Reviews

Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century by Geoffrey Parker

nyhofs's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

jelinek's review

informative slow-paced

3.75

firerosearien's review

5.0

OH MY G-D I FINISHED IT.

It's absolutely fantastic but holy moly it took me longer to read this than it did War and Peace. Don't let that dissuade you, there's seriously so much good, well-researched stuff here, showing how climate change in one particular time period completely threw the world into chaos, but it would have been nice to know about how it would take me close to a month to read it before I started reading it.

And now I'm like six books behind on my goal to read 100 books this year...oops.

endlessmidnight's review

dark informative tense medium-paced

5.0

Excellent, in-depth and illustrating the period of the seventeenth century and how chaotic and why it was so. 

shostakovichtchaikovsky's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

One of the most well-researched, interesting and relevant historical studies of a period that I have ever read. Ambitious, but achieves all of its aims.

-1 star for perhaps excessive description/detail?

resolutereader's review

2.0

A monumental work based on an enormous amount of scholarship that details the effect of the General Crisis of the 17th century on almost every part of the world. A great deal on the human effects of that crisis, and the way the climatic changes interact with social forces. But one that fails to get to the heart of why the 17th century was particularly prone to war, revolution and crisis because it neglects the wider changes in society, particular the social forces as the old feudal order is challenged by an emerging capitalism in Europe and elsewhere.
Full review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/geoffrey-parker-global-crisis-war.html

northeastbookworm's review

5.0

This is an exceptional history book about a known, but little discussed, period of 17th century history known as the "Little Ice Age". Professor Parker goes into great detail about the havoc that climate change caused on the nations of the world. This is a thick and fascinating read that does not have a boring page. Don't let the length of the book scare you away. It is worth the time and the investment to read.