Most people can name a number of influential leaders and major battles of the past. Few can name the most destructive storms, the worst winters, the most devastating droughts. In this book, the historian shows that engagement with the natural world and with climatic change and their effects on us are not new. He explores the development of religion and language and their relationship with the environment, traces how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increase in slavery, and explains how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. From the beginning of recorded history to the present day, The Earth Transformed forces us to reckon with humankind's continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world. Peter Frankopan is Professor of Global History at Oxford University and Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford.