Author : Barbara Freese
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465096182
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)
Book Synopsis Coal by : Barbara Freese
Download or read book Coal written by Barbara Freese and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-02-09 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Engrossing . . . Coal, to borrow a phrase, is king." -- New York Times Book Review In this remarkable book, Barbara Freese takes us on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, launched empires, and expanded frontiers. It made China an eleventh-century superpower, inspired the Communist Manifesto, and helped the North win the American Civil War. Yet coal's transformative power has come at tremendous cost, from the blackening of our lungs and skies, to the perils of mining, to global warming. Now updated with a new chapter describing the high-stakes conflict between coal's defenders and those working to preserve a livable climate, Coal offers a captivating history of the mineral that helped build the modern world but now endangers our future.