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  • © 2018

El Niño in World History

Palgrave Macmillan
  • 2018 Atmospheric Science Librarians International Choice Award Honorable Mention
  • Examines the role of El Niño in the major social changes of human history
  • Charts El Niño’s history as a global weather phenomenon and its resultant devastating weather
  • Explores El Niño as a developing idea in science and society since the eighteenth century

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in World Environmental History (PSWEH)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Introduction

    • Richard Grove, George Adamson
    Pages 1-15
  3. A Millennial History of El Niño

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17
    2. El Niño in Prehistory

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 19-48
    3. El Niño Chronology and the Little Ice Age

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 49-79
    4. The ‘Great El Niño’, 1790–1794

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 81-92
    5. The Influence of El Niño on World Crises in the Nineteenth Century

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 93-104
  4. The Science of El Niño and the Southern Oscillation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105
    2. The Discovery of ENSO

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 107-137
    3. Cataloguing the El Niño

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 139-155
  5. El Niño and Epidemic Disease

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157
    2. El Niño Events and the History of Epidemic Disease Incidence

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 159-178
  6. El Niño in Contemporary Society

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 179-179
    2. El Niño in the Twentieth Century

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 181-197
    3. El Niño in the Public Imagination

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 199-217
    4. Postscript: El Niño and Human Future

      • Richard Grove, George Adamson
      Pages 219-227
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 229-245

About this book

This book examines the role of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in society. Throughout human history, large or recurrent El Niños could cause significant disruption to societies and in some cases even contribute to political change. Yet it is only now that we are coming to appreciate the significance of the phenomenon. In this volume, Richard Grove and George Adamson chart the dual history of El Niño: as a global phenomenon capable of devastating weather extremes and, since the 18th century, as a developing idea in science and society. The chapters trace El Niño’s position in world history from its role in the revolution in Australian Aboriginal Culture at 5,000 BP to the 2015-16 ‘Godzilla’ event. It ends with a discussion of El Niño in the current media, which is as much a product of the public imagination as it is a natural process.

Reviews

“Adamson and Grove’s partner, Vinita Damodaran, are to be congratulated for their endeavors to honor Grove’s work and to advance the exciting field of climate history. Engagingly written and thoughtfully illustrated, this text will become a vital reference for geographers and historians studying the state of El Niño science and its history, while highlighting potential areas for further interdisciplinary research on El Niño and the Southern Oscillation in a warming world.” (Ruth Morgan, H-Water, networks.h-net-org, January, 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Centre for World Environmental History, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Richard Grove

  • Department of Geography, King’s College London, London, UK

    George Adamson

About the authors

Richard Grove is a pioneering global environmental historian whose numerous books include Green Imperialism; Ecology, Climate and Empire; and El Niño- history and crisis. He was Professorial Fellow at Centre for World Environmental History, University of Sussex and ARC Professorial Fellow at Australian National University. This book represents some of his most recent, exciting and unpublished work on the life and times of El Niño.

George Adamson is a historical climatologist with a focus on El Niño and the Indian monsoon. He is Lecturer in Geography at King’s College London, UK.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access