Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This compilation of seminal essays and primary documents introduces students to the most exciting scholarship and writing on the of environmental history in the United States. Subjects include the changing American landscape, soil epidemics, waste disposal, industrial development, conservation, and the environmental movement.
- Introduces students to the most exciting scholarship and writing on the subject of environmental history in the United States.
- Contains primary documents that illustrate the conditions, perception, and influences of environmental issues from the pre-Columbian era to the present.
- Subjects include the changing American landscape, soil epidemics, waste disposal, industrial development, conservation, and the environmental movement.
- Includes an editorial introduction, headnotes, and suggestions for further reading.
Synopsis
With this book, discover how the peoples of America perceived and changed their environments and, in the process, re-made their politics, culture, and societies.
The thoroughly revised and newly updated Second Edition of American Environmental History delivers a comprehensive exploration of how the peoples of the United States have perceived, and made changes to, the natural world around them. It also describes how nature has changed in response to humanity, from the pre-Columbian era to the present, and how Americans have fought with one another over how best to live in the earth's natural systems.
Accomplished professor and author Louis Warren offers readers examinations of crucial topics, including Native American landscapes and relations with nature, virgin soil epidemics, colonial invasion, American slavery through environmental history and the nexus of race and environmental peril, market economies and the destruction of bison, passenger pigeons, whales, and other creatures, industrial development and its hazards, urbanization and calls for pollution control, conservation in the Progressive Era, wilderness and national parks, the rise of environmentalism, the birth of the environmental justice movement, consumerism and its environmental impact, the conservative backlash against environmentalism, and histories of ozone depletion, acid rain, overpopulation, and climate change. This book invites readers to weigh the distinctive experiences of different people--white, Black, and Native American--to environmental change and environmental threats from the colonial period to COVID-19.
You'll benefit from an insightful editorial introduction to each chapter, as well as interpretive interventions that add scholarly value to each reading and document. The author includes selections from amongst the most exciting scholarship and seminal essays on the subject of environmental history in the United States.
American Environmental History, 2nd Edition provides readers with:
- Over twice as many primary documents as the First Edition
- Perspective on a time period spanning from the pre-Columbian era to the present day
- The incorporation of insights from several fields, including Native American history, African American history, environmental justice, and geography
- A chapter dedicated to the environmental history of American slavery
- Clarifying insights into the creation and impact of the New Deal on the American environment
- Guidance for students on thinking about climate change in historical perspective
Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying American Environmental History, the book is also ideal for anyone with even a passing interest in American natural history and the impact of her peoples on the natural world around them.
Synopsis
Explore how the peoples of America understood and changed their natural environments, remaking their politics, culture, and societies
In this newly revised Second Edition of American Environmental History, celebrated environmental historian and author Louis S. Warren provides readers with insightful examination of how different American peoples created and reacted to environmental change and threats from the era before Columbus to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You'll find concise editorial introductions to each chapter and interpretive interventions throughout this meticulous collection of essays and historical documents. This book covers topics as varied as Native American relations with nature, colonial invasions, American slavery, market expansion and species destruction, urbanization, Progressive and New Deal conservation, national parks, the environmental impact of consumer appetites, environmentalism and the backlash against it, environmental justice, and climate change.
This new edition includes twice as many primary documents as the First Edition, along with findings from related fields such as Native American history, African American history, geography, and environmental justice.
Ideal for students and researchers studying American environmental history and for those seeking historical perspectives on contemporary environmental challenges, this book will earn a place in the libraries of anyone with an interest in American history and the impact of American peoples on the environment and the world around them.
Louis S. Warren is the W. Turrentine Jackson Professor of Western U.S. History at the University of California, Davis. He is a two-time winner of the Caughey Western History Association Prize, a Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the Albert Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association and the Bancroft Prize in American History.