The Ratchet of Technology, a site by Michael Magoon

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Category: Food Production in History

Books that focus on how humans organize themselves to acquire the energy to survive. Many of these books focus on how this struggle is foundational to human history.

October 13, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Rice Almanac” by Maclean, Hardy and Hettel

October 11, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human” by Richard Wrangham

September 21, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “An Edible History of Humanity” by Tom Standage

September 20, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Tamed: Ten Species that Changed Our World” by Alice Roberts

September 17, 2021November 21, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Plough that Broke the Steppes” by David Moon

June 18, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis” by Ruth DeFries

April 9, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “An Introduction to Agricultural Geography” by David Grigg

April 8, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “The Agricultural Systems of the World: An Evolutionary Approach” by David Grigg

April 7, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Food, Energy and Society” by David and Marcia Pimentel

April 6, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers” by Robert Kelly

March 30, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “A History of World Agriculture” by Mazoyer and Roudart

January 27, 2021December 2, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “First Farmers” by David Bellwood

May 12, 2020November 21, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “People, Plants and Genes: the Story of Crops and Humanity” by Denis Murphy

May 8, 2020November 21, 2021 Michael Magoon

Book Summary: “End of the Old Order in Rural Europe” by Jerome Blum

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Top Posts & Pages

  • Book Summary: “Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know” by Bailey and Tupy
  • Book Summary: “Military Revolution and Political Change” by Brian Downing
  • Book Summary: “Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human” by Richard Wrangham
  • Book Summary: "Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World" by Niall Ferguson
  • Book Summary: “A History of Warfare” by John Keegan

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