Carbon. A Biography

We were delighted to have hosted the launch of the English translation of Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent and Sacha Loeve, Carbon: a Biography (Polity, 2024). Their book shows that this omnipresent element is at the root of countless histories through time, thanks to its extraordinary versality. Indeed, the work of Carbon extends far beyond the burning of fossil fuels and Bensaude-Vincent and Loeve’s book addresses the element’s many lives. The launch involved a discussion between Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent with Doug Rogers (Yale, Anthropology), Suzana Sawyer (UC Davis, Anthropology) and Andrew Barry (UCL Anthropocene, Geography). Bensaude-Vincent, Rogers, Sawyer and Barry, along with Evan Hepler-Smith (Duke, History), are currently working on a collective book project, provisionally titled Carbon Times.