Wood : a history Ötzi the iceman could not do without wood when he was climbing his Alpine glacier nor could medieval cathedral builders or todays construction companies. From time immemorial the skill of the human hand has developed by working wood so much so that we might say that the handling of wood is a basic element in the history of the human body. The fear of a future wood famine became a panic in the 18th century and sparked the beginnings of modern environmentalism. This book traces the cultural history of wood and offers a highly original account of the connection between the raw material and the human beings who benefit from it. Even more it shows that wood can provide a key for a better understanding of history of the pecularities as well as the varieties of cultures of a co evolution of nature and culture and even of the rise and fall of great powers. Beginning with Stone Age hunters it follows the twists and turns of the story through the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution to the global society of the twenty first century in which wood is undergoing a varied and unexpected renaissance. Radkau is sceptical of claims that wood is about to disappear arguing that such claims are self serving arguments promoted by interest groups to secure cheaper access to and control over wood resources. The whole forest and timber industry often strikes the outsider as a world unto itself a hermetically sealed black box but when we lift the lid on this box as Radkau does here we will be surprised by what we find within. Wide ranging and accessible this rich historical analysis of one of our most cherished natural resources will find a wide readership. Publishers website