Catastrophe

An examination of the origins of the modern world looks to a world-wide climatic event that blocked out much of the sunlight for eighteen months, wreaking havoc on civilization. This volume argues that climatic catastrophes in the sixth century AD changed the course of world history. The author reconstructs the global chain of revolutions that began in the catastrophe of A.D. 535, then offers a definitive explanation of how and why this cataclysm occurred on that momentous day centuries ago. He uses tree-ring samples, analysis of lake deposits and ice cores, as well as contemporaneous documents to bolster his thesis.