Deforestation, soil runoff, salination and pollution, all recurrent themes of the contemporary world, but they are not new to the world. This is a sweeping review of the environmental impacts of human settlement and development worldwide over the past 5000 years. The book shows that the processes of population growth, intense resource accumulation and urbanization in ancient and modern societies almost universally bring on ecological disaster, which can often contribute to the fall of that society. It then looks at the modern European worldsystem and its impact on the environment. The author, Sing Chew, also traces the existence of environmental conservation ideas and movements over the 5000 year span, and challenges the reader to change longterm trends of ecological disaster.