Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) Kindle Edition

Deals with the emerging Concept of the Anthropocene, rather the taking the concept as a given, and then explaining. But pretty good

This is an excellent introduction to the Anthropocene well explaining the dynamics of the atmosphere and biosphere as increasingly shaped by human action, with dangerous consequences such as climate change as very probably caused by human impacts on nature.Presenting diverse views and broadening the discourse to include interfaces with politics, capitalism etc., the book provides attentive readers with good insights into likely dangers to the future of humanity, balanced by recognition that overall humanity is at present better off than ever. Therefore, if I could I would make this book into obligatory reading for all politicians worldwide and disqualify for public office all who failed an examination on its. But this is a Platonic utopia, at least until catastrophes teach humanity a much needed lesson. However, so are all the various measures for containing dangerous human impacts on critical environments mentioned in the book. Thus, dreaming about “humans as a species… guided by Enlightenment values of rationality in order to address the unprecedented social and environmental challenges of the Anthropocene” (p.132) is useless,as is hoping for “a global human intelligence functioning as a conscious, intentional, ‘teleogical’, system that would guide Earth towards better outcomes” (p. 149). The questions “Who wins, who loses, who bears the costs, and who decides?...remain firmly on the table (p. 138), with no serious coping in sight. In fact the situation is much more ominous than presented in the book, because – as nearly all discussions of the Anthropocence – it ignored the encompassing fateful problem space. The middle of the 20th century is a critical date for humanity not because it may serve as the agreed date for the start of the Anthropocene, but due to the development of nuclear weapons which for the first time in human history enable humanity to eliminate itself rapidly by design or error. Human enhancement, gene editing, nano technologies, artificial intelligence and related developments of science and technology altogether result in a total turn in human history (called by some “singularity”), which provide our species with the power to deliberately steer it bio-culture evolution, for better but easily for worse -- up to self-produced collapse. An appropriate term may be “Anthroporegenesis,” of which geological and archeological aspects are only a part.Adequate consideration of the Anthropocene and coping with it effectively is possible only within a much broader systems view – which is missing in the book. Lack of at least recognizing this need is a serious weakness, though it does not distract from it quality within the chosen borders however too narrow.Professor Yehezkel DrorThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Don't be fooled by the small size of this series of books. They are professionally written, concise, and very thorough. After completing a career as a professional geologist I rely on these book to provide an introduction to aspects of the field that I did not experience myself. This book could serve as an excellent subject course guide at the undergraduate level. I have several of the series and have been impressed at the level of writing. This is Wikipedia for professionals and those who want a more complete synopsis to topics of interest. It is also accessible to the non professionals who wish a serious treatment of a new topic.

To borrow a phrase from the anthropologist Joseph Tainter, the Anthropocene is a subject in the wild. It is both a highly technical scientific debate and a political football. It is important for everyone. In this fantastic book--the best I have yet read in the OUP Very Short Introductions series--geographer Erle Ellis provides a succinct, eminently clear, engaging, and level-headed introduction to the Anthropocene.Ellis is a wide-ranging scholar whose prior work I know well; his deep engagement with all of the disciplines that intersect on the subject of the Anthropocene, from archaeology to landscape ecology to global change science, makes him the ideal person to have written this book. He begins by laying out the bare bones of earth system science and explaining how the various "spheres" (biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, etc.) interact. This is necessary for the subsequent discussion of how scientists recognized changes in the functioning of the earth system related to human activity. Ellis then digs into the major scientific debates about when and how human impacts reached a scale that could be considered "global," with proposals ranging from the discovery of fire, to the spread of rice agriculture with its attendant methane emissions, to the more familiar proposals of the Industrial Revolution and the Great Acceleration of the mid-20th Century. These are elaborated in chapters focused on how different disciplines conceptualize the Anthropocene. The final two chapters engage with the politics of the Anthropocene: the criticisms that have been leveled at the concept, the moral arguments about human obligations to the rest of nature, and the possibilities before us for a "good" or a "bad" Anthropocene.This is an exceedingly rare book that can, in a mere 150 pages, move from an explanation of geologic stratigraphic principles to greenhouse gasses and then on to posthumanist philosophy and attempts to re-brand the Anthropocene as the Capitalocene (among other things), treating all with equal rigor and fairness. Ellis manages to thread the needle in presenting multiple and at time conflicting views--including some that clash with his own published ideas--with clarity and precision without falling into limp journalistic "both-sides" reporting.I particularly recommend this book for people without science backgrounds--and especially other academics in the humanities and humanistic social sciences--who are no doubt encountering the concept of the Anthropocene "in the wild" but are not yet sure what they think about it. Ellis's book delivers the goods, and provides plenty of material that is "good to think with."

Ellis takes a somewhat complex and highly controversial topic, loaded with division and debate, and discusses it in a careful manner. This small text makes for a great introduction -- as it's supposed to -- to the topic of the Anthropocene. I highly recommend it as a first book on the subject.

I was unfamiliar with the term when it was used in another book so I searched for a book. The very short introduction series is always good at introducing the reader to a new subject. Much more than just a Wikipedia entry, this book gets at the theory and differing views as to when and to what effect.

This book is an excellent introduction to the various meanings of the Anthropocene. Broadly speaking the Anthropocene has to do with human effects on the environment and the geological record; this book shows that those effects are much more pervasive and go back much farther in time than most people realize. This book presents global history from Earth Systems Science perspective.

This clear volume of the newEra man has subjected the Earth System

Nice book, easy to read. Very informative

Great purchase

“Anthropocene: A Very Short” introduction by Eric Ellis is excellent. Ever since I read about climate change, this word has been cropping up with regularity.This is a deeper subject than I had previously thought about. Eric Ellis has done an excellent job of taking us through the journey from the beginning, to the current discussions about the ‘Anthropocene’.Eric Ellis has written the book in a manner that is clear and succinct.Anyone who wants to study this subject should start with this book.

Interesting book to read covering brief history of layers of time, changing earth, end of nature, earth as a system, keeling curve and the misnomer ozone hole, great acceleration i.e., planet under pressure since 1750 and changes during the human time.

a very short and on point introduction into the anthropocene. it gives enough informations to gain some knowledge but also gives enough aspects and room for knowing on what further literature one could look into.good quality in print and good price for what it is.