Summary of James C. Scott's Against the Grain

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The case for the use of fire being the decisive transformation in the fortunes of hominids is clear. Fire was mankind’s oldest and greatest tool for reshaping the natural world. It was used to clear old vegetation and encourage a host of quick-colonizing grasses and shrubs, many of which bore desired seeds, berries, fruits, and nuts.

#2 The use of fire to clear land and open the canopy was the key to humankind’s growing sway over the natural world. The concentration of resources in this light places the milestones of the classical civilizational narrative in a new light.

#3 The application of fire to raw food externalizes the digestive process, which allows us to eat far less food and expend far fewer calories extracting nutrition from it. The effects are enormous.

#4 We are a fire-adapted species. We have adapted our habits, diet, and body to the characteristics of fire, and we are thus dependent on it. We are utterly dependent on fire.

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