Twenty thousand years ago Earth was in the midst of an ice age. Then global warming arrived, leading to massive floods, the spread of forests and the retreat of the deserts. By 5,000 BC a radically different human world had appeared. In place of hunters and gatherers there were farmers; in place of transient campsites there were towns. The foundations of our modern world had been laid and nothing that came after – the Industrial Revolution, the atomic age, the inter… More >>
After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000-5000 BC
After the Ice is well written and contains lots of information; however, my enjoyment of the book was significantly reduced by the author’s obvious Socialist leanings and hatred of America. Further, his unquestioning worship of the THEORY of global warming got old real fast. There is as much or more data supporting the THEORY of an upcoming ice age. In any event we can not influence the matter in any significant way – when Mother Nature speaks, we listen; not the other way ’round.
Sarge Reynolds, Geologist
Rating: 2 / 5
A shallow and rather trite psuedo-scientific review, I find it difficult to believe he skipped over the really huge megalitic sites (Tiahunaco, Baalbek, etc) to focus on our “evolution”. Animals and plants are miraculously domesticated — There is much more to the history of man in the past 20,000 years than this basic repeating of the textbook history that’s been taught in schools of Western (Eurocentric)thought for a long time. Some of it is interesting, though. An easy read.
Rating: 2 / 5
Groan…..If I had only read all the reviews on this book I would have hesitated in buying it!
I just started reading it and immediately became disappointed due to the premiss of the author regarding anthromorphic (sp?) causes of global warming. Ugh….he could not even support that fact as he shows a chart of temprature fluctuations showing an ever so slight decrease in temprature from 6000BC to 2000AD. This indicated to me that the author lacked scientific perspective but followed the “flavor-of-the-day” views of media hype.
Sad to se I reached this conclusion by reading only a few pages and scanning others. I will force myself to finish the book and may change my opinion of the work but, I some how doubt that.
Rating: 3 / 5
I almost always finish books, but I gave up here after 3/4. It’s just a string of facts tied loosely together. If it was 1/2 as long and more tightly focused I would have recommended it.
Rating: 2 / 5
“After the Ice” is well read and easy to understand. The character he invented gives the story a new insight. The book is quite comprehensive. I would recommend this book for those interested in old age history.
Rating: 4 / 5