Experts in history, history of science, archaeology, geography, and environmental studies examine the history of the region.

Powerless Science? looks at complex historical, social, and political dynamics, made up of public controversies, environmental and health crises, economic interests, and political responses, and demonstrates how and to what extent scientific knowledge about toxicants has been caught between scientific, economic, and political imperatives.

The history of the Swiss National Park is told for the first time in Creating Wilderness. The deliberate reinterpretation of the American idea of the national park, as implemented in Yellowstone, was innovative and radical, but its consequences were not limited to Switzerland. The Swiss park became the prime example of a “scientific national park,” thereby influencing the course of national parks worldwide.

This collection of essays traces the century-long effort by Canada and the United States to manage and care for their ecologically and economically shared rivers and lakes, offering critical insights into the historical struggle to care for these vital waters.