Floods, Famines, and Emperors

El Nino and the Fate of Civilization

By: Brian Fagan

Narrated by: John Haag

In 1999, few people had thought to examine the effects of climate on civilization. Now, due in part to the groundbreaking work of archaeologist Brian Fagan, climate change is a central issue.

Revised and updated 10 years after its first publication, Floods, Famines and Emperors remains the definitive account of how the world's best-known climate event had an indelible impact on history.

©2009 Brian Fagan (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A clear, fascinating look at an aspect of climate studies - and of El Niño - mostly ignored by science." (Amazon.com review)
"Fagan describes the mechanisms and effects of El Niños, La Niñas and other far-reaching meteorological events and then discusses how several societies have coped with them. Could severe climatic change topple a modern civilization? 'No one force--overpopulation, global warming, or rapid climate change--will destroy our civilization. But the combination of all three makes us prey to the knockout blow that could.'" (Scientific American)

Meh.

Rambles alot. Doesn't seem to come to a conclussion. I normally like Fagan's work, but this...

Potentially excellent, heavily flawed

I have no complaints about the actual text- interesting subject matter and the text is on the whole well written. Unfortunately, the well-written prose and fascinating facts are robbed of any interest by the turgid and monotonous narration. I found myself getting frustrated at how boring this otherwise excellent book was being made simply by a poor choice of narrator.

How many times can we say El Nino

Man made global warming, No thought given to solar cycles and space weather.
A much better book would be Nature's Mutiny: How the Little Ice Age Transformed the West and Shaped the Present