In A History of Humanity, Manning argues that human energies and activities created our world, and that the influence of nature is receding. Our achievements have created a “human system” that reproduces and transforms itself both locally and globally. The natural world is becoming marginalized, but it is not yet tamed, as greenhouse gasses rise, presaging disaster for humanity. Manning traces four agencies of change in human history—biological, cultural, and social evolution (the three most commonly discussed) and Gaia, the system of life on earth as part of the natural environment. The human system started as an insignificant factor in Gaia but has grown to become the greatest influence of all. Manning calls human history an exercise in the exploitation of Gaia’s natural resources by individuals and groups grappling with ways to cooperate. This study is history on a grand scale, “big history” if you like, which has become...

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