Fire is a key physical process on earth, one that humans alone have worked out how to partly control. The power to use fire has transformed human societies and propelled us to the role of the dominant species in the biosphere. Now as the products of the combustion of fossil fuels are accumulating in the atmosphere the climate is changing rapidly. Simon Dalby argues that humanity's success in using fire has radically changed our circumstances, and unless we work out how to constrain this firepower soon, our success with combustion threatens to undo what we have created. The current challenge is to make a new economy for life after fossil fuels if a liveable earth is to be made available for future generations.

Simon Dalby is Emeritus Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He has written extensively on climate change, environmental security and geopolitics.

Introduction: A World on Fire

1. The Problem of Firepower

2. Fire History and the Making of the Modern World

3. Rethinking Firepower and Geopolitics

4. Shaping the Future: A World After Firepower

Conclusion: Join the Fire Department!