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The Earth Transformed
- An Untold History
- Narrated by: Peter Frankopan
- Length: 29 hrs and 11 mins
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The Earth Transformed
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Summary
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK | AN INSTANT #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Humanity has transformed the Earth: Frankopan transforms our understanding of history' Financial Times
'Vast, learned and timely work' Sunday Times
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From the international bestselling author of The Silk Roads comes a major history of how a changing climate has dramatically shaped the development—and demise—of civilisations across time.
When we think about history, we rarely pay much attention to the most destructive floods, the worst winters, the most devastating droughts or the ways that ecosystems have changed over time.
In The Earth Transformed, Peter Frankopan, one of the world’s leading historians, shows that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history – and not just of humankind. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts, as well as anthropogenic behaviour, are fundamental parts of the past and the present. In this magnificent and groundbreaking book, we learn about the origins of our species: about the development of religion and language and their relationships with the environment; about how the desire to centralise agricultural surplus formed the origins of the bureaucratic state; about how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increased shipment of enslaved peoples; about how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. All provide lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.
Taking us from the Big Bang to the present day and beyond, The Earth Transformed forces us to reckon with humankind’s continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world.
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'This is epic, gripping, original history that leaps off the page' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
'All Historians aiming to tell a narrative face the problem of when exactly to start it. Only Peter Frankopan would go back 2.5 billion years to the Great Oxidation Event' Tom Holland
A 2023 HIGHLIGHT FOR: BBC NEWS * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE * FINANCIAL TIMES * NEW EUROPEAN * GUARDIAN * NEW STATESMAN * THE TIMES * THE WEEK * WATERSTONES * BLACKWELL'S
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Earth Transformed
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-03-23
so disappointed
I have read other books by theis author with great pleasure but this has been like listening to white noise. I'm sure that the research has been meticulous but is it really scholarly to repeatedly cherry puck random facts to support an argument.and then conclude that maybe something happened because of factor a or factor b or factor c or a combination of these things? I'm so sorry to be negative but this was poor.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NigelR
- 02-04-23
A serious treatment of the subject
It was interesting to hear the author read it as I felt that I could hear his emotion pick up as he covered topics that really mattered to him. Although , as others have said, it might be a challenging listen for some. However, there is very little entertainment in the subject matter and the detail he covers details finely the absolute crisis we now face. I did not see optimism here, only hefty doses of reality. For a good book, I will frequently listen several times and then buy a paper version to annotate and scribble over. This is a good book, but beware as it catalogues how it ends (probably).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ali Richards
- 26-11-23
Facts, science and history with a global reach. What’s not to love?
Wasn’t always sold on Frankopan as a narrator but this is as gripping and revelatory as the wonderful silk roads. Far reaching and shattering in some of the insights. As a nurse I particularly enjoyed his discussion of disease and infection.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr B.
- 10-05-23
Impressive
I don’t agree with the remarks about the narration- nice to hear the author I thought.
Such an enormous scope, and for me much of it new, that it is somewhat overwhelming. I appreciated the fact that he pulls no punches - complacency and overly optimistic “boosterism” will do us no good in the long run.
I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it per se - the message is severe (and rightly so), but I feel much better informed. I would recommend to anyone who wants to be also.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jd
- 27-08-23
Challenging, read, important book of utmost relevance
I can’t imagine how hard a task it was to bring together all the source material that goes into the making of a work like this. The Silk Roads was broad enough in scope, but The Earth Transformed addresses climate impact on the whole globe from prehistory to the current day, offering areas of expertise well beyond those normally broached by an historian. Consequently it is hugely ambitious, extremely dense and no easy read, but nevertheless, I highly recommend it. To begin with Frankopan sets out at some considerable length, his purpose in approaching this enormous subject ie the climate crisis, reminding us that it is imperative to understand what has happened before to inform future actions. This manifesto is compelling and it would be worth reading this book for that alone. As with the Silk Roads, the analysis becomes more forensic as we approach the current era and the analysis of hubris of the 20th century, and generally the more recent past, which, together with an analysis of present and future challenges and present and future strategies, is extremely insightful and well expressed. Between the beginning and the end, it is quite hard going, which is hardly surprising given the size of the canvas, but countless times provides fascinating insights into the past completely changing the lens through which we view it. For me this book lends itself well to being listened to rather than read and I also liked that it was read by the author himself. His earnest intentions in this project were apparent. I think this is a very important book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P R
- 23-11-23
An excellent book
Such a great narration of the story of our beautiful planet and the evolution of humanity, geography, economics and historical fact.
I so much enjoyed listening to this book and will definitely refer back to it time after time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Issy Isaacs
- 11-01-24
Excellent
A fantastic listen a bit confusing but that was probably me atthe start An excellent history of the world with a very worrying end due to climate change. Recommend to anyone.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- toptone
- 11-01-24
Compulsory Reading
Excellent book in the way in brings things together over time, outlining the way things interact and impact human history. Trouble is the people who need to read it, won’t.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Filomeno Fonseca
- 29-05-23
Past, Present and Future.
This book make me see the world in different perspectives by moving forward I will starting doing things different.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Dugan
- 14-05-23
Excellent book, a clear and very relevant summary of human mistakes and successes
An important reminder of the land use and management mistakes of our ancestors with pointers towards a more sustainable future. It should be required reading for everyone. I wish this kind of summary was available when I was a younger person, given that human society has been making the same mistakes for many thousands of years. I understand the negative comments on narration but I didn’t find it a problem, just a little quirky, but generally a very accessible book. I will go back and listen again.
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1 person found this helpful