Alfred W. Crosby’s Followers (84)

Alfred W. Crosby

Born

in Boston, Massachusetts, The United States

January 15, 1931

Died

March 14, 2018

Genre

History, Geography, American Studies

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Alfred W. Crosby Jr. was Professor Emeritus of History, Geography, and American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and University of Helsinki.

Crosby studied at Harvard University and Boston University. He was an inter-disciplinary researcher who combined the fields of history, geography, biology and medicine. Recognizing the majority of modern-day wealth is located in Europe and the Neo-Europes, Crosby set out to investigate what historical causes are behind the disparity, investigating the biological factors that contributed to the success of Europeans in their quest to conquer the world. One of the important themes of his work was how epidemics affected the history of mankind.

As early as the 1970s, he was ab Alfred W. Crosby Jr. was Professor Emeritus of History, Geography, and American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and University of Helsinki.

Crosby studied at Harvard University and Boston University. He was an inter-disciplinary researcher who combined the fields of history, geography, biology and medicine. Recognizing the majority of modern-day wealth is located in Europe and the Neo-Europes, Crosby set out to investigate what historical causes are behind the disparity, investigating the biological factors that contributed to the success of Europeans in their quest to conquer the world. One of the important themes of his work was how epidemics affected the history of mankind.

As early as the 1970s, he was able to understand the impact of the 1918 flu pandemic on world history. According to Hal Rothman, a Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Crosby “added biology to the process of human exploration, coming up with explanations for events as diverse as Cortés’ conquest of Mexico and the fall of the Inca empire that made vital use of the physical essence of humanity. In 1972 he created the term "Columbian Exchange" in his book of the same name. The term has become popular among historians and journalists, such as Charles C. Mann, whose 2011 book 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created expands and updates Crosby's original work. Crosby was also interested in the history of science and technology.

He wrote several books on this subject, dealing with the history of quantification, of projectile technology, and the history of the use of energy. He said that the study of history also made him a researcher of the future. He was very much interested in how humankind could make the future a better one. He has taught at Washington State University, Yale University, the Alexander Turnbull Library in New Zealand, and twice at the University of Helsinki as a Fulbright Bicentennial Professor, most recently in 1997–98. He was appointed an academician by Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. He retired from the chair of Professor Emeritus of History, Geography, and American Studies of the University of Texas at Austin in 1999. Crosby’s hobbies included birdwatching and jazz, on which topic he could lecture with great expertise. He was married to linguist Frances Karttunen. ...more

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Alfred W. Crosby’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 4,252 ratings · 405 reviews · 18 distinct works • Similar authors

	Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 3.98 avg rating — 1,879 ratings — published 1986 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 3.95 avg rating — 1,114 ratings — published 1972 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 3.87 avg rating — 625 ratings — published 1976 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 3.83 avg rating — 321 ratings — published 1988 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite for Energy 3.77 avg rating — 202 ratings — published 2006 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology through History 3.74 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2002 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Germs, Seeds and Animals: 3.96 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1994 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Columbian Voyages, the Columbian Exchange, and Their Historians 2.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1987 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	America, Russia, Hemp, and Napoleon: American Trade with Russia and the Baltic, 1783-1812 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1965	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voyages of Columbus: A Turning Point in World History 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1989	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Alfred W. Crosby (?)

“But the 1920 edition of the Spanish influenza virus was an attenuated variant of the original strain, and the human population was more resistent than in 1918 and 1919.”
― Alfred W. Crosby, America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918

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“Robert Graves, the poet and British Army officer, was in London, too, still shaky from the German metal he had received in his chest and thigh the year before. His mother-in-law contracted influenza, but deceived her physician in order to make the rounds of the latest London plays with her son, Tony, on leave from France. She died July 13: “her chief feeling was one of pleasure that Tony had got his leave prolonged on her account.” On the day she died, Grave’s friend and fellow poet, Sigfried Sassoon, who had been shot through the throat in 1917, was shot through the head while on patrol in No-Man’s-Land. He recovered. Tony was killed two months later.27 Yes, the war was much more engrossing than Spanish flu.”
― Alfred W. Crosby, America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918

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“Today such news would galvanize the Medical Corps, but in 1918 it attracted only a modicum of attention.”
― Alfred W. Crosby, America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918

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Alfred W. Crosby’s Followers (84)

Alfred W. Crosby

Combine EditionsAlfred W. Crosby’s books

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Combine Editions
Alfred W. Crosby’s books