The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations

Linden is a science journalist with a long history of work in the area of climate. This book is more about the history of climate change than global warming per se. It details many past instances of climate change events and how they affected civilizations at the time. It is an excellent overview of past events and gives the feel of being well-researched. There are decent references to other studies and works. The main concern ends up being worries about rapid climate change, including the potential for a rapid cooling spell. At times the book seems to bog down a bit in endless details or examples, but in the end it comes off as being fairly complete. Along the way there is decent coverage of some of the key figures and events in climate research. His conclusion is that there is ample reason to believe that current climate change trends could lead to devastating effects for civilization. Most of the explicit coverage of global warming comes near the end and seems almost tacked-on with regard to the focus of the main narrative. This is just one of many books on climate change available. The strong points of this one are that it covers the whole range of issues related to climate change, not just global warming, and it does a pretty good job of summarizing and giving references to many issues that get thrown around in discussions of climate change without being well understood in context.

Linden goes to great effort to describe climate changes in the past, such as the Little Ice Age. He relates fallen civilizations such as the Vikings of Greenland and the Mayans to climate change. Linden calls climate change the serial killer of civilizations. It is more of a flicker than a change. Because global warming is a different kind of climate change than the climate changes described here (as those during the Ice Ages) there has to be a modest jump that is impossible to avoid. Linden's approach is important in that it shows how climate change inevitably will occur. It suggests that increasing carbon dioxide emissions, caused by humans, is like teasing the serial killer. The book should not be considered a complete guide to global warming, but it looks at climate change through a unique perspective.

I rarely buy two books sight unseen (hardcover much less), but in a moment of weakness (or wisdom), I bought The Winds of Change by Eugene Linden as well as The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. I wanted to get a solid, firm understanding about global warming and climate - a scientific and historical perspective to be able to sort out all the noise. Interestingly enough, I heard Tim Flannery on the radio and it was his book that steered me to the purchase of these two. I stopped reading The Weather Makers about halfway through. (See review for that book if you want more information). The Winds of Change, on the other hand, was exactly what I had in mind even though I didn't that yet. The Winds of Change is a perfect mix of empirical data, historical perspective and just plain interesting facts. It reads more like a detective novel that a boring, fact filled, science text book. Don't get me wrong, I wanted the science- my hobbies include meteorology and storm chasing- but I wanted it presented in a cogent, logical manner. I had a difficult time putting The Winds of Change down at night and looked forward to my next chance to read it. Mr. Linden takes an unbiased look at the last one hundred years when civilization has altered the composition of the atmosphere (and the Earth itself) with the past ten thousand years when climate changes were (by default) a natural part of the evolution of the Earths existence. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a balanced book on climate with a historical perspective and not just measurements of CO2 and all the `horrible' abuses we are causing today.

Any concerned with climate change and the history of civilization's rise and fall would do well to consider the history in THE WINDS OF CHANGE: CLIMATE, WEATHER, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIZATIONS. Here patterns of civilization prosperity and weaknesses are linked to changes in climate patterns, from good weather to drought and storms. From the probable fates of ancient societies suddenly demolished or moved to mounting evidence that such changes have been serial killers in human civilization's history, THE WINDS OF CHANGE holds some thoughtful implications for us all, blending science and history in an absorbing text.