What do you think?
Rate this book
American Environmental History
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introductions to each chapter and interpretive interventions throughout this meticulous collection of essays and historical documents.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.
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introductions to each chapter and interpretive interventions throughout this meticulous collection of essays and historical documents.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.
652 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2003
6 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Louis S. Warren
6 books3 followersLouis S. Warren is W. Turrentine Jackson Professor of Western U.S. History at the University of California, Davis, where he teaches the history of the American West, California history, environmental history, and U.S. history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 28, 2020
Good environmental history book! Some of its articles are either controversial or they take a look at the issue from a clearly political point of view. The book also follows no clear timeline, often having a large span of history in one chapter, and then covering some of that same span in the next chapter. Organizationally the book was sound. To make the book better, it should've been written in volumes so the author could've covered everything they wanted to cover.
February 1, 2008
a collection of essays illustrating the history of american interaction with the environment from pre-columbus times to nearly the present (year of publication ?) with a great selection of primary and secondary sources and comments from the editor.
from the conquistadors, to the mythical "ecological indian" to the puritans' fear of the wilderness to aldo leopold and rachel carson, you'll find both well known and rare essays, personal letters and book excerpts. reminiscent of zahn's "people's history of the united states" in style
from the conquistadors, to the mythical "ecological indian" to the puritans' fear of the wilderness to aldo leopold and rachel carson, you'll find both well known and rare essays, personal letters and book excerpts. reminiscent of zahn's "people's history of the united states" in style
July 17, 2012
I can see this being helpful for anyone who is just being introduced to the field of environmental history as it includes many of the field's seminal works.
However, for me, who has read most of these works in their original publications, it was a bit monotonous.
However, for me, who has read most of these works in their original publications, it was a bit monotonous.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews