A review of a collection of essays on the history and adventure of American exploration with several references to sophisticated analyses of trigonometric surveys, the science of empire building, and natural history exchange networks.
Books & Profiles
Surveying the Record: North American Scientific Exploration to 1930
Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom
Brian Black tells the cultural and environmental history of Oil Creek Valley in Pennsylvania, and investigates the relations among oil production, industrialization, and local residents.
Graphic novel: Asbestos, PQ
This graphic novel tells the story of a town shaped by asbestos mining.
Roundtable Review of In the Field, Among the Feathered by Thomas R. Dunlap
Thomas R. Dunlap discusses the development of birding and its long-term public influence in the USA through the history of field guides.
The Kruger National Park: A Social and Political History
Do we owe the world-famous Kruger National Park to the triumph of “good” conservationists over the forces of “evil” commercial exploitation? Environmental historian Jane Carruthers investigates.
Graphic novel: The Last Bison
A graphic novel for children inspired by the disappearance from Białowieża Primeval Forest of the wild European bison.
Roundtable Review of Enclosing Water by Stefania Barca
Stefania Barca presents an environmental history of the Industrial Revolution, through the lens of the Liri River Valley.
Roundtable Review of Quagmire by David Biggs
In this book, David Biggs explores the actual uses of land and water in Vietnam through its troubled history.
Roundtable Review of The Passage to Cosmos by Laura Dassow Walls
In this book, Laura Dassow Walls describes how the explorer Alexander von Humboldt developed his unitary worldview.
A History of Environmental Politics Since 1945
An overview of environmental affairs in the United States, from the 1940s onward.