Recommendations from our site
“This is a very interesting book – it contains some very good storytelling about the late Victorian famines in Africa, India, China, Brazil and elsewhere. It could almost be described as a narration of human suffering. It also contains many rare photographs depicting the famines. Davis discusses the role of capitalism and colonialism on the environment and climate during the famines that were related to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, a climate pattern that produces extreme weather. He investigates the role of the colonial government in British India and elsewhere and documents the inefficiency and detrimental policies that contributed to an increase in widespread hunger and poverty. He also suggests that the vulnerability produced by these famines remained long after the British left. Thus explaining the title – The Making of the Third World. Although the term ‘holocaust’ is quite controversial when relating to natural disasters, I believe that Davis is suggesting that the famines may have been preventable, and that they were undoubtedly on a massive scale. In the latter part of the 19th century, between 30 and 60 million died as a result of hunger.” Read more...
The best books on Natural Disasters
Khurshid Alam, Environmentalist
