Coal

A Human History

Barbara Freese

$39.99

Paperback

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English

Arrow
01 March 2006

History; Social & cultural history; Industrialisation & industrial history; Coal & solid fuel industries; Economic geology

A brilliant gem of a book on the small black stone that fuelled the industrial revolution and still powers the world. For fans of Cod and books like Guns, Germs and Steel.

An enthralling journey, across time and across continents, using the fascination with coal and the crucial need for it as a way of approaching some of the most fundamental questions of human existence.

'A passionate plea for a more considered way of treating the earth, its resources and its inhabitants' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Coal has transformed societies and shaped the fate of nations. It launched empires and triggered wars. Above all, it fuelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain, propelling the rise of a small rural kingdom into the greatest commercial empire in the world.

Taking us on a rich historical journey that begins on the banks of the river Tyne, Barbara Freese explores the profound role coal has played in human history and continues to play in todays world. The first half of the book is set in Britain and tells how coal transformed Britain and ushered in the industrial age. The rest of the book looks at America and China, at the birth of the unions and the closing of the mines, and at the energy industry today. With oil prices on the rise and no end in sight to our insatiable appetite for energy, the world is turning again to coal.

'Elegant and engaging . . . No subject is more important for understanding the recent past, and preparing for the future.' SUNDAY TIMES

'The incredible story of Britain's black goal.' DAILY MAIL

'Eloquent . . . unsparing . . . The relation between carbon and climate change has seldom been so clearly and readably explained.' SCOTSMAN

'As much about the growing scientific evidence of the damage coal causes to the environment as it is about the social history of the Industrial Revolution.' FINANCIAL TIMES

'An absorbing book that never loses its grip.' NEW SCIENTIST

'Fascinating . . . It lingers hauntingly in the mind.' NEW STATESMAN

'As this human history of coal makes clear, there are no easy answers. . . A welcome contribution to the search for a sustainable energy economy.' NATURAL HISTORY

'Coal, while it fairly acknowledges what the substance has done for people, devotes its more swashbuckling passages to describing what it has done to them' NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS REVIEW

By: Barbara Freese
Imprint: Arrow
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 258g
ISBN: 9780099478843
ISBN 10: 0099478846
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 March 2006
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Barbara Freese was Assistant District Attorney in Michigan, one of America's biggest coal producing states, for 12 years and is an expert on air pollution laws. Coal is her first book. She lives in St. Paul, Michigan with her husband and two children.

Reviews for Coal: A Human History

Elegant and engaging... No subject is more important for understanding the recent past and preparing for the future. * Sunday Times * Engaging and interesting, tightly documented and consistently readable. Freese makes a pasionate plea for a more considered way of treating the earth, its rescources and inhabitants. * Daily Telegraph * The incredible story of Britain's black gold. * Daily Mail * Fascinating... It lingers hauntingly in the mind. * New Statesman * I can think of no substance that has played so important a role in shaping the relative fortunes of competing economies. * David Landes, Author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations *

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Coal

A Human History

Barbara Freese

$39.99

Paperback

Reviews for Coal: A Human History

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