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Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction

Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction

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  • Create Date：2021-10-04 07:52:46
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Erle C. Ellis
  • ISBN：0198792980
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Summary

The proposal that the impact of humanity on the planet has left a distinct footprint， even on the scale of geological time， has recently gained much ground。 Global climate change， shifting global cycles of the weather， widespread pollution， radioactive fallout， plastic accumulation， species invasions， the mass extinction of species - these are just some of the many indicators that we will leave a lasting record in rock， the scientific basis for recognizing new time intervals in Earth's history。 The "Anthropocene，" as the proposed new epoch has been named， is regularly in the news。

Even with such robust evidence， the proposal to formally recognize our current time as the Anthropocene remains controversial both inside and outside the scholarly world， kindling intense debates。 The reason is clear。 The Anthropocene represents far more than just another interval of geologic time。 Instead， the Anthropocene has emerged as a powerful new narrative， a concept through which age-old questions about the meaning of nature and even the nature of humanity are being revisited and radically revised。

This Very Short Introduction explains the science behind the Anthropocene and the many proposals about when to mark its beginning: The nuclear tests of the 1950s？ The beginnings of agriculture？ The origins of humans as a species？ Erle Ellis considers the many ways that the Anthropocene's "evolving paradigm" is reshaping the sciences， stimulating the humanities， and foregrounding the politics of life on a planet transformed by humans。 The Anthropocene remains a work in progress。 Is this the story of an unprecedented planetary disaster？ Or of newfound wisdom and redemption？ Ellis offers an insightful discussion of our role in shaping the planet， and how this will influence our future on many fronts。

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area。 These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly。 Our expert authors combine facts， analysis， perspective， new ideas， and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable。

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Reviews

Maisie ，

Yeah does what it says on the tin tbf。

Dale ，

Anthropogenic what？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。

Rajiv Chopra ，

“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。 “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。 。。。more

Daniel ，

Between 3 and 4 stars for me， good book but too dogmatic in my view。 I think this is a very interesting book to broaden your perspective in many ways and I especially liked the outlook on debates and how our era might be perceived in the future。 The focus is on geology， with a very good introduction to the geologic time scale and how the beginning points of eras determined。 However， I think the author as well as the Anthropocene Working Group got a bit dogmatic here， trying to determine the star Between 3 and 4 stars for me， good book but too dogmatic in my view。 I think this is a very interesting book to broaden your perspective in many ways and I especially liked the outlook on debates and how our era might be perceived in the future。 The focus is on geology， with a very good introduction to the geologic time scale and how the beginning points of eras determined。 However， I think the author as well as the Anthropocene Working Group got a bit dogmatic here， trying to determine the starting point of the anthropocene in the same way as for all other previous eras。 In my mind， the question that should follow from the definition of the anthropocene is "when did human influence on the world/ climate become dominant？"。 The question the author addresses in this book is more like "when do we start seeing systematic signals in rocks that can be traced back to humans？"。 Now I see how this approach makes sense when rocks is all we have to look at when researching an era many millions of years ago。 But for our current era we have much better data and I think using an approach that is adapted to poor data availability tends to neglect this rich data。 Also， I think Ruddiman's agriculture thesis was too easily dismissed。 I'm basically with Ruddiman。 If you're interested in climate history， check out his book， it's great: https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/4。。。 。。。more

Zoelikespasta ，

This book definitely gets more interesting as it goes on， but I wish it hadn't spent so much time discussing geology on the front end and focused more on the debates and discussions that come up in the last third of the text。 This book definitely gets more interesting as it goes on， but I wish it hadn't spent so much time discussing geology on the front end and focused more on the debates and discussions that come up in the last third of the text。 。。。more

Arianna ，

4 starsHighly informative， with information regarding to the debate over the Anthropocene explained clearly without dumbing down material。

Alysa Morley ，

This truly is an introduction。 It doesn't really convey any new or surprising information， but it does a good job of explaining what the Anthropocene is， critical interpretations of it， what led to it， what may come of it， etc。 Additionally， it is easy to understand and absolutely full of useful， informative figures and charts。 This truly is an introduction。 It doesn't really convey any new or surprising information， but it does a good job of explaining what the Anthropocene is， critical interpretations of it， what led to it， what may come of it， etc。 Additionally， it is easy to understand and absolutely full of useful， informative figures and charts。 。。。more

Albert Faber ，

Broad and thorough， yet concise and a pleasure to read。 Very nice overview on this topic by one of its great experts

Olivia ，

Read for class but truly a great introduction。 Info I already knew paired with new perspectives that were interesting。 Lots packed into a short book， but not too dense to get through。

Hannah Sutcliffe ，

Gets the job done。 Concise overview， but nothing terribly special。 Does what it says on the box。

Eleri ，

Broad and thorough explanation of the Anthropocene from a lot of different perspectives， as well as the geological one of course。 I felt like I learned a lot and it essentially put climate change into historical/geological context。 A light， easy-to-read tone

Taylor Swift Scholar ，

This is the most ambitious Very Short Introduction I have read so far。 It covered geology， ecology， archaeology， and then the political/philosophical implications of the Anthropocene。 The philosophical bits were the most compelling to me。 Possibly because it is hard to get an understanding of the science so briefly， or possibly because I don't find rocks that interesting。 Anyway， "wtf have we done and what does it mean？" was easier to get across and more interesting to me， personally。 I also fou This is the most ambitious Very Short Introduction I have read so far。 It covered geology， ecology， archaeology， and then the political/philosophical implications of the Anthropocene。 The philosophical bits were the most compelling to me。 Possibly because it is hard to get an understanding of the science so briefly， or possibly because I don't find rocks that interesting。 Anyway， "wtf have we done and what does it mean？" was easier to get across and more interesting to me， personally。 I also found the debate about when the Anthropocene begins pretty interesting。 Did we start fundamentally changing the earth as early as hunter/gatherers？ With agriculture or with global trade？ etc。 I learned a lot of things I didn't know before， which is what I want out of a Very Short Introduction。 。。。more

Dan Browne ，

A good summary of the topic。

Marie ，

Exactly what the title says: a short （yet， my Personal impression， relatively complete） introduction into the Anthropocene。 For scientists and nonscientists， written by an expert of the topic， with lots of scientific sources that one could further dig into if interested。

Kat Davis ，

Good short introInteresting and informative。 Good food for thought。 Everyone should read this and understand our future。 I really like these books。

Madelyn ，

"The Anthropocene tells us that， together， humans are a force of nature。 On the road ahead， better and worse anthropocenes exist。 The story of the Anthropocene has only just begun。" "The Anthropocene tells us that， together， humans are a force of nature。 On the road ahead， better and worse anthropocenes exist。 The story of the Anthropocene has only just begun。" 。。。more

Rachel Ratliff ，

I love Oxford's very short introductions。 Ellis does a fine job making literal eras of time digestable for the reader。 I love Oxford's very short introductions。 Ellis does a fine job making literal eras of time digestable for the reader。 。。。more

Grrlscientist ，

Listen to the news reports。 Open your eyes and look around you。 The evidence of human-caused changes to Earth are overwhelming and unprecedented: Global climate change， widespread pollution， acidifying oceans， radioactive fallout and waste， plastic accumulation， invasive species and the mass extinction of species … 。 These outcomes are just a few of many that will leave a lasting record in rock， which is the scientific basis for recognising new geologic time intervals in Earth’s history。 But unl Listen to the news reports。 Open your eyes and look around you。 The evidence of human-caused changes to Earth are overwhelming and unprecedented: Global climate change， widespread pollution， acidifying oceans， radioactive fallout and waste， plastic accumulation， invasive species and the mass extinction of species … 。 These outcomes are just a few of many that will leave a lasting record in rock， which is the scientific basis for recognising new geologic time intervals in Earth’s history。 But unlike any of Earth’s other geologic ages， the Anthropocene is unique: it results from the actions of just one species — humans。 How should we define the beginning of this new geologic era: the nuclear tests that began in 1945？ The industrial revolution in the 19th century？ The beginnings of agriculture some 10，000 years prior to that？ The origin of humans as a species？From the moment when Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen mentioned it during a conference in 2000， the concept of the Anthropocene has steadily grown in popularity， capturing the media’s attention and the public’s imagination。 Despite this， the idea of the Anthropocene is controversial both inside and outside the Academe， igniting intense debates。 Why is this such an emotionally-charged concept？ It accepts that man’s impact upon Earth is so severe and so irreversible that it is being indelibly stamped into the planet’s geology， so it will be discernible in the distant future to successor sentient species （it’s unlikely that humans as a species will survive another million years） or even to visiting alien geologists， much like the iridium layer that was written in stone by an asteroid and its impact ejecta that wiped out the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous some 66 million years ago。 Thus， the Anthropocene is triggering soul-searching about age-old questions regarding the meaning of nature and the meaning of humanity。 Yet even as it reshapes the sciences， the Anthropocene also inspires the humanities and influences politics （although， not enough）。Erle C。 Ellis’s Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction （Oxford University Press; 2018） is an interesting， succinct and stirring exposé that explains both the controversy and the science of the Anthropocene。 This paperback includes lots of tables and graphs， and presents a factual analysis of what appears to be a purely academic question without overlooking the reality of the Anthropocene。 Indeed， it quickly becomes painfully obvious that the human species has done no favours for the planet; that even the idea of a “pristine wilderness”， untouched by humans， is a myth。 That said， the final chapter provides some reasoned hope by exploring a variety of ways （some better than others） that we can attempt to address the many damages we’ve made to the planet， so perhaps we might stop our headlong plunge off the precipice into extinction and disaster。 Hopefully， we will finally heed the many ominous warnings around us and take decisive action on personal， community and global levels。NOTE: originally published at Medium。 。。。more

Dan Sumption ，

A short and clear introduction to the change humans have made to the earth's geology and environment， whether it is right to say that we are in a new human-influenced era of geological time， the "Anthropocene"， （almost certainly） and， slightly more controversial， when we should date that era from， whether the beginning of nuclear tests in 1945， the industrial revolution nearly 200 years earlier， or the beginning of human agriculture some 10，000 years prior to that。 A short and clear introduction to the change humans have made to the earth's geology and environment， whether it is right to say that we are in a new human-influenced era of geological time， the "Anthropocene"， （almost certainly） and， slightly more controversial， when we should date that era from， whether the beginning of nuclear tests in 1945， the industrial revolution nearly 200 years earlier， or the beginning of human agriculture some 10，000 years prior to that。 。。。more

Antonio Ceté ，

He aprendido mucho sobre cómo se delimita una época， era， etc。 desde el punto geológico。 No me interesaba mucho ese tema， la verdad。Eso sí， hay muchas gráficas muy interesantes para cosas de cambio climático y fin del mundo y demás。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0