Against the Grain. A Deep History of the Earliest States

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Review “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 Read more About the Author James C. Scott is Sterling Professor of Political Science and codirector of the Agrarian Studies Program at Yale University. His previous books include Domination and the Arts of Resistance, Seeing Like a State, and The Art of Not Being Governed.