The Curse of Akkad: Climate Upheavals that Rocked Human History - Hardcover

Christie, Peter

2.93

14 ratings by Goodreads

9781554511198: The Curse of Akkad: Climate Upheavals that Rocked Human History

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554511194 ISBN 13: 9781554511198

Publisher: Annick Press, 2008

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Dramatic accounts of turbulent natural forces that shaped civilizations.

When Sargon of Akkad created the world's first empire 4,000 years ago, he thought none could conquer his powerful kingdom. He was wrong. A disastrous drought in Mesopotamia helped topple the Akkadian civilization.

Similar climate-related events rocked other civilizations. Ancient Rome experienced a catastrophic 18 months of darkness, possibly from a volcanic eruption half a world away. Mayan society in Mexico began to crumble when fresh water became scarce. And both ancient Egypt and ancient China were transformed by failed crops and starving citizens.

While many wonder how today's warming climate will affect our future, The Curse of Akkad explores capricious climate shifts of the past. From an ice age that gave humans an evolutionary leg up to an El Ni-o that frustrated the battle plans of Hitler, author Peter Christie shows that the prevailing weather of a place is not simply a backdrop to important events, but often a critical player.

The Curse of Akkad is an acclaimed writer's exciting and enlightening look at climate's frequent place at the helm of human history.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Peter Christie is a science writer and editor whose work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines and his other books for young readers include Naturally Wild Musicians: The Wondrous World of Animal Song and Well-Schooled Fish and Feathered Bandits: The Wondrous Ways Animals Learn from Animals. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6 Up—In a refreshing look at climate change, Christie discusses the ways in which environmental conditions have shaped human history. The chapters, each discussing a different aspect of climate change, are arranged in loose chronological order. Every section opens with a fictionalized account featuring either an imagined or a real historical figure. The author then explains how climate change caused the events to occur. For example, one section introduces Ekidu, a 13-year-old laboring in Mesopotamia in 2200 B.C.E. to construct a government building. Before it can be completed, Ekidu and his fellow citizens are forced to abandon the area as famine hits. Christie goes on to explain that archaeological records suggest that a 300-year drought devastated the Middle East, also impacting the Egyptians and Harappans. As a result, some ancient civilizations seem to have evaporated, leaving little record of their existence. Other featured climate changes include ice ages, droughts, volcanoes, and currents. The book is well researched. Its only potential downfall is in the layout; sidebars, which appear on almost every other page, occasionally interrupt the flow of the narrative, but do make the book more visually attractive. In all, the text is readable, and connecting science to history opens the topic of climate change to a wider range of students.—Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.