Publisher Description

The only compact yet comprehensive survey of environmental and cultural forces that have shaped the visual character and geographical diversity of the settled American landscape. The book examines the large-scale historical influences that have molded the varied human adaptation of the continent's physical topography to its needs over more than 500 years. It presents a synoptic view of myriad historical processes working together or in conflict, and illustrates them through their survival in or disappearance from the everyday landscapes of today.

Back Cover

The Making of the American Landscape is the definitive text on the topic of the history of American landscapes and the cultural and historical geography of the United States. The volume, organized chronologically, covers the cultural geography of American landscapes from the pre-colonization era through the twentieth century. Each chapter focuses on a particular landscape form, and is written by a specialist on the topic. The second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes entirely new chapters on religious landscapes, landscapes of civil society, and corporate consumption venues.

Table of Contents

1. Nature's Bequest 2. Indian Settlement Landscapes 3. Hispanic Landscape Traditions 4. The French Imprint on North America 5. Americanizing English Landscape Habits 6. The Plantation Regime 7. Gridding a National Landscape 8. Clearing the Forests 9. Remaking the Prairies 10. Watering the Deserts 11. Designing American Utopias 12. Inscribing Ethnicity on the Land 13. Organizing Religious Landscapes 14. Mechanizing the American Earth 15. Building American Cityscapes 16. Asserting Central Authority 17. Creating Landscapes of Civil Society 18. Imposing Landscapes of Private Power and Wealth 19. Paving America for the Automobile 20. Developing Corporate Consumption Venues

Review

'Michael Conzen has re-assembled a superb line up of authors renowned for their capacity to see detail and interpret the big picture. Chapters have been updated, especially through an expanded array of historical and contemporary views of landscapes, and several new authors make this an even more compelling text." -- Deryck Holdsworth, Pennsylvania State University

Review Quote

'Michael Conzen has re-assembled a superb line up of authors renowned for their capacity to see detail and interpret the big picture. Chapters have been updated, especially through an expanded array of historical and contemporary views of landscapes, and several new authors make this an even more compelling text."- Deryck Holdsworth,Pennsylvania State University "Since its publication in 1990, The Making of the American Landscape has remained the best single-volume introduction to the country's cultural landscape mosaic."-Chris Wilson, University of New Mexico, USA "The Making of the American Landscape is, simply stated, an amazing book. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the evolution of landscape. It is also a fine text to be used in classes which focus on historical geography or landscape studies more broadly....There is not a single chapter that this reviewer found disappointing or uninteresting."- Dawn S. Bowen, Department of Geography, University of Mary Washington ape studies more broadly....There is not a single chapter that this reviewer found disappointing or uninteresting."- Dawn S. Bowen, Department of Geography, University of Mary Washington

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