{"title":"Kyle Harper","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKyle Harper\u003c\/strong\u003e offers compelling explorations at the intersection of \u003cem\u003ehistory, religion, and the natural world\u003c\/em\u003e. His works delve into critical moments of transformation, revealing how faith, disease, and empire have shaped human civilisation. Readers can expect richly researched narratives that intertwine scientific insight with profound cultural analysis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether examining the spiritual shifts in \u003cem\u003eFrom Shame to Sin\u003c\/em\u003e or the environmental forces behind ancient pandemics in \u003cem\u003ePlagues Upon the Earth\u003c\/em\u003e, Harper’s books offer a thoughtful perspective on the forces that have influenced health, belief, and society across time. His historical scholarship is both accessible and deeply illuminating for those fascinated by the weight of history on modern life.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-fate-of-rome-by-kyle-harper-9780691192062","title":"The Fate of Rome","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow devastating viruses, pandemics, and other natural catastrophes swept through the far-flung Roman Empire and helped to bring down one of the mightiest civilisations of the ancient world. Here is the monumental retelling of one of the most consequential chapters of human history: the fall of the Roman Empire. \u003cem\u003eThe Fate of Rome\u003c\/em\u003e is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome's power—a story of nature's triumph over human ambition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInterweaving a grand historical narrative with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries, Kyle Harper traces how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by volcanic eruptions, solar cycles, climate instability, and devastating viruses and bacteria. \u003cem\u003eThe Fate of Rome\u003c\/em\u003e is a sweeping account of how one of history's greatest civilisations encountered and endured, yet ultimately succumbed to, the cumulative burden of nature's violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45880541741292,"sku":"9780691192062","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691192062.jpg?v=1730859108"},{"product_id":"plagues-upon-the-earth-by-kyle-harper-9780691230597","title":"Plagues Upon the Earth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow deadly germs and pandemics have shaped history - and why they are products of our success as a species.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/em\u003e is a monumental history of humans and their germs. Weaving together a grand narrative of global history with insights from cutting-edge genetics, Kyle Harper explains why humanity's uniquely dangerous disease pool is rooted deep in our evolutionary past, and why its growth is accelerated by technological progress. He shows that the story of disease is entangled with the history of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism, and reveals the enduring effects of historical plagues in patterns of wealth, health, power, and inequality. He also tells the story of humanity's escape from infectious disease - a triumph that makes life as we know it possible, yet destabilises the environment and fosters new diseases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePanoramic in scope, \u003cem\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/em\u003e traces the role of disease in the transition to farming, the spread of cities, the advance of transportation, and the stupendous increase in human population. Harper offers a new interpretation of humanity's path to control over infectious disease - one where rising evolutionary threats constantly push back against human progress, and where the devastating effects of modernisation contribute to the great divergence between societies. The book reminds us that human health is globally interdependent - and inseparable from the well-being of the planet itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePutting the COVID-19 pandemic in perspective, \u003cem\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/em\u003e tells the story of how we got here as a species, and it may help us decide where we want to go.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Well-conceived... [Kyle] Harper combs through the literature of history, economics, epidemiology, and other disciplines to deliver a solid study of the role of infectious disease in the human story... Harper's long-view study is a welcome addition to the spate of recent books on epidemic disease.' - Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47427405480172,"sku":"9780691230597","price":73.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691230597.jpg?v=1774767691"},{"product_id":"from-shame-to-sin-by-kyle-harper-9780674660014","title":"From Shame to Sin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Rome was at its height, an emperor's male beloved, victim of an untimely death, would be worshipped around the empire as a god. In this same society, the routine sexual exploitation of poor and enslaved women was abetted by public institutions. Four centuries later, a Roman emperor commanded the mutilation of men caught in same-sex affairs, even as he affirmed the moral dignity of women without any civic claim to honour. The gradual transformation of the Roman world from polytheistic to Christian marks one of the most sweeping ideological changes of premodern history. At the centre of it all was sex. Exploring sources in literature, philosophy, and art, Kyle Harper examines the rise of Christianity as a turning point in the history of sexuality and helps us see how the roots of modern sexuality are grounded in an ancient religious revolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Roman sexual culture was frankly and freely erotic, it was not completely unmoored from constraint. Offending against sexual morality was cause for shame, experienced through social condemnation. The rise of Christianity fundamentally changed the ethics of sexual behaviour. In matters of morality, divine judgment transcended that of mere mortals, and shame—a social concept—gave way to the theological notion of sin. This transformed understanding led to Christianity's explicit prohibitions of homosexuality, extramarital love, and prostitution. Most profound, however, was the emergence of the idea of free will in Christian dogma, which made all human action, including sexual behaviour, accountable to the spiritual, not the physical, world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47558921355500,"sku":"9780674660014","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780674660014-from-shame-to-sin.jpg?v=1776922204"},{"product_id":"plagues-upon-the-earth-by-kyle-harper-9780691192123","title":"Plagues Upon the Earth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow deadly germs and pandemics have shaped history - and why they are products of our success as a species.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/i\u003e is a monumental history of humans and their germs. Weaving together a grand narrative of global history with insights from cutting-edge genetics, Kyle Harper explains why humanity's uniquely dangerous disease pool is rooted deep in our evolutionary past, and why its growth is accelerated by technological progress. He shows that the story of disease is entangled with the history of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism, and reveals the enduring effects of historical plagues in patterns of wealth, health, power, and inequality. He also tells the story of humanity's escape from infectious disease - a triumph that makes life as we know it possible, yet destabilises the environment and fosters new diseases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePanoramic in scope, \u003ci\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/i\u003e traces the role of disease in the transition to farming, the spread of cities, the advance of transportation, and the stupendous increase in human population. Harper offers a new interpretation of humanity's path to control over infectious disease—one where rising evolutionary threats constantly push back against human progress, and where the devastating effects of modernisation contribute to the great divergence between societies. The book reminds us that human health is globally interdependent - and inseparable from the well-being of the planet itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePutting the COVID-19 pandemic in perspective, \u003ci\u003ePlagues upon the Earth\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of how we got here as a species, and it may help us decide where we want to go.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Well-conceived... [Kyle] Harper combs through the literature of history, economics, epidemiology, and other disciplines to deliver a solid study of the role of infectious disease in the human story... Harper's long-view study is a welcome addition to the spate of recent books on epidemic disease.' - Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597513572588,"sku":"9780691192123","price":57.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691192123-plagues-upon-the-earth.jpg?v=1777954647"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/kyle-harper.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}