Table of Contents
Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations for Archival Sources

American and German Geography circa 1820's to 1919
Geography and the American Normal School
Toward the Emergence of Geography in the Universities
The Physiographic Provinces
The Study of Geographical Regions
Commercial and Economic Geography
Environmentalism and Its Varieties
The Quest for Definition c. 1870-1919
World War I: Geographers and the Path to War
World War I: Geographers and the Path to Peace
The Millionth Map of Hispanic America
The Science of Settlement: Studies of the Pioneer Fringe
The Ecological Tradition in American Geography: A Perspective
The Emergence of a Political Geography
The Nature of Geography and Perspective on the Nature of Geography
Geography, Geographers, and World War II
The AAG and the ASPG: Schism and Rapprochement
The Quest for Definition Continued c. 1920-1970
Envoi

Appendix
Earliest Known (U.S.) College/University Courses of Their Kind
Index of Names
Index of Subjects

About the Author

Geoffrey J. Martin is the foremost historian of American Geography and official archivist of the Association of American Geographers, a position he has held for nearly 30 years. He holds these academic distinctions: Connecticut State University Professor, Distinguished Professor, and Professor Emeritus, Southern Connecticut State University. Professional awards include "Honors" and recipient of the J.K. Wright Award, both given by the Association of American
Geographers. He has been a Yale Visiting Scholar, and Association of American Geographers Regional Councilor, Visiting Scientist GDR, and has given seminars and addresses at more than 30 major universities
in the US, UK, Denmark, the former East Germany, India, Japan, Serbia, and Sweden. His previous book with OUP, All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas, has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Malaysian and Hindi throughout its four editions.

Reviews

"I found this book fascinating for a number of reasons. First, it portrays a geography, or a range of geographies, up to the 1960s when I undertook my undergraduate geography studies. Whilst I was then introduced to a range of geographers, many writings were indeed from United States geographers. The reading of this book reacquainted me with many of these geographers and added to my understanding of the nature and contexts of their approaches to geography. This
book has also put in context many changes that have occurred to geography after the 1960s and which are, arguably, a reaction to the often very different geographies from the first half of the
twentieth century."
-Geoffrey Paterson, South Caulfield, Victoria
"...unparalleled in the scope and depth of its research and in its meticulous exposition of the evolution of geography in the United States through the 1970s. Basing the volume on archival materials, Geoffrey Martin masterfully explains not only what American geographers did, but also why they chose the paths they took. The letters upon which the volume relies enable Martin to enter the minds of our predecessors in ways that histories based on secondary sources
cannot.
By tracing interpersonal connections among domestic geographers, and with overseas colleagues (especially in Germany and France), Martin sheds new light on the intellectual and structural foundations of American geography. American Geography and Geographers is a landmark volume that will be read by all who aspire to understand American geography's present and its future."
-Ronald F. Abler, Immediate Past President, International Geographical Union
"...a monumental and magisterial work, exhaustively researched and documented, judiciously presented and extremely important as evidence of the foundation from which the discipline arose and evolved. Like Hartshorne's Nature of Geography many decades ago, this will become a milestone in the record of the field, and it will engender productive debate for decades to come."
-Harm De Blij, John A. Hannah Professor Geography, Michigan State University
"Geoffrey Martin has been a contributor to the history of American geography for more than half a century. Beginning with a trilogy of works on William Morris Davis' most important students, Martin's work has consistently informed our understanding of that history. Martin's publications are grounded in his unrivalled knowledge of the germane manuscript sources both in the U.S. and abroad. In this volume he traces the rise of American professional geography in
the context both of its American roots and of contemporary developments in Britain and Europe. This landmark study will be a resource for teachers and students of the discipline for years to come, and
an important first reference for scholars seeking to expand the breadth and depth of the field."
-William A. Koelsch, Emeritus Professor of History and Geography, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
"This encyclopedic work is the product of a lifetime's archival research and reflection on the emergence in the US of geography as a modern university discipline. This book takes its place immediately as the most comprehensive analysis of a national tradition of geographical enquiry in the English language and an indispensable work of historical reference."
-Times Higher Education
"Even a casual overview of its nature and content demonstrates that it is a colossal achievement, unlikely ever to be equaled. On more careful examination, I believe it will be seen as an instant "classic." It will be consulted by future generations of scholars, not only to gain new insights on the nature of geography, but also to avoid repeating past mistakes. ...the sleuths for the truth will find all the clues they need in this summa cum laude achievement,
to make sense of the otherwise confusing state of U.S. geography today."
-AAG Review of Books
"The sense of Martin as a custodian of American geography's memory is, perhaps, most obviously exemplified by his accumulation -- over the course of decades -- of a private research archive in his Connecticut home. Martin has constructed a history that, in its detail, granularity and authoritativeness (particularly in respect to its coverage of the first half of the 20th century) is unlikely ever to be paralleled."

-- Innes M. Keighren, Progress in Human Geography
"Martin is an archive-driven scholar; not only has he visited a very large number of them (the book claims 152 in fourteen countries) but he also founded, moved, rescued, preserved, and maintained them both officially and at his private residence."
--Journal of Historical Geography