Fagan, Brian : University of California at Santa Barbara

Professor of Archaeology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Brian Fagan is the author of Floods, Famines, and Emperors, and The Great Journey and the editor of The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

"Fagan shows in this wonderful book how vulnerable human society is to climatic zigzags."

--New Scientist

"Even without the contemporary relevance lent the book by the specter of global warming, The Little Ice Age would be an engrossing historical volume."

--Boston Globe

"A nimble, lively, provocative book."

--Booklist

"[The Little Ice Age] could do for historical study of climate what Michel Foucault's classic Madness and Civlization did for the historical study of mental illness: make it a respectable subject for scholarly inquiry� Fagan convinces precisely because he refuses to overstate his case� Fagan's multicausal analysis is especially welcome at this time, as we inhabitants of the early 21st century confront the threat of global warming. The scientific evidence for global warming is strong, yet an amazing number of intelligent people still question its reality� They should read Fagan's book."

--Scientific American

"Fagan makes it clear, in a magisterial and meticulously even-handed survey that covers over a thousand years of history, that we ignore the power of climate at our peril. And he does so in lucid prose, with passages reminiscent of Patrick O'Brian, that every reader will find compelling."

--Theodore K. Rabb, Princeton University

"A brilliant survey of history founded on an unusual common thread."

--History Magazine

"If you are interested in history, weather and how the two interact, read on. This unusual volume tells the story of the turbulent, unpredictable and often very cold years of modern European history, how this climate affected historical events, and what that means for today's global warming. The author, an American Professor of Archaeology, brings together a huge range of sources, from the dates of long-ago wine harvests and the business record of 14th-century monasteries to the latest ice-core research."

--The Sunday Telegraph

Perseus Books Group Web Site, May, 2002

The Little Ice Age tells the story of the turbulent, unpredictable, and often very cold years of modern European history, how this altered climate affected historical events, and what it means for today's global warming. Building on research that has only recently confirmed that the world endured a 500year cold snap, renowned archaeologist Brian Fagan shows how the increasing cold influenced familiar events from Norse exploration to the settlement of North America to the Industrial Revolution. This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in history, climate, and how they interact.