Book recommendations for an Independent Study on Environmental History

by artannenbaum

Hello, r/AskHistorians

I'm a sophomore studying environmental activism and policymaking. Next semester, I'm doing an independent study with a professor on environmental history. I want to cover everything, from the beginning to the present. But, in the interest of depth, I'm going to split the course into two semesters. For the first one, I want to look at world history up until about the 15h century. I'm looking for books that look at history through an environmental lens. This is what I've come across so far:

  • A New Green History of the World, by Clive Ponting.
  • The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy, by Kenneth Pomeranz
  • Ecological Imperialism, by Alfred Crosby
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
  • Nature and Power: A Global History of the Environment, by Joachim Radkau

Any advice as to which of these on the list I should read, and which I should toss? Also, are there any books I missed?

Thanks in advance!

b1uepenguin

I would strike the Ponting- its essentially an older version on Jared Diamond's work- though more similar to "Collapse" than "GGS." Science has left it behind to some extent, so have Environmental narratives. Since you already have "GGS" as the list, I don't think you need another non-academic introductory work.

As to pre-1500 CE... I would divide the world by energy regimes rather than the 1500 Columbian Exchange; you will find works will more easily fall into pre-oil, or pre-industrialization, and then post-industrial or such than anything else.

Some key works to include;

  • Crosby- right on with "Ecological Imperialism," that one is great.

  • David Blackbourn, The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany.- Great for looking at European control of nature/shifting views of nature in Germany and how it related to state building and formation. A classic- very readable, and highly regarded.

  • Chris Coggins, The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and Conservation in China. -OR- Robert Marks, Tigers, Rice, Silk and Silt: Environment and Economy in Late Imperial South China.- both are good works on China and will help provide a broader perspective than just the mostly European/American focused work thats been done.

  • William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.- A classic as well and a key work in turning environmental history into a proper discipline.

  • Paul D’Arcy, The People of the Sea: Environment, Identity, and History in Oceania.- Look at the role of the ocean in the Pacific and how people have related to it/lived on it. One of the small number of environmental works that center on the Pacific World. -OR- Tim Flannery, The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People.- another good book that covers the region.

  • Richard Grove, Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600-1860- a great book on empire and environmental protection, how these two ideas evolved together in unexpected ways in the early modern period. -OR- his much shorter, but less cited, "Ecology, Climate, and Empire: Colonialism and Global Environmental History."

  • Donald Hughes, What is Environmental History?- A good primer if you haven't taken any courses on environmental history before.

  • James C. McCann, Maize and Grace: Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop 1500-2000.- an award winning book; again provides a more world perspective covering the spread of corn, especially in Africa. Won several awards and generally well regarded, though not without a few issues.

  • J.R. McNeill, Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century World- your list should not be missing this book, McNeill is more or less at the front of the field right now and plays an important role in shaping conversation. Also his "Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914." is a great look at how environmental changes can have long lasting effects on world history, this time focusing on the Americans, mosquitos, disease, and revolutions.

  • Donald Worster, The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination- as one of the grand dads of environmental history, this collection of essays should be a great one to have on any reading list.

  • Arun Agrawal, Environmentality; Technologies of Government and the Making of Subjects.- Not a favorite of mine, it can be slow reading, but provides more global perspective- focus in mostly on India- but goes along well with Blackbourn and some of the other works that focus on state and environment.

How many books are you planning on reading for this class each semester? I sort of just gave you a list of some of the biggies, but can definitely think about how to knock it down smaller or expand it depending on how many books you need to read for the class.

gent2012

In addition to the books already listed, you may also want to check out

Nation-States and the Global Environment: New Approaches to International Environmental History, edited by Mark Lawrence Atwood, et al.

Geoffrey Parker, Global Crisis: War, Climate Change, and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century*