This book attempts to define the issues that face us in trying to understand the often-overwhelming complexity of the human experience. It is intellectually challenging, broad in its scope, richly detailed, and densely argued. It is the first in a projected series of five volumes in which the author will seek to touch on every aspect of human historical reality and all the multitudinous variables that have shaped it.

"Here is a book that I can strongly recommend for a variety of reasons. It is well written, it is scholarly, but its greatest appeal lies in the posing of an important question and in the offering of a satisfying (to this reviewer, at least) answer."ÑJournal of Historical Geography "This is an intriguing and stimulating study of historical differences in the indigenous historiography of parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe."ÑAmerican Anthropologist."

An Artforum Best Book of the Year A Legal Theory Bookworm Book of the Year Nature no longer exists apart from humanity. Henceforth, the world we will inhabit is the one we have made. Geologists have called this new planetary epoch the Anthropocene, the Age of Humans. The geological strata we are now creating record industrial emissions, industrial-scale crop pollens, and the disappearance of species driven to extinction. Climate change is planetary engineering without design. These facts of the Anthropocene are scientific, but its shape and meaning are questions for politics—a politics that does not yet exist. After Nature develops a politics for this post-natural world. “After Nature argues that we will deserve the future only because it will be the one we made. We will live, or die, by our mistakes.” —Christine Smallwood, Harper’s “Dazzling...Purdy hopes that climate change might spur yet another change in how we think about the natural world, but he insists that such a shift will be inescapably political... For a relatively slim volume, this book distills an incredible amount of scholarship—about Americans’ changing attitudes toward the natural world, and about how those attitudes might change in the future.” —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic

Principles of Sustainable Development is the component of Encyclopedia of Development and Economic Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Sustainable Development is a term of differing definitions. Standing alone, the term is abstract and ambiguous. The meaning most often cited is that adopted by the World Commission on Environment and Development: meeting today’s true needs and opportunities without jeopardizing the integrity of the planetary life-support base – the environment – and diminishing its ability to provide for needs, opportunities, and quality of life in the future. This definition may serve as a general principle, but for a guide to action its components sustainability and development must be given substance: what is to be sustained and what developed? Is development essentially economic or material growth, and is sustainability mostly a means to keep economic growth growing? Consequently, should development represent means toward ecologically sustainable ends? The concept of ecological sustainability has been advanced as a restriction on economic development. It follows therefore that principles of sustainable development depend upon how the term is understood and how it is put into practice. Even so the definition of the World Commission on Environment and Development, given the adequate definition of variable needs, provides the most reliable principle for testing the qualitative and ecological sustainability of development proposals. The Theme on Principles of Sustainable Development, in three volumes, deals with the diversity of points of view on this complex subject. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

The Cambridge History of Modern European Thought is an authoritative and comprehensive exploration of the themes, thinkers and movements that shaped our intellectual world in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth century. Representing both individual figures and the contexts within which they developed their ideas, each essay is written in a clear accessible style by leading scholars in the field and offers both originality and interpretive insight. This first volume surveys late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European intellectual history, focusing on the profound impact of the Enlightenment on European intellectual life. Spanning twenty chapters, it covers figures such as Kant, Hegel, Wollstonecraft, and Darwin, major political and intellectual movements such as Romanticism, Socialism, Liberalism and Feminism, and schools of thought such as Historicism, Philology, and Decadence. Renouncing a single 'master narrative' of European thought across the period, Warren Breckman and Peter E. Gordon establish a formidable new multi-faceted vision of European intellectual history for the global modern age.

Sustainable Human Development in the Twenty-First Century is a component of Encyclopedia of Human Resources Policy, Development and Management in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty Encyclopedias. The volume of Human Development examines the state and nature of human development and identifies factors that determine its promotion for the twenty-first century. A general goal, since the ultimate goal for human development is to enhance the quality of human life. However, the concept “quality of human life” is not well defined. It is determined by a set of interrelated factors that cut across many disciplines with varied perspectives and paradigms. These include the prevailing culture, health status, economic performance, technological development, political and social conditions, the building of human capacity and capabilities, and institutional development on the local and global levels. For example, in an environment characterized by a better quality of human life, it is expected that people will be able to lead long and productive lives. They are also expected to enjoy good health, have access to knowledge and educational opportunities, and be treated by all with respect, in a socially equitable and dignified manner. In the sphere of political economy, they are expected to have the opportunity to participate in governance decisions that affect their lives and the community in which they live; and to have the potential to earn sufficient income to supply themselves with adequate nutrition, shelter, and other material and aesthetic needs. Furthermore, people are expected to maintain a sustainable environment and equitable social contracts across space and generations, especially in the context of the evolving global governance. The volume of “Sustainable Human Development in the Twenty-First Century” is divided into five topics which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter presented in two volumes. The first is “Major issues in Human Development” and provides an over view of the Topic with emphasis on the sociological foundation of human development. The second Topic, “Diversity and Historical Processes” reviews the historical and technological processes which have led to the present state of human diversity and differentiation. The third Topic, “Causes of Global Change” focuses on whether it is possible in the present global environment to enlarge people's capabilities so that economic progress may be translated into a multidimensional human happiness. The fourth Topic, “Consequences of Global Change” examines global change not in the narrow sense of short-term economic change, but rather as historical waves of long-term development. The fifth Topic on Planning Strategies reviews current practice and projects challenges in the next century. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

The first volume of The Cambridge History of Capitalism provides a comprehensive account of the evolution of capitalism from its earliest beginnings. Starting with its distant origins in ancient Babylon, successive chapters trace progression up to the 'Promised Land' of capitalism in America. Adopting a wide geographical coverage and comparative perspective, the international team of authors discuss the contributions of Greek, Roman, and Asian civilizations to the development of capitalism, as well as the Chinese, Indian and Arab empires. They determine what features of modern capitalism were present at each time and place, and why the various precursors of capitalism did not survive. Looking at the eventual success of medieval Europe and the examples of city-states in northern Italy and the Low Countries, the authors address how British mercantilism led to European imitations and American successes, and ultimately, how capitalism became global.