Crimes Against Nature

By Karl Jacoby,

Book cover of Crimes Against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation

Book description

Crimes against Nature reveals the hidden history behind three of the nation's first parklands: the Adirondacks, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. Focusing on conservation's impact on local inhabitants, Karl Jacoby traces the effect of criminalizing such traditional practices as hunting, fishing, foraging, and timber cutting in the newly created parks.…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Crimes Against Nature as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Indigenous communities and land dispossession are the subjects of Crimes Against Nature, although Jacoby also brings white transgressors of federal policy into his book about the dark history of the American conservation movement. The rural communities he describes engaged in survival practices that quickly became defined and punished as crimes: hunting, fishing, tree-cutting, and foraging. Jacoby includes eastern parks in his assessment, writing about the Adirondacks before turning to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. At the heart of this beautifully written book is the tension between what constitutes private and public space in American history, and how rural white and…

From Megan's list on America’s National Parks.

If you love Crimes Against Nature...

Ad

Book cover of Secret St. Augustine: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

Secret St. Augustine by Elizabeth Randall, William Randall,

Tourists and local residents of St. Augustine will enjoy reading about the secret wonders of their ancient city that are right under their noses. Of course, that includes a few stray corpses and ghosts!

Want books like Crimes Against Nature?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 74 books like Crimes Against Nature.

Browse books like Crimes Against Nature

Book cover of Our National Parks
Book cover of Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History
Book cover of Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,747

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Crimes Against Nature, you might also like...

Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

What Walks This Way by Sharman Apt Russell,

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks…

Book cover of Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption

Who Is a Worthy Mother? by Rebecca Wellington,

I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in nature conservation, National Parks, and the Grand Canyon?

National Parks 27 books
The Grand Canyon 15 books