Literature: American Environmental History
A Composite Book
Roots of American Environmentalism contains twelve historical texts, a general introduction, and for each historial text, notes and commentary. Except for Laura Lyon White's short story, "A Day in the Redwoods of Lagoon Creek," these historical texts are excerpts that reveal attitudes toward the American environment, from the colonial periord to the end of the nineteenth century. Each commentary is written to reveal and focus on these environmental attitudes.
Roots of American Environmentalism is a composite book. Although all the historical texts have been previously published, they are not all widely available. We have brought them together in a single volume and added material to make them more accessable: an introduction, notes, critical commentary, and further reading. In particular, the critical commentary that follows each text gives the book its composite quality: part literature and part environmental history. We hope that this format will appeal to both the student of American history and the general reader.
from the Table of Contents