Down to Earth: Nature's Role in American History

by Ted Steinberg

Description

A tour de force of writing and analysis, 'Down to Earth' offers a sweeping history of our nation, one that for the first time places the environment at the very center of our story. Writing with marvelous clarity, historian Ted Steinberg sweeps across the centuries, re-envisioning the story of America as he recounts how the environment has played a key role in virtually every social, economic, and political development. Ranging from the colonists' attempts to impose order on the land to the show more modern efforts to sell the wilderness as a consumer good, packaged in national parks and Alaskan cruises, Steinberg reminds readers that many critical episodes in our history were, in fact, environmental events: the California Gold Rush, for example, or the great migration of African Americans to the North in the early twentieth century (in part the consequence of an insect infestation). show less

Recommendations

Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash

Wilderness and the American Mind

Roderick Nash

Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon

Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England

William Cronon

Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas by Donald Worster

Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas

Donald Worster

Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West by Donald Worster

Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West

Donald Worster

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson

The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples by Tim Flannery

The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples

Tim Flannery

Driven Wild: How the Fight Against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement by Paul S. Sutter

Driven Wild: How the Fight Against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement

Paul S. Sutter

The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States by Mark Fiege

The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States

Mark Fiege

Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s by Donald Worster

Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s

Donald Worster

The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River by Richard White

The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River

Richard White

Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West by William Cronon

Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West

William Cronon

Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 by Alfred W. Crosby

Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900

Alfred W. Crosby

Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature by William Cronon

Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature

William Cronon

Irrigated Eden: The Making of an Agricultural Landscape in the American West by Mark Fiege

Irrigated Eden: The Making of an Agricultural Landscape in the American West

Mark Fiege

Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner

Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water

Marc Reisner

Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation by Karl Jacoby

Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation

Karl Jacoby

Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World by J. R. McNeill

Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World

J. R. McNeill

Emerald City : An Environmental History of Seattle by Matthew Klingle

Emerald City : An Environmental History of Seattle

Matthew Klingle

Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America by Ted Steinberg

Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America

Ted Steinberg

The Fisherman's Problem by Arthur F. McEvoy

The Fisherman's Problem

Arthur F. McEvoy

Forcing the Spring: The Transformation Of The American Environmental Movement by Robert Gottlieb

Forcing the Spring: The Transformation Of The American Environmental Movement

Robert Gottlieb

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

Aldo Leopold

Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England by Carolyn Merchant

Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England

Carolyn Merchant

Mining California: An Ecological History by Andrew C. Isenberg

Mining California: An Ecological History

Andrew C. Isenberg

Beauty, Health, and Permanence: Environmental Politics in the United States, 1955-1985 (Studies in Environment and History) by Samuel P. Hays

Beauty, Health, and Permanence: Environmental Politics in the United States, 1955-1985 (Studies in Environment and History)

Samuel P. Hays

The Bulldozer in the Countryside by Adam Rome

The Bulldozer in the Countryside

Adam Rome

Under Western Skies: Nature and History in the American West by Donald Worster

Under Western Skies: Nature and History in the American West

Donald Worster

The Ecological Indian: Myth and History by Shepard III Krech

The Ecological Indian: Myth and History

Shepard III Krech

The Idea of Wilderness: From Prehistory to the Age of Ecology by Max Oelschlaeger

The Idea of Wilderness: From Prehistory to the Age of Ecology

Max Oelschlaeger

Major problems in environmental history by Carolyn Merchant

Major problems in environmental history

Carolyn Merchant

American Wilderness: A New History by Michael Lewis

American Wilderness: A New History

Michael Lewis

American Environmental History by Louis S. Warren

American Environmental History

Louis S. Warren

The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado by Elliott West

The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado

Elliott West

The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West by Patricia Nelson Limerick

The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West

Patricia Nelson Limerick

War and Nature: Fighting Humans and Insects with Chemicals from World War I to Silent Spring (Studies in Environment and History) by Edmund Russell

War and Nature: Fighting Humans and Insects with Chemicals from World War I to Silent Spring (Studies in Environment and History)

Edmund Russell

The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History by Donald Worster

The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History

Donald Worster

Americans and their Forests: A Historical Geography (Studies in Environment and History) by Michael Williams

Americans and their Forests: A Historical Geography (Studies in Environment and History)

Michael Williams

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 by Andrew C. Isenberg

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920

Andrew C. Isenberg

Nature and Power: A Global History of the Environment by Joachim Radkau

Nature and Power: A Global History of the Environment

Joachim Radkau

Earth in the Balance by Al Gore

Earth in the Balance

Al Gore

Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks by Mark David Spence

Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks

Mark David Spence

American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow

American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation

Eric Rutkow

The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History (Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures) by Carolyn Merchant

The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History (Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures)

Carolyn Merchant

Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980 by Andrew Hurley

Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980

Andrew Hurley

The End of Nature by Bill McKibben

The End of Nature

Bill McKibben

The Sanitary City: Urban Infrastructure in America from Colonial Times to the Present by Martin V. Melosi

The Sanitary City: Urban Infrastructure in America from Colonial Times to the Present

Martin V. Melosi

National Parks: The American Experience, 4th Edition by Alfred Runte

National Parks: The American Experience, 4th Edition

Alfred Runte

The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature by David Suzuki

The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature

David Suzuki

A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests, 1500-1800 (Studies in Environment and History) by Timothy Silver

A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests, 1500-1800 (Studies in Environment and History)

Timothy Silver

Nature Incorporated: Industrialization and the Waters of New England by Theodore Steinberg

Nature Incorporated: Industrialization and the Waters of New England

Theodore Steinberg

Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Featured Recent Thumbs

All Ratings
4
½1
1
3
No Rating

1 review

eduscapes 1,464 reviews

One of a small group of environmental historians, the author provides fascinating details and insights into U.S. History through the viewpoint of environmental episodes. Learn how natural conditions and mankind's impact have interacted and affected American life. Learn more from a review by E. Voves, "Informing the Debate" http://www.januarymagazine.com/artcult/downtoearth.html in January Magazine. (lj)

Apr 22, 2010 (Edited)

All Reviews

Members

Recently Added By: Kilroy_is_here, opaat, arrowsalkeld, BookishRitish, bwchagnon, codyfulcher, Kaquatosh

All Members

Author Information

Ted Steinberg

6 Works 547 Members

Ted Steinberg is Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History and Law at Case Western Reserve University

Awards and Honors

Awards

National Outdoor Book Award (Winner – Nature & the Environment – 2002)

Statistics

Members: 220
Popularity: 147,026
Reviews: 1
Rating: (4.15)

Languages: English
Media: Paper, Ebook
ISBNs: 10
UPCs: 1
ASINs: 4

Down to Earth: Nature's Role in American History

by Ted Steinberg

On This Page

Description

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

Members

Author Information

Awards and Honors

Awards

Classifications

Statistics

Quick Facts

Author

Popular Covers

Find It

Links

Popularity

Ratings

Helpers