The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 17002100: Europe, America, and the Third World (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time)

Book Description

Nobel laureate Robert Fogel's compelling new study examines health, nutrition and technology from 1700 to 2100. Although throughout most of human history, chronic malnutrition has been the norm, a synergy between improvements in productive technology and human physiology has enabled humans to more than double their average longevity and to increase their body size by over fifty percent over the past three centuries. Larger, healthier humans have contributed to the acceleration of economic growth and technological change, resulting in reduced economic inequality, declining hours of work and a corresponding increase in leisure time. Increased longevity has also brought increased demand for health care. Fogel argues that health care should be viewed as the growth industry of the twenty-first century and systems of financing it should be reformed. His book will be essential reading for all interested in economics, demography, history and health care policy. A professor at the University of Chicago, Robert William Fogel has taught at the University of Rochester, Cambridge University, and Harvard University. He has received numerous awards and prizes for his work, including the Arthur C. Cole Prize (1968), the Schumpeter Prize (1971), the Bancroft Prize (1975), the Gustavus Myers Prize (1990), and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science (1993). Previous books include Without Consent or Contract: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery (W.W. Norton & Company, 1994) and The Fourth Great Awakening and the Future of Egalitarianism (The University of Chicago Press, 2000).

Customer Reviews:

A glass more than half-full?.......2006-04-16

Given that our vision is so heavily freighted with the moment, ideas of human progress are in short supply lately. Although not an easy ride, economic historian and Nobel laureate Robert William Fogel's survey of the long run, at least in respect to human morbidity, leisure and longevity, provides escape velocity from pressing concerns about war, pandemic, income inequality and the health of the ecosphere. It might be as another noted economist, Alfred Lord Keynes, said in a different context: In the long-run we are all dead. But, the long-run seems to be getting longer.

The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100 is an extension of Fogel's briefer 1993 Nobel Prize Lecture. It provides a synergistic view of the impact of increasing human environmental control on the demographic, economic and physiological conditions of successive generations over the past 300 years. According to Fogel, the interaction of these forces has over this period, and most dramatically over the last century, brought about a new stage of evolution - non-genetic "techno-physio evolution." He indicates this is evidenced by an unprecedented positive change during this period in caloric intake of about 250%, human body size of over 50%, and an increase in longevity of over 100%. Pointing to the future, Fogel's extrapolation of data over the last 140 years in optimal life circumstances, suggests that centenarians will be common by the last quarter of the 21st century. During the past three centuries there has also been an accompanying substantial decrease in the hours it takes each day to earn one's daily bread and increase in the percentage of discretionary income.

Although this is a "little" book, just 111 pages in the main body, it is densely packed with deep-mine data and illuminating higher-order concepts derived from a lifetime of concentration on economic development, particularly when Fogel was affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research as director of its Development of the American Economy Program and subsequently at the University of Chicago as the Charles R. Walgreen Professor of American Institutions and director of the university's Center for Population Economics. Metabolic indices, the thermodynamics of human physiological activity, Waaler curves, in-utero effects on morbidity, protein energy, malnutrition, physiological capital, and Gini ratios are grist for Fogel's mill.

Fogel's treatment of the confluence of technological change, diet, morbidity, work demands, leisure and mortality extends beyond developments in Western society to include the rapid pace of technophysio evolutionary changes in third world countries whose per capita income increases piggybacked on Western innovations, consequently dwarfing the much slower pace of Western improvements a century earlier. In the process of his examination he emphasizes the need to recognize the optimal conditions for human adaptation rather than settle for standards such as daily caloric requirements derived from earlier phases of technophysio evolution. Policy issues in the areas of health care, personal savings and retirement are also discussed in the light of the demographic changes that are occurring.

Some data reported by Fogel and those from other sources are anomalous. For instance, in view of the technophysio evolution particularly of the last 100 years, it seems strange that Dutch males, who were on average about 5'5" in 1860 are now the tallest in the world at about 5'11" while over the same period US men, who were about 5'7" then, are only 5'8" now after the declines of the last few decades. One explanation derives from the widening gap between the rich and the poor in the US (Gini = 45) compared to the greater income equality in the Netherlands (Gini = 30.9). (The Gini coefficient ranges from 1-100 with lower scores representing less income inequality). Also, there are data from millennia ago indicating a decline in average heights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the transition period from the hunter-gatherer economic regime to the first agricultural revolution (11,000 BC - 5000 BC). In John Kolmos (Ed.) Stature, Living Standards and Economic Development (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1994) there are a number of contributions that focus on such issues.

Professor Fogel touches very briefly on in utero, childhood and adolescence effects of economic status on morbidity and mortality, but his comment that "The exact mechanisms by which malnutrition and trauma in utero or in early childhood are transformed into organ dysfunctions are still unclear." (p. 32) is unwarranted. These relationships are detailed extensively in various chapters of the volume by Bruce S. McEwen and H. Maurice Goodman (Eds.) Handbook of Physiology: Coping with the Environment: Vol. IV (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001) for neuroendocrine abnormalities; in D.J.P. Barker's Mothers, Babies and Health in later Life (Churchill Livingstone, 1998) and Fetal Origins of Cardiovascular and Lung Disease (Marcel Dekker, 2001) for specific organ effects; in Peter Gluckman and Mark Hansen's The Fetal Matrix (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005) for more general morbidity effects; and A.R. Cellura's The Genomic Environment and Niche-Experience (Cedar Springs Press, 2005) for the confluence of genetic influences, economic regimes, ecological niches, caloric intake, stature, morbidity and mortality.

Robert William Fogel's The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100 is that rare species of research - longitudinal study. Unlike the cross-sectional snapshots whose importance often quickly fades, there is gold in these data mines that is so precious because it is so difficult to find and so hard to get to. It is must reading for those in human biology, medicine and the social sciences who are interested in the issues surrounding human adaptation. It will also appeal to life-long learners drawn to the interface between the biology, economics and history of the human condition.

Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man's Hunger in His Youth (Scribner Classics)

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Of Time and the River
Brilliant Writting - Just a little long at points
Dense but Entertaining
of time and the river
A failling-off from Look Homeward Angel

Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man's Hunger in His Youth (Scribner Classics)
Thomas Wolfe
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0684867850

Book Description

The sequel to Thomas Wolfe's remarkable first novel, Look Homeward, Angel, Of Time and the River is one of the great classics of American literature. The book chronicles the maturing of Wolfe's autobiographical character, Eugene Gant, in his desperate search for fulfillment, making his way from small-town North Carolina to the wider world of Harvard University, New York City, and Europe. In a massive, ambitious, and boldly passionate novel, Wolfe examines the passing of time and the nature of the creative process, as Gant slowly but ecstatically embraces the urban life, recognizing it as a necessary ordeal for the birth of his creative genius as a writer.

The work of an exceptionally expressive writer of fertile imagination and startling emotional intensity, Of Time and the River illuminates universal truths about art and life, city and country, past and present. It is a novel that is majestic and enduring. As P. M. Jack observed in The New York Times, "It is a triumphant demonstration that Thomas Wolfe has the stamina to produce a magnificent epic of American life."

This edition, published in celebration of Wolfe's centennial anniversary, contains a new introduction by Pat Conroy.

Customer Reviews:

Of Time and the River.......2006-01-23

Reading the prequel, Look Homeward, Angel, evokes in the reader (if the reader was ever a boy) crystalline images of their youth. This presumes that one grew up in the 50's and 60's before small cities, such as Asheville, moved to the suburbs. I found Of Time and the River, to lack the imagery that I found so appealing in Look Homeward. Perhaps it is that I do not feel the distance from my 20's that I feel from being 11 or 12. Still, I commend the book.

Brilliant Writting - Just a little long at points.......2005-11-01

There is no doubt that Mr. Wolfe was a brilliant writer. More than once I found myself saying "Yes, I know exactly how you feel!" I suspect I am not alone in this regard. The biggest drawback, and the reason I only assign four starts, is the sensation that I am mining for greatness. What do I mean?

There were some long stretches throughout the book that I found tedious. My advice is to plough ahead for I assure you the sections that speak to the reader are that good. Wolfe's death at a young age was loss for us all.

Dense but Entertaining.......2003-12-23

I kept waiting for Wolfe to share with us what would make Eugene the writer he was waiting to be - where would he find the courage to not only fail (or fail again) but to believe in himself and know that he could write after reading the thousands of books he gorged himself on.

And then as the book winds down, it happens, he falls in love. And in a few paragraphs, we learn that the momentual problems of the past were wiped away. He finds his courage and the book ends abruptly. Perhaps a little more editing earlier would have led Wolfe to write more about this episode.

I enjoyed the novel though not as much as the prequel.

of time and the river.......2002-12-09

It was early 1980 when I first read "Look Homeward.." for a University of Colorado course. The professor who seemed to be a hundred years old to me at the time instructed me to read my critical report to the entire class. After smugly concluding Wolfe was lacking in many areas the professor graded my paper an "A"...then she patted my young shoulders and told me that one day I'd be old enough to understand Wolfe. She was right and my criticicm was dead wrong. Wolfes' wordiness is his beauty. The scene in "Of Time And The River" where his father dies is as beautiful and compelling as anything I've read. I think the book is unique and those who are critical of it may need to read it again -when they are a little older.

A failling-off from Look Homeward Angel.......2001-09-04

Those who enjoyed Look Homeward Angel will find this novel somewhat disappointing. Continuing Eugene Gant's story with his trip to Harvard, and life in New York, the book lacks the vivid characters of the earlier novel. While the book contains some wonderful, Whitman-like passages, the only real character is Eugene Gant; everyone else seems to exist only to show how brillant Gant (Wolfe) is. Moreover, some of the book seems to border on anti-semitism. Nevertheless, anyone interested in Wolfe will want to read this book.

The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger In Our Time

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A Nonpartisan, non-ideological, relatively inexpensive plan
PEACE ON EARTH
Layman's Guide to Reduce Hunger
The Moral Imperative and Necessary Direction to End Hunger!

The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger In Our Time
George McGovern
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0684853345

Book Description

Hundreds of millions of people around the globe suffer from hunger. But hunger, which has plagued the world for thousands of years, is a political condition, writes George McGovern in this plainspoken and necessary call to action. Ending it is a greater moral imperative than ever before because for the first time humanity has the tools and the knowledge to defeat this ancient enemy.

In The Third Freedom, McGovern lays out a workable and affordable five-point program to end world hunger. The basic facets include these steps:

The United States should take the lead within the UN in working toward a universal school lunch program.

The American supplemental nutrition program for low-income women, infants, and children should go worldwide.

The United Nations must establish food reserves around the globe.

Developing countries must be assisted in improving their own farm production, food processing, and food distribution.

High-yielding, scientific agriculture, including genetically modified crops, must be further encouraged and developed.

There are, of course, problems, concerns, and risks involved in ending world hunger while maintaining the prosperity of farmers, livestockmen, and dairymen, and protecting the global environment. McGovern addresses these and other issues in his logical, down-to-earth way. Understandably, some of the economic and social responses will be controversial. But as he passionately argues, one compelling moral issue is clear: Every major religion and ethical formulation commands its adherents to feed the hungry. We feed the hungry because it is right. McGovern argues persuasively that it will also be economically beneficial to all.

As someone who grew up on the plains of South Dakota during the drought and depression days of 1932, McGovern saw some of the world's best farmers flounder under surplus production that they could not sell for a break-even price. At the same time, he read of hunger and starvation in other parts of the world. In this groundbreaking work, he combines his personal experience and political know-how to work toward changing our world.

Customer Reviews:

A Nonpartisan, non-ideological, relatively inexpensive plan.......2004-08-22

This is NOT a utopian dream. This basic blue print should not be objectionable to conservatives, moderates or liberals. The elder statesman and historian puts forward some straight forward and relatively inexpensive proposals to end world hunger in our time. Sen. McGovern goes out of his way to praise the contribution made by some of his Republican colleagues especially Robert Dole. He recognizes the need for open markets and the value of liberalized global trade while seeing the need for sensible adjustments to deal with the social and economic upheaval. He calls upon the U.S. to lead the United Nations in an integrated approach involving the private sector, the world market system, governments, NGO's, religious communities and grassroots organizations. This book is MUST reading for anyone looking for realistic and practical solutions to the world's gravest and cruelest injustice, malnutrition caused by poverty.

PEACE ON EARTH.......2002-04-27

In his simple prose and humble middle-American manner, former Senator George McGovern addresses one of humankind's moral imperatives: world hunger. It is a great tragedy that the majority of Americans are overweight (or have access to three square meals, at the least), while people across the globe -or even across the city- suffer from hunger.

Mr. McGovern presents five possible solutions that may mitigate the plight of millions, among these worldwide WIC and school lunches, an increase in the food stamp program, and a minimum wage increase. Unfortunately, many of these measures seem implausible, for the ironic reason of their political inviability; FEW Americans favor an increase in taxes, to say the least.

I found this book to be more than an overview of hunger's politics. It is a window into the soul of a great man. In truth, world hunger would be a fading memory were we like Mr. McGovern: compassionate and selfless.

Layman's Guide to Reduce Hunger.......2001-03-05

George McGovern, former senator from South Dakota, has written a compact, layman's guide, The Third Freedom, on the politics of hunger. McGovern, long-time workhorse of food and agriculture policies, makes the case for a 5-point program to end hunger. The book's biographical anecdotes are as compelling as the case he makes. The author, World War II bomber pilot and Democratic presidential nominee, draws upon experiences from the Great Depression to the Clinton administration. Along the way, the reader learns how McGovern's father, farmers, Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, John Kennedy, Maryknoll missionaries and Pope John XXIII infulenced his thinking.

In the 1960s, McGovern's origination and stewardship of food and agriculture policies led to programs that benefited the U.S. economy. In the new century, McGovern uses his national visibility and standing to propose fresh political remedies: food policies that favor women and children; universal school lunch; genetically modified crops; fresh water; and agricultural aid modeled on the Peace Corps. The author endorses government action, rooted in biblical teachings, to feed the hungry. While the book is short on documentation, it is long on policy. The title from Gary Hart's memoir of McGoven's ill-fated presidential bid, Right from the Start, may aptly sum up this new work.

The Moral Imperative and Necessary Direction to End Hunger!.......2001-01-03

Every caring person will be glad that she or he reads this book, because each of us can help eliminate world hunger in our lifetimes. The reference to the third freedom is to the idea of creating "freedom from want" that is found in FDR's famous speech about the four freedoms.

Senator McGovern has been close to the issue of hunger for many years, having first headed the Food for Peace program for President Kennedy and more recently working with the United Nations on food issues for President Clinton. In this book, he describes many of the lessons learned about allievating hunger in the United States and elsewhere around the world, the benefits from eliminating hunger, the barriers to making faster progress, the plans for making the next steps, and his proposal for eliminating world hunger for humans by 2015.

I remember hearing much about this subject in the 1960s, and especially recall the CBC special from 1968. Historically, American farmers had excess production that was hurting farm prices while people were hungry. During the Kennedy administration this was turned into a series of initiatives to reduce the surpluses to strengthen the prices and feed more people. Large gains were made in students attending school and in their academic performance through free school breakfasts and lunches for the poor.

What has happened since then? Well, the good news is that these and many other good ideas have been expanded around the world. The number of hungry people is still enormous, 800 million, but it is many fewer than 40 years ago. As Senator McGovern rightly points out, we now have the technology, expertise in food distribution, and financial resources to eliminate hunger for the final 800 million. All we lack is a focus on the issue, and the will to make a difference.

The U.S. contribution would be less than the cost of a building a B-2 bomber annually. It turns out that most people think that more than 10 percent of the Federal budget goes for foreign aid, and that is almost all food. Actually, foreign aid is less than 1 percent and most of that is armaments. In recent polls, over 70 percent of Americans favor ending world hunger. Throughout the last presidential campaign this issue got lost. That's a shame, because here is an area where we pretty much agree.

His proposal focuses on the following elements:

(1) Extend the school lunch program around the world (the bulk of the poor hungry are children, and this gets them to school and improves their ability to learn)

(2) Favor women and children in food distribution (because of their better use of the resources and the fact that this by-passes corruption the most) usually by providing the food at the schools for pick-up

(3) Create local food reserves around the world of the sort we have in the United States so that emergency food can be more readily available to respond to natural disasters and wars

(4) Train local farmers to be better at what they do and provide them with better technology, appropriate for their part of the world (especially better ways to irrigate that don't harm the soil)

(5) Support research into better agricultural practices, including biotechnology

(6) Reduce the arms made available to countries where on-going wars are likely since such wars cause much hunger

(7) Clean-up the water supplies to reduce disease at the same time, and eliminate the risk of future wars over water

(8) Further encourage democracies since they make avoiding famines a high priority.

One of the nasty surprises I got from reading the book is that despite world progress, hunger is growing again in the United States due to cut backs in food stamps and other programs aimed at hunger. If we have been making mistakes in this area, that's pretty bad . . . at a time of unprecedented prosperity and government surpluses.

I also hope that private companies and individuals will step up their efforts to take a hand in eliminating hunger. I suspect that the know-how of these individuals is probably even more valuable than their money and time.

I strongly encourage you to read this book. Write to your congressional leaders and to our new president about this subject.

Also, I suggest that if you can afford it, that you allocate $30 per person per year in your household for donations aimed at eliminating hunger. That's about what it would take. At least you would know you are doing your part, even if the rest of society sleeps. Ultimately, that's all any of us can be sure of, is that we have stood up and been counted.

This book should be shared. If you belong to a book reading group, I hope you will suggest it. I also ask that you give a copy to your spiritual advisor. This book could become the basis of some good projects for your house of worship.

Book Description

A richly evocative, adventurous hybrid of memoir and visionary prose-poetry, it'ss a coming-of-age story as well as a meditation on mortality--and immortality--compellingly told in a singular voice. By turns poignant, humorous and hallucinatory, the book vividly recalls the author'ss experiences in the Georgia creek swamp that he extensively explored during his childhood and youth, following him into the larger world he entered as an adult and the more unpredictable landscape of his dreams and his elaborate imagination. Regional (Georgia) memoir by late gay author, posthumously published.

Ending Hunger - an Idea Whose Time Has Come

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Ending Hunger - an Idea Whose Time Has Come
The Hunger Project
Manufacturer: Praeger Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORH03O

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Ending Hunger: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
The Hunger Project
Manufacturer: Praeger Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORGOEU

Average customer rating:

Beautifully illustrated introduction to hunger issues
an awakening to what most of us have never imagined

Ending Hunger: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Manufacturer: Praeger Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0275901181

Book Description

Not too long ago, only poets and dreamers imagined a world without hunger and starvation. Today, the world's expert community--scientists, agricultural specialists, development professionals, working with governments, the UN and private voluntary organizations--is united in its declaration that hunger can be eliminated from the face of our planet by the year 2000. Compiled by the Hunger Project--a non-profit group established in 1977--Ending Hunger: An Idea Whose Time Has Come is the definitive source and reference book to one of the greatest opportunities humanity has ever faced--the end of hunger by the end of the century. Written in response to a growing grassroots demand for up-to-date information about world hunger and how to end it, Ending Hunger brings together for the first time in one place the full range of expert thinking and approaches to eradicating humanity's oldest and most persistent enemy. A product of five years researchwithtthe essential information, facts and data they need to learn about how they can help to end hunger.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully illustrated introduction to hunger issues.......2004-06-14

I was active in The Hunger Project (http://www.thp.org) when this "coffee table book" on world hunger was still just a dream - and back when we still expected to be able to end world hunger by the year 2000. It's a large glossy paperback that has wonderful photographs from around the world and makes a sincere effort to present the facts and issues of world hunger from a politically neutral perspective, giving equal weight to all major viewpoints. The text is as dry as the illustrations are lavish.

Its attempt to be fair, ironically, is the book's major shortcoming. World hunger is not a morally neutral, unfortunate situation that just happened, and not all viewpoints are equally valid.

Enjoy this book for the pictures, the information and - yes - to explore the various viewpoints from what attempts to be a neutral point of view. But to really find out about the underpinnings of world hunger, track down a used copy of Food First, by Frances Moore Lappe (now out of print, unfortunately).

The more modest Millennium Development Goals aim to halve world hunger by the year 2015, but world leaders still aren't acting like they mean it. However, a comparison of stats shows that infant mortality rates have been steadily going down in most hungry nations except those in Africa. In spite of all, the world may be making some progress toward ending hunger.

an awakening to what most of us have never imagined.......1999-08-20

where are the 1+ million people who took a stand on ending hunger on the planet today? Can their committment for creating a better world stand on the shoulders of the first group creating a fresh idea to make a difference. This book leads me to believe we can.

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Ending Hunger: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Editors
Manufacturer: Praeger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GRR0Q4

Average customer rating:

Excellent pictures
Dated but still relevant
a political tract written by an organization

Ending hunger: An idea whose time has come

Manufacturer: Praeger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

Excellent pictures.......2007-03-14

Great resource for teachers. Photos are huge and great to show students.

Dated but still relevant.......2006-03-30

In the late 1970's many studies were completed, including one by President Carter, that indicated that there was enough capacity to feed everyone on the planet. What was missing was a discussion about why there were still millions of people dying from hunger and hunger related diseases every year.

The Hunger Project was founded to develop a global conversation for ending hunger on the planet by the year 2000. A noble but obviously optimistic goal, especially in retrospect.

The premise of the book and The Hunger Project is that hunger like many human conditions, is believed to be part of the human condition. This belief is grounded throughout man's history. It is only in our modern era through breakthroughs in farming, fertilizers, water management, and low tech local solutions like goat banking that the resources are finally available to end hunger on the planet.

Ending hunger on the planet does not mean no one dies as a result of hunger or hunger related diseases. It means that no country on the planet has an infant mortailty rate over 50.

When the book was written in 1985, the popular belief was that is was not possible to end hunger. The Hunger Project, with this book started an effort to create a shift in the public discourse. The objective was to get people to acknowledge and readily agree, hunger can be ended. That was accomplished. People know hunger can be ended. What people say today is, "that we probably won't".

Mostly that relates to war, politics and distribution. The Hunger Project of today is actively engaged in providing education and programs on a local basis to turn the tide on hunger in Africa and India. The two continents with the greatest challenges.

From a historical context good reading.

a political tract written by an organization.......2001-01-06

Werner Erhard founded The Hunger Project, and although his direct personal influence is not felt very much there these days, his ideas and impact still live on through the Exectuvie Director and many of the sennior staff. This volume, created and produced by that staff many years ago, stands as an indication of his/their ideas, many of which (not all) having been eclipsed by "a shift in the wind". This will not be a very helpful volume for those seeking answers to the big questions (such as "Why is there world hunger on a planet that has enough to feed everyone") but this book will answer less significant questions (such as "What is the Hunger Project and why do they attract so much contrvoersy"). In that regard it's a helpful book.

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