Paradoxical Harvest: Energy and explanation in British History, 1870-1914

This book is a study of the relationship between the use of energy in society and the general pattern of development in Great Britain during the 1870–1914 era. Professor Adams argues that Britain's apparent 'decline' in this period was not in fact a decline but a levelling off in capacity to do work, a result of the country's collective decision to invest more heavily abroad than at home. This pattern accords with Lotka's general energetic principle of natural selection. Specifically, Brita...