Coal: A Human History

Abstract

The fascinating, often surprising story of how a simple black rock has altered course of history. . Prized as the best stone in Britain by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, powered navies, fueled economies, and expanded frontiers. It made China a twelfth-century superpower, inspired writing of Communist Manifesto, and helped northern states win American Civil War. Yet mundane mineral that built our global economy -and even today powers our electrical plants-has also caused death, disease, and environmental destruction. As early as 1306, King Edward I tried to ban coal (unsuccessfully) because its smoke became so obnoxious. Its recent identification as a primary cause of global warming has made it a cause clbre of a new kind. In this remarkable book, Barbara Freese takes us on a rich historical journey that begins three hundred million years ago and spans globe. From Great Stinking Fogs of London to rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from impoverished slums of Manchester to toxic city streets of Beijing, Coal is a captivating narrative about an ordinary substance that has done extraordinary things-a simple black rock that could well determine our fate as a species.

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