In this ambitious and provocative text; environmental historian Ted Steinberg offers a sweeping history of the United States--a history that places the environment at the very center of the narrative. Now in a new edition; Down to Earth reenvisions the story of America "from the ground up." It reveals how focusing on plants; animals; climate; and other ecological factors can radically change the way that we think about the past. Examining such familiar topics as colonization; the industrial revolution; slavery; the Civil War; and the emergence of consumer culture; Steinberg recounts how the natural world influenced the course of human history. From the colonists' attempts to impose order on the land to modern efforts to sell the wilderness as a consumer good; he reminds readers that many critical episodes in U.S. history were; in fact; environmental events. The text highlights the ways in which Americans have attempted to reshape and control nature; from Thomas Jefferson's surveying plan; which divided the national landscape into a grid; to the transformation of animals; crops; and even water into commodities. In this third edition; Steinberg addresses the role of corporations in U.S. environmental history; in part by exploring the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil-spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He has also updated the discussion of climate change in order to offer a fuller assessment of U.S. policy and its world-historical importance.
#718165 in Books Arnal William E 2012-11-29 2012-11-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x .80 x 9.20l; .85 #File Name: 0199757127264 pagesThe Sacred Is the Profane
Review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Clarity for the crux (universal?) definitions of "religion"By DennisThis book is a godsend (irony intended)for all of us academic or not who wrestle with the chaos of parlance for discussing the relationship between "religion" and politics. Somehow the authors manage to juggle the disparate vocabularies and categories from both "lay" (popular) discussions and scholarly ones from within the institutional places where various disciplines try to maintain a coherent theoretic consensus. I have both my own "citizen's" stake in the issues and a scholarly project for which the book is invaluable. I may add a review or revise this one after I finish the book; but for now I will share two observations: the book inspired me to try "turtles all the way down" for a Google search; which brought me to a wonderful wiki survey of the conundrums over the centuries as thinkers tried to deal with questions of origins . . . the beginning of beginnings. The "chicken or egg" conundrum. And secondly; I noted that coming out of the "religious studies place" for trying to make sense of a relationship between religion/culture and politics; the authors decided to ignore the work from a sociologist/philosopher; Robert Bellah; whose book; RELIGION IN HUMAN EVOLUTION; has an historical base that I will keep in mind as I finish reading THE SACRED IS THE PROFANE. Perhaps Bellah's book arrived too late for at least a citation; but Bellah's work has been steady and substantive over decades addressing the issues addressed in THE SACRED IS THE PROFANE. I would loved to have seen the author's discussion of Bellah's work; even briefly; in an epilogue. I guess I have a hunch that Bellah's book has a way out of the conundrum that could be helpful; too.
