Promotional Information

"This guide fills an important niche in American environmental history for both the expert and the casual reader. There is no better person than Carolyn Merchant to do this job." -- John Opie, University of Chicago "Merchant has been one of the most important scholars building the field of environmental history. Her excellent guide will be of use to new students in environmental history and to established scholars coming into the field from other areas." -- John H. Perkins, The Quarterly Review of Biology

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Historical Overview-Topics and Themes 1. The American Environment and Native-European Encounters, 1000-1875 2. The New England Wilderness Transformed, 1600-1850 3. The Tobacco and Cotton South, 1600-1900 4. Nature and the Market Economy, 1750-1850 5. Western Frontiers: The Settlement of the Pacific Coast and the Great Plains, 1820-1930 6. Urban Environments, 1850-1960 7. Conservation and Preservation, 1785-1950 8. Indian Land Policy, 1800-1990 9. The Rise of Ecology, 1890-1990 10. Environmentalism and Globalization, 1960-2005 Part II. American Environmental History A to Z-Agencies, Concepts, Laws, and People Part III. Chronology-An Environmental History Timeline Part IV. Resource Guide Visual Resources: Films and Videos Electronic Resources Bibliographical Essay Bibliography Index

About the Author

Carolyn Merchant is the Chancellor's Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of several books, including Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture and The Death of Nature, and is a past president of the American Society for Environmental History.

Reviews

"Merchant takes a most useful approach to environmental scholarship by encapsulating a daunting range of factual information and critical information into this practical volume... one of the best books of its kind." -- History "This is a one-volume resource not to be missed... our primary reference work." -- Environmental History "An impressive introduction to environmental history... Merchant has succeeded in producing an accessible first stop handbook that will be relied on for many years." -- Environmental Practice