The Past is Prologue: How Sunil Amrith’s ‘The Burning Earth’ Redefines Our Understanding of the Climate Crisis
The urgent global conversation surrounding climate change often focuses on future technology, governmental policy, or immediate scientific interventions. Yet, as Yale historian Professor Sunil Amrith demonstrates in his award-winning work, the root of today's environmental emergency lies not only in the present, but in five centuries of interconnected human choices.
In October 2025, Amrith’s monumental work, The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years, was honored with the prestigious British Academy Book Prize, an accolade carrying a £25,000 prize. The judges lauded the book for its “magisterial account of the interconnections between human history and environmental transformation”. This selection underscores the growing realization that addressing 21st-century challenges requires deep historical thinking and a global perspective.
The Scholar Who Spanned the Globe
Professor Sunil Amrith is uniquely positioned to tell this sweeping history. Born in Kenya to South Indian parents and raised in Singapore, Amrith’s global upbringing provided a foundation for his intellectual commitment to understanding diverse environmental experiences. Now a Professor of History at Yale, his scholarship concentrates on environmental history, migration, and the crucial flows of water, especially across South and Southeast Asia.
Amrith’s distinguished record includes major honors such as the 2025 Toynbee Prize for Global History, the 2024 Fukuoka Academic Prize, and the 2017 MacArthur Fellowship. His previous influential books include Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia’s History, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Cundill Prize, and Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants, which won the 2014 John F. Richards Prize.
Crucially, his scholarship provides a vital corrective to histories that traditionally overly focus on Europe and North America. Amrith’s dedication lies in centering the Global South in the narrative of environmental change, ensuring that stories of marginalized communities, whose lives were often shaped by the imposition of colonial and industrial powers, are brought to the forefront.
The British Academy Prize: Recognizing Urgency
The British Academy Book Prize is recognized globally as one of the world's most respected honors for non-fiction. The award seeks to celebrate books that deepen our understanding of the world by spotlighting original scholarship and compelling storytelling, grounded in exceptional humanities and social science research.
In selecting The Burning Earth, the judges pointed not only to its intellectual ambition and comprehensive historical evidence but also to its timely urgency in the face of ongoing climate challenges. Rebecca Earle, chair of the jury, emphasized that the book is "vivid in detail and beautifully written—important reading for anyone seeking to understand the origins of today’s climate crisis". Susan J Smith, President of the British Academy, called the work “precisely the combination of evidence-informed insight, well-honed ideas, and great writing that we are proud to celebrate”. The award signals the growing importance of environmental scholarship in shaping how society meets its 21st-century challenges.
Decoding The Burning Earth: Five Centuries of Interconnection
Amrith’s achievement lies in weaving a narrative that exposes the complex, inseparable relationship between human well-being and the natural world. The Burning Earth is not a simplified account of disaster; it is a meticulous exploration of how historical forces, spanning five centuries, have fundamentally transformed the planet.
The book’s structure takes readers on an epic historical journey, examining major forces that shaped societies and the environment alike. Key elements of this historical lens include:
- Colonization and Empire: Amrith rigorously explores the role of empire and migration in both spreading environmental harms and introducing innovations. The book details how colonization and industrialization brought about profound ecological change, impacting landscapes across the continents, from the conquest of the Americas to gold mining in South Africa. Colonial power structures dictated resource extraction and land use, leaving lasting environmental legacies that contribute directly to current climate vulnerabilities.
- Industrialization and Settlement: The book shows how industrial revolutions and changing patterns of human settlement have profoundly reshaped the planet. Amrith uses rigorous research, including meticulous chronologies and comparative histories from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, to show how human choices fueled the modern climate crisis. Environmental transformations, Amrith argues, were rarely accidental; they were often driven by policy, profit, and ideology.
- Global Interdependence: A key finding stressed by the judges is that the book reflects the true complexity of the climate crisis, emphasizing global interdependence. Amrith challenges the idea that environmental problems are geographically isolated, detailing how events like the ravages of the Black Death or the fallout of industrialization created interconnected stories of suffering, ingenuity, devastation, and resilience across the world. As Judge Rebecca Earle stated, Amrith reveals the impact of the environment on human history, as well as humanity’s impact on the environment, concluding that it is “not really possible to separate the two”.
- Regional Experiences and Resilience: While covering vast global shifts, Amrith never loses sight of local, regional experiences of ecological change, highlighting both devastation and crucial resilience within communities. This human-centered approach focuses on the communities impacted, social movements, and the legacies of colonial power, avoiding simple causality and recognizing adaptation and unintended consequences.
The Message of Hope: Reclaiming Paths Not Taken
While Amrith acknowledges that The Burning Earth depicts the immense "harm and suffering wrought by environmental changes," he strongly maintains that the book carries an essential message of hope. During his acceptance remarks, he confronted the question of whether his work was bleak, insisting that the ultimate message focuses on possibility.
Amrith’s hope is not utopian, but practical and historically grounded. He argues that humanity might find new, more sustainable ways to inhabit the earth by revisiting "lost ideas and paths not taken". Specifically, The Burning Earth lifts up forgotten movements, technologies, and ideas that previously offered more sustainable, less destructive ways of life.
This means looking beyond high-tech solutions of the future and reclaiming alternatives from the past. Amrith proposes that returning to these older, low-impact ways of living and organizing societies could hold “seeds of inspiration for a more hopeful and less violent way of living together on this planet, which we share with each other and with so much other life that we depend on”.
The book challenges readers to embrace deeper historical thinking and humility toward the environment, arguing that actionable hope is rooted in practical knowledge and low-impact technologies that were discarded in favor of more destructive systems.
Context and Enduring Significance
The British Academy Book Prize selected The Burning Earth from a strong shortlist of six exceptional books, each addressing urgent global challenges. The nominated works included The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple, The Baton and The Cross: Russia's Church from Pagans to Putin by Lucy Ash, Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill, Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women’s Health by Sophie Harman, and Sound Tracks: A Musical Detective Story by Graeme Lawson. Amrith’s victory underscores the critical need for historical insights in addressing the environmental dilemma.
By honoring Amrith, the British Academy sets a benchmark for future scholarship: research should be global, interdisciplinary, and attentive to the stories and wisdom of communities traditionally marginalized in climate debates.
The Burning Earth serves as a crucial reminder to policymakers, activists, and general readers alike: history matters. Solutions to the climate emergency must reckon not only with present-day science but also with the legacies of generations of global interconnectedness, migration, technological change, and forgotten alternatives. Today’s crisis is the result of hundreds of years of choices, many of which can still be reconsidered or reversed.
In conclusion, Sunil Amrith has successfully brought environmental history to the forefront of contemporary discussion about climate action. By blending page-turning prose with evidence-driven insights, The Burning Earth challenges us to learn from both past mistakes and missed opportunities. His groundbreaking work at Yale, recognized by this prestigious award, is not just a chronicle of environmental decline—it is a manual for renewal, insisting that our best futures may be found in the pathways we almost took. His message is clear: the fight against climate change is inseparable from the long, complex story of humanity on earth, and by embracing humility and historical reflection, we can still chart a more sustainable course.
50 Question-Answer Pairs on Sunil Amrith's The Burning Earth
Here are 50 question-answer pairs regarding Professor Sunil Amrith and his book, "The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years."
Author and Background
- What is Professor Sunil Amrith's current academic position?
He is a Professor of History at Yale.
- Where was Sunil Amrith born?
He was born in Kenya.
- Where was Sunil Amrith raised?
He was raised in Singapore.
- Where did Amrith attend university?
He attended Cambridge.
- What are the main areas of focus in Amrith's scholarship?
He focuses on environmental history, migration, and the flows of water across South and Southeast Asia.
- What specific commitment marks Amrith’s scholarship regarding geographical focus?
His scholarship is marked by a commitment to centering the Global South in the story of environmental change.
- What corrective does Amrith’s focus on the Global South provide?
It provides a vital corrective to histories that overly focus on Europe and North America.
- Name one notable previous work by Sunil Amrith.
His notable previous works include Unruly Waters: How Rains, Rivers, Coasts, and Seas Have Shaped Asia’s History.
- What prize did Amrith’s book Crossing the Bay of Bengal win in 2014?
It won the 2014 John F. Richards Prize.
- What award was Unruly Waters shortlisted for in 2019?
It was shortlisted for the 2019 Cundill Prize.
- Name one major accolade Amrith received in 2025.
He received the 2025 Toynbee Prize for Global History.
- What award did Amrith receive in 2024?
He received the 2024 Fukuoka Academic Prize.
- What prestigious fellowship did Sunil Amrith receive in 2017?
He received the 2017 MacArthur Fellowship.
The Book and the Award
- What is the full title of the award-winning book?
The title is The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years.
- What major prize did The Burning Earth win in 2025?
It won the prestigious 2025 British Academy Book Prize.
- How much prize money did the British Academy Book Prize carry?
The prize carried a £25,000 award.
- What did the British Academy judges praise the book for being?
They praised it for being a “magisterial account of the interconnections between human history and environmental transformation”.
- Who was the chair of the British Academy Book Prize jury?
Rebecca Earle was the chair of the jury.
- What specific qualities did Rebecca Earle use to describe the book?
She described it as “vivid in detail and beautifully written”.
- What type of reader did Rebecca Earle state should read the book?
She called it “important reading for anyone seeking to understand the origins of today’s climate crisis”.
- What is the overarching goal of the British Academy Book Prize?
The award aims to celebrate books that deepen our understanding of the world by spotlighting original scholarship and compelling storytelling.
- What three specific qualities did the judges point to when selecting The Burning Earth from the shortlist?
They pointed to the book’s global reach, intellectual ambition, and timely urgency.
- Who is Professor Susan J Smith?
She is the President of the British Academy.
- What combination of qualities did Susan J Smith praise in The Burning Earth?
She called it “precisely the combination of evidence-informed insight, well-honed ideas, and great writing that we are proud to celebrate”.
- What does the award signal regarding current scholarship?
It signals the growing importance of environmental scholarship in shaping how society meets its 21st-century challenges.
Themes and Historical Scope
- What is the central historical time span covered by The Burning Earth?
The book covers 500 years of environmental history.
- What four main factors does the book explore regarding environmental evolution?
It explores human activity, colonialism, industrialization, and the evolution of our planet’s environment.
- What three historical processes shaped the planet according to Amrith?
Colonization, industrial revolutions, and changing patterns of human settlement have profoundly transformed the planet.
- What specific role does empire play as a key theme in the book?
The role of empire and migration in spreading environmental harms and innovations is a key theme.
- What two conditions are explored regarding regional experiences of ecological change?
Regional experiences of ecological change, including both devastation and resilience, are explored.
- What specific catastrophe is mentioned in the source as part of Amrith's epic historical journey?
The ravages of the Black Death.
- What specific industrial activity mentioned in the source is covered in the book?
Gold mining in South Africa.
- What major event related to land use is mentioned as part of the historical narrative?
The conquest of the Americas.
- What relationship does the book emphasize as complex and inseparable?
It emphasizes the complex, inseparable relationship between human well-being and the natural world.
- What forces did Amrith note played major roles in environmental transformations, suggesting they were rarely accidental?
Policy, profit, and ideology played major roles.
- What kind of approach does The Burning Earth use regarding the communities affected?
It uses a human-centered approach, focusing on communities impacted, social movements, and the legacies of colonial power.
- What characteristics of climate history does the book recognize, moving beyond simple causality?
It recognizes unintended consequences, adaptation, and ignored alternatives.
Message and Significance
- While depicting harm and suffering, what message does Amrith state the book carries?
It carries a message of hope.
- How does Amrith suggest humanity might find more sustainable ways to inhabit the earth?
By revisiting lost ideas and paths not taken.
- What does Amrith propose could hold "seeds of hope for the twenty-first century"?
Returning to lost ideas—ways of living less violently and more sustainably.
- What specific elements from the past does the book suggest offer a more sustainable way of life?
Forgotten movements and technologies that offered more sustainable ways of life are highlighted.
- According to Amrith, what does facing the climate crisis require beyond science and policy?
It demands deeper humility and historical reflection.
- What two qualities does Amrith suggest humanity embrace for a fairer ecological future?
Deeper historical thinking and humility toward the environment.
- What does Amrith’s work remind readers that today’s crisis is a result of?
He reminds readers that today’s crisis is the result of hundreds of years of choices, many of which can be reconsidered or reversed.
- According to Rebecca Earle, what is revealed by Amrith's global perspective?
It reveals the impact of the environment on human history, as well as humanity’s impact on the environment.
- What ultimate conclusion does Rebecca Earle draw regarding human history and the environment?
She concludes that it is “not really possible to separate the two”.
- What type of knowledge does the book suggest offers actionable hope?
It offers actionable hope by resurfacing practical knowledge and low-impact technologies of the past.
- According to Amrith, what must climate justice be rooted in?
Climate justice must be rooted in historical understanding.
- Name one book that was shortlisted for the prize alongside The Burning Earth.
The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple.
- What areas of study must solutions to the climate emergency reckon with, besides present-day science?
They must reckon with generations of global interconnectedness, migration, technological change, and forgotten alternatives.
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