The best environmental history books

The book is an intellectual history of American environmentalism since World War II. I argue that environmentalism arose as an organized political response to citizens’ concerns about pollution, resource depletion, overpopulation, and climate change. “Crisis” rhetoric often overstated the severity of these problems but was useful in provoking legislation and regulatory oversight, much of which has succeeded in mitigating the worst problems.

We live in a far cleaner and healthier environment than our parents and grandparents, enjoy better national parks, recreational opportunities, health, and longevity. Severe problems still confront us but our achievements over the last seventy years show that there’s as much cause for hope as for gloom.

The book is an intellectual history of American environmentalism since World War II. I argue that environmentalism arose as an organized political response to citizens’ concerns about pollution, resource depletion, overpopulation, and climate change. “Crisis” rhetoric often overstated the severity of these problems but was useful in provoking legislation and regulatory oversight, much of which has succeeded in mitigating the worst problems.

We live in a far cleaner and healthier environment than our parents and grandparents, enjoy better national parks, recreational opportunities, health, and longevity. Severe problems still confront us but our achievements over the last seventy years show that there’s as much cause for hope as for gloom.

This is not a presentation of “Great Women in Environmental History.” It instead focuses on how and why men and women frequently responded differently to the environment and environmental issues throughout American History. I argue that these differences are based not only in physiology, but also in cultural beliefs and practices. For example, even though a campfire seems pretty darn gender-neutral, in the 1920s Boy Scouts were taught that it stood for the camaraderie of the battlefield, factory, and office. Girl Scouts, on the other hand, learned that fire represented hearth and home.

In this illustrated study, a finalist for the California Book Award, I trace women’s environmental attitudes and actions from the pre-Columbian period to the environmental justice movements of the present. 

I enjoyed writing this half-fiction half-history book. Han Dynasty represents a fascinating time in Chinese history. Whilst much has been written about its powerful ruling of the expanding territory and economic flourishment, little is known about the life of ordinary people during this time. 

I aim to redress the balance by bringing the everyday actions of ancient Chinese Han citizens vividly to life, using information from both the latest archaeological records and research, and traditional historical documents. When and where the data permits, I highlight, or dramatize, the social tension between the governors and the governed, male and female, wife and husband, and many other everyday interactions. This is to further illustrate that life was not as harmonious and frictionless as it is often depicted in mainstream historical narratives.

This is the kind of environmental history that describes changes to the world’s forests, fields, soils, lakes, rivers, water quality, air quality, wildlife, and cities—and tries to explain why those changes happened. It argues that the middle of the twentieth century marked a turning point in global environmental history because the scale, scope, and pace of environmental change accelerated markedly. The key reasons for that acceleration lay in the world’s energy system with fossil fuels at its center, in a sudden surge in population growth, in a relentlessly competitive international system, and in the resistance of economic management to ecological thinking. Even though the Times of London listed it among the best science books ever written, it’s a history book.  

I enjoyed writing this half-fiction half-history book. Han Dynasty represents a fascinating time in Chinese history. Whilst much has been written about its powerful ruling of the expanding territory and economic flourishment, little is known about the life of ordinary people during this time. 

I aim to redress the balance by bringing the everyday actions of ancient Chinese Han citizens vividly to life, using information from both the latest archaeological records and research, and traditional historical documents. When and where the data permits, I highlight, or dramatize, the social tension between the governors and the governed, male and female, wife and husband, and many other everyday interactions. This is to further illustrate that life was not as harmonious and frictionless as it is often depicted in mainstream historical narratives.

Landscape designer Owen Wormser explains how to replace the dead scapes we call lawns with attractive, eco-friendly meadows. This is a how-to book on meadow-making that's also about sustainability, regeneration, and beauty. In a world where lawns have wreaked havoc on our ecosystems, meadows offer a compelling solution. Meadows establish wildlife and pollinator habitat, are low-maintenance and low-cost while also sequestering significant amounts of carbon.

Wormser describes how to plant a meadow that’s right for your site. His book includes guidance on designing your meadow, preparing your plot, and planting without using chemicals. Wormser draws on his own stories that led him to landscape design and meadow making, including his childhood growing up off the grid in rural Maine.

This is the kind of environmental history that describes changes to the world’s forests, fields, soils, lakes, rivers, water quality, air quality, wildlife, and cities—and tries to explain why those changes happened. It argues that the middle of the twentieth century marked a turning point in global environmental history because the scale, scope, and pace of environmental change accelerated markedly. The key reasons for that acceleration lay in the world’s energy system with fossil fuels at its center, in a sudden surge in population growth, in a relentlessly competitive international system, and in the resistance of economic management to ecological thinking. Even though the Times of London listed it among the best science books ever written, it’s a history book.  

I enjoyed writing this half-fiction half-history book. Han Dynasty represents a fascinating time in Chinese history. Whilst much has been written about its powerful ruling of the expanding territory and economic flourishment, little is known about the life of ordinary people during this time. 

I aim to redress the balance by bringing the everyday actions of ancient Chinese Han citizens vividly to life, using information from both the latest archaeological records and research, and traditional historical documents. When and where the data permits, I highlight, or dramatize, the social tension between the governors and the governed, male and female, wife and husband, and many other everyday interactions. This is to further illustrate that life was not as harmonious and frictionless as it is often depicted in mainstream historical narratives.

This study provides a broad political and economic examination of the impact of the silk trade on nineteenth-century Japan. It analyzes the economic role of Japan’s eastern interior region and that of the port of Yokohama. It argues that the economic development in this period laid the foundations for Japan’s prewar industrial development in the late nineteenth century and was largely responsible for the integration of Japan into the global economy.