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Fire: A Very Short Introduction

Andrew C. Scott

25 June 2020

ISBN: 9780198830030

176 pages
Paperback
174x111mm

In Stock

Very Short Introductions

Price: £8.99

Fire has shaped the Earth's landscape and vegetation for the past 400 million years. This book explores the history of wildfire, and how humans have sought to use and manage it. The need to understand fire has never been greater, as human settlements encroach on flammable landscapes and wildfires increase with climate change.

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Description

Fire has shaped the Earth's landscape and vegetation for the past 400 million years. This book explores the history of wildfire, and how humans have sought to use and manage it. The need to understand fire has never been greater, as human settlements encroach on flammable landscapes and wildfires increase with climate change.

  • Covers the fundamentals of fire, both wild and under human control, including the basics of ignition, combustion, and fuel
  • Describes the 400-million-year history of fire on our planet, and the environmental and human impact of wildfires
  • Discusses the role of fire in human development
  • Considers the problem of fires in urban settings, including new ways to prevent fire damage
  • Explores approaches to managing wildfires near human settlements
  • Part of the Very Short Introduction series - over ten million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Andrew C. Scott, Royal Holloway, University of London

Andrew C. Scott is a Distinguished Research Professor of Ancient and Modern Fire Systems at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research has dealt with aspects of palaeobotany, palynology, coal geology, petrology and geochemistry, the geological history of wildfire and the role of fire on Earth. He has appeared in numerous radio programmes for the BBC including 'In Our Time' and 'The Forum'. He has published more than 240 scholarly articles and written or edited 12 books, including Fire on Earth: An Introduction (Wiley, 2014) and Burning Planet (OUP, 2018).

Table of Contents

    Preface and Acknowledgements
    List of Illustrations
    1:The elements of fire
    2:The deep history of fire
    3:Fire and humankind
    4:Containing and suppressing fire
    5:New technologies and changing fire policies
    6:Fire and climate change
    References
    Further reading
    Index

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