This book looks at environmental change from different periods of history to reveal its impact on societies and how they either coped successfully or failed to respond adequately to its demands. Examples discussed include the eruption of Santorini in Mycenaean Greece, the rise and fall of the Mayas, deforestation of the mediterranean in Roman times, the extinction of big game in North America, and the eruption of Thera and its impact on Minoan civilization. Later examples include sea level change, tourism in the Alps, the dessication of the Aral Sea, and the Three Gorges Dam.