Certainly one of the most interesting books I have read this year. Philipp Blom takes a Eurocentric look at the "Little Ice Age" a period from roughly 1550-1750 when winters were longer and colder, and summers shorter, wetter and less reliable - than the preceding centuries, characterised by the famous "Frost Fairs" when the Thames froze over. At first greeted with exclamations that ill times were God's judgement on sinners or the doings of witches in true medieval fashion, the long term impact was social and cultural change which took Europe from its medieval, feudal systems to new mercantilist, exploitative, progressive, urban behaviours which heralded our modern world. More about trade, philosophical developments and social change than the climate, Blom introduces some of the heroes of the Enlightenment whom we should still regard highly today - Montaigne, Descartes and Spinoza, with a host of others, who rethought what it meant to be human in the face of intransigent and conservative religious and political authorities. As we face the prospect of climate change at a time of globalization and technological innovation unprecedented in human history, its worth looking at how societies adapted, rather than indulging in dystopian apocalyptic fantasies, and reflecting on how we can maintain decent human values as Nature forces change on us. Highly recommended.