I just finished reading Peter Frankopan’s The Earth Transformed, an Untold Story . Frankopan is a professor of global history at Oxford. The book is a sweeping history of the planet from its formation 4.6 billion years ago through today, and the flora and fauna inhabiting it, observed through the lens of climate dynamics shaped by solar radiation, seismic and volcanic events, oceanic and atmospheric currents, glaciation and deglaciation, agriculture, urbanization, and the exploitation of natural resources. It’s an ambitious, fascinating story, one which makes you wonder why someone hasn’t looked at history through this lens before. To give you an idea of the scope of the work and Frankopan’s reason for writing this book (at 658 pages, it's a lethal weapon), here is an extract of The Earth Transformed from its publisher Bloomsbury and here are some reviews of the book on Frankopan's website: https://www.peterfrankopan.com/ . For more on the man h...