Can I read Coal : A Human History on EtoBox?

Coal : A Human History by Barbara Freese is a history book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Coal : A Human History about?

<p>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 the writing of the Communist Manifesto, and helped the northern states win the American Civil War. Yet the 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 célèbre 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 the globe. From the "Great Stinking Fogs" of London to the rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from the impoverished slums of Manchester to the 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.</p>

Who reads Coal : A Human History?

Author

Barbara Freese

Publisher

Perseus Publishing

Published

2003

Language

EN

ISBN

9780142000984

Category

history

Subjects

Engineering, Fiction, Technology

Rating

3.69 / 5 (68 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14