Reviews
"The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "Fascinating. . . . Our agrarian-biased view of history, Scott concludes, could use some reworking. Most of the world's early human populations likely enjoyed semisettled, semiagrarian lives beyond the state's grasp."--Suzanne Shablovsky, Science "A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is, quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization? "This is a brilliant, accessible, and highly original account of the origins of sedentism, farming, states, and the relations between agrarian and nomadic communities. It should attract a wider audience than any of Scott's earlier books."--J. R. McNeill, co-author of The Great Acceleration: An Environmental History of the Anthropocene since 1945 "A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization,' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney "Brilliant, sparkling, dissident scholarship. In Scott's hands, agriculture looks like a terrible choice, states and empires look fragile, ephemeral, and predatory, and the 'barbarians' beyond their borders lived in relative freedom and affluence."--David Christian, Macquarie University, Sydney "This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist, "The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is, quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization? "This is a brilliant, accessible, and highly original account of the origins of sedentism, farming, states, and the relations between agrarian and nomadic communities. It should attract a wider audience than any of Scott's earlier books."--J. R. McNeill, co-author of The Great Acceleration: An Environmental History of the Anthropocene since 1945 "A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization,' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney "Brilliant, sparkling, dissident scholarship. In Scott's hands, agriculture looks like a terrible choice, states and empires look fragile, ephemeral, and predatory, and the 'barbarians' beyond their borders lived in relative freedom and affluence."--David Christian, Macquarie University, Sydney "This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist, "The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution, "[Scott's work] has focussed on a skeptical, peasant's-eye view of state formation. . . . His best-known book, Seeing Like a State , has become a touchstone for political scientists, and amounts to a blistering critique of central planning and 'high modernism.' . . . Scott's new book extends these ideas into the deep past, and draws on existing research to argue that ours is not a story of linear progress, that the time line is much more complicated, and that the causal sequences of the standard version are wrong."--John Lanchester, New Yorker "The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "Fascinating. . . . Our agrarian-biased view of history, Scott concludes, could use some reworking. Most of the world's early human populations likely enjoyed semisettled, semiagrarian lives beyond the state's grasp."--Suzanne Shablovsky, Science "A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is, quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization? "A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization,' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney "This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist "Scott is at his most intellectually omnivorous in Against the Grain , drawing on a vast array of sources to upend our basic assumptions about state formation and civilization."--Edward D. Melillo, author of Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection " Against the Grain is not just a "counternarrative," an outsider's skeptical reaction to received wisdom about the evolution of agricultural systems and the first states in Mesopotamia. Vainglorious kings with their generals and armies, sycophantic scribes, and royal architects and engineers are not Scott's heroes. His concerns are with urban laborers, peasants, and barbarians and the cleavage planes of resistance to rulers. Those studying Mesopotamia--and other early states--take heed."--Norman Yoffee, editor of Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, "[Scott's work] has focussed on a skeptical, peasant's-eye view of state formation. . . . His best-known book, Seeing Like a State , has become a touchstone for political scientists, and amounts to a blistering critique of central planning and 'high modernism.' . . . Scott's new book extends these ideas into the deep past, and draws on existing research to argue that ours is not a story of linear progress, that the time line is much more complicated, and that the causal sequences of the standard version are wrong."--John Lanchester, New Yorker " Against the Grain delivers not only a darker story but also a broad understanding of the forces that shaped the formation of states and why they collapsed -- right up to the industrial age . . . an excellent book." --Ben Collyer, New Scientist "Written with great enthusiasm and characteristic flair . . . Scott hits the nail squarely on the head by exposing the staggering price our ancestors paid for civilisation and political order."--Walter Scheidel, Financial Times "The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "Fascinating. . . . Our agrarian-biased view of history, Scott concludes, could use some reworking. Most of the world's early human populations likely enjoyed semisettled, semiagrarian lives beyond the state's grasp."--Suzanne Shablovsky, Science "In his sparkling new book, . . . Scott makes his case by tracing, step by unholy step, how human beings were led first into the agricultural fields and then into the domain of the state, bringing a vast set of conscripts into the army of supposed advancement."--Samuel Moyn, The Nation "Fascinating. . . . Thinkers like Scott remind us that who we thought we are might not necessarily be the case. Such knowledge is empowering."--Derek Beres, Big Think "A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is, quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization? "A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization,' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney "This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist "Scott is at his most intellectually omnivorous in Against the Grain , drawing on a vast array of sources to upend our basic assumptions about state formation and civilization."--Edward D. Melillo, author of Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection " Against the Grain is not just a "counternarrative," an outsider's skeptical reaction to received wisdom about the evolution of agricultural systems and the first states in Mesopotamia. Vainglorious kings with their generals and armies, sycophantic scribes, and royal architects and engineers are not Scott's heroes. His concerns are with urban laborers, peasants, and barbarians and the cleavage planes of resistance to rulers. Those studying Mesopotamia--and other early states--take heed."--Norman Yoffee, editor of Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, "[Scott's work] has focussed on a skeptical, peasant's-eye view of state formation. . . . His best-known book, Seeing Like a State , has become a touchstone for political scientists, and amounts to a blistering critique of central planning and 'high modernism.' . . . Scott's new book extends these ideas into the deep past, and draws on existing research to argue that ours is not a story of linear progress, that the time line is much more complicated, and that the causal sequences of the standard version are wrong."--John Lanchester, New Yorker " Against the Grain delivers not only a darker story but also a broad understanding of the forces that shaped the formation of states and why they collapsed -- right up to the industrial age . . . an excellent book." --Ben Collyer, New Scientist "Written with great enthusiasm and characteristic flair . . . Scott hits the nail squarely on the head by exposing the staggering price our ancestors paid for civilisation and political order."--Walter Scheidel, Financial Times "The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "Fascinating. . . . Our agrarian-biased view of history, Scott concludes, could use some reworking. Most of the world's early human populations likely enjoyed semisettled, semiagrarian lives beyond the state's grasp."--Suzanne Shablovsky, Science "A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is, quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization? "A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization,' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney "This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist "Scott is at his most intellectually omnivorous in Against the Grain , drawing on a vast array of sources to upend our basic assumptions about state formation and civilization."--Edward D. Melillo, author of Strangers on Familiar Soil: Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection " Against the Grain is not just a "counternarrative," an outsider's skeptical reaction to received wisdom about the evolution of agricultural systems and the first states in Mesopotamia. Vainglorious kings with their generals and armies, sycophantic scribes, and royal architects and engineers are not Scott's heroes. His concerns are with urban laborers, peasants, and barbarians and the cleavage planes of resistance to rulers. Those studying Mesopotamia--and other early states--take heed."--Norman Yoffee, editor of Early Cities in Comparative Perspective
Synopsis
An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available that contradicts the standard narrative for the beginnings of the earliest civilizations, An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available that contradicts the standard narrative for the beginnings of the earliest civilizations Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains, and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agrarian states, says James C. Scott, were born of accumulations of domestications: first fire, then plants, livestock, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family--all of which can be viewed as a way of gaining control over reproduction. Scott explores why we avoided sedentism and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile subsistence, the unforeseeable disease epidemics arising from crowding plants, animals, and grain, and why all early states are based on millets and cereal grains and unfree labor. He also discusses the "barbarians" who long evaded state control, as a way of understanding continuing tension between states and nonsubject peoples., An Economist Best History Book 2017 "History as it should be written."--Barry Cunliffe, Guardian "Scott hits the nail squarely on the head by exposing the staggering price our ancestors paid for civilization and political order."--Walter Scheidel, Financial Times Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains, and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agrarian states, says James C. Scott, were born of accumulations of domestications: first fire, then plants, livestock, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family--all of which can be viewed as a way of gaining control over reproduction. Scott explores why we avoided sedentism and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile subsistence, the unforeseeable disease epidemics arising from crowding plants, animals, and grain, and why all early states are based on millets and cereal grains and unfree labor. He also discusses the "barbarians" who long evaded state control, as a way of understanding continuing tension between states and nonsubject peoples.
