The American Environment Revisited

The book is worth reading whether you are a devotee of environmental historical geography or not quite sure you’ve heard of this subfield of the larger discipline . . . Buckley and Youngs accomplish quite a bit more than simply revisiting the U.S. environment. They challenge us in diverse ways to rethink our human relationship with a broadly construed “nature,” and they remind us how richly connected history and contemporary experience remain. The contributing authors, as a whole, succeed nicely in situating their work within a tradition of environmental historical geography while also extending the boundaries of this field to redefine and reinvigorate it. As DeLyser notes in the book’s final chapter, “Environments of the Imagination,” these environments—and perhaps more ambitiously, the ideas of the book—“are everywhere with us” (p. 332). It’s refreshing to find a resource that reminds us why it is important to continue to engage as fully as possible with them. * AAG Review of Books *
By exploring the complex links between humans and nature, the intriguing case studies in this landmark collection offer surprising and valuable insight into humanity’s role in shaping the world. -- Graeme Wynn, emeritus, University of British Columbia
Essential reading! Buckley and Youngs have assembled a powerful collection of work by the nation’s leading scholars in environmental historical geography. Like this volume’s namesake, The American Environment Revisited is certain to influence an entire generation of students and scholars wishing to explore the intersection of nature, geography, and history. Offering critical insights on topics ranging from invasive species to pesticide risk and from urban land use disputes to public land accessibility, these essays provide a snapshot of the current breadth and depth of the field. Academically robust, yet thoroughly engaging and highly readable, this is a must-read resource for anyone seeking a contextualized understanding of the nation’s environment. -- Randall Wilson, Gettysburg College
A robust reminder of how the ‘environmental turn’ has transformed historical geography, integrating nature, in complex and subtle ways, into stories about how places and people have changed over time. The result is the creation of yet another disciplinary classic. . . .The essays are empirically rich, theoretically informed, and grounded in narratives about particular places and how they have changed over time. . . . The volume’s impressive array of contributors will be a ‘Who’s Who List’ of dominant thinkers and writers in this field for a long time to come. We are fortunate that Buckley and Youngs have brought them together in this impressive new volume, and their collective effort should go a long way to continue energizing a vibrant, growing subfield within the discipline. -- William Wyckoff, Montana State University (from the afterword)