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When the last deep coal mine in Britain closed in 2016 it marked the end of the most transformative era in the history of mankind. In writing this account of the rise and decline of the coal industry and its effects on the health of the miners, of those who worked with coal products and of almost all of us who have breathed in the pollution from its combustion, Professor Seaton points to the often hidden adverse consequences of transformative technologies. He also traces the early history of the discoveries that led to the concept of man-made climate change and discusses the converging threats to civilisation from unregulated technological advance. Professor Seaton has worked as a chest physician and environmental medicine academic in West Virginia, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He has been involved in research into lung diseases and air pollution for most of his career. His other publications include several medical textbooks and many popular essays in the Scottish Review.