This bold and wide-ranging book views the history of humankind through the prism of natural resources - how we acquire them, use them, value them, trade them, exploit them. History needs a cast of characters, and in this story of leading actors are peat and hemp, grain and iron, fur and oil, each with its own tale to tell. The uneven spread of available resources was the prime mover for trade, which in turn led to the accumulation of wealth, the growth of inequality and the proliferation of evil. Our world is the result of a fragile pact between people and nature. As we stand on the verge of climate catastrope, nature has joined us in our struggle to distinguish between good and evil. And since we have failed to change the world, now is the moment to understand how it works.