MixedThe New York Times Book Review\"The premise of treating historical sources as a way of answering current questions is so good that Blom should have stuck to it. He is tempted, however, into making everything new in the 17th century a result of climate change, and this can only be true by so diluting the notion of causation as to render his claim meaningless — or just plain vulnerable ... The book is marred by errors of fact ... It too often reads like a series of potted histories. But the main thrust is well worth pondering...\
