative and illuminating view of human history and its relationship to the environment.