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4th out of 18 books
—
4 voters
Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature
In a lead essay that powerfully states the broad argument of the book, William Cronon writes that the environmentalist goal of wilderness preservation is conceptually and politically wrongheaded. Among the ironies and entanglements resulting from this goal are the sale of nature in our malls through the Nature Company, and the disputes between working people and environmen...more
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
October 17th 1996
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1995)
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In 1995 Cronon edited a collected series of essays published under the title Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, which strongly criticized the Environmental Movement for aspects of its worldview drawn from a misplaced emphasis on Nature as something set apart from society. “The work of literary scholars, anthropologists, cultural historians, and critical theorists over the past several decades has yielded abundant evidence,” Cronon noted, “that ‘nature’ is not nearly so natura...more
Collection of great essays on "nature" by folks representing a diverse array of disciplines: plant biology, history, landscape architecture, culture and communications, feminist theory, literature, geography, etc. The "nature" the essayists address includes everything from the well-managed tourist-oriented wilderness (e.g., Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore); commercial nature (The Nature Company); landscape architecture (Frederick Law Olmsted); Amazonia; the very pricey real estate along the cliffs of sou...more
Nov 20, 2008
Anjuli
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Nature lovers and historians.
Recommended to Anjuli by:
Reiko Hillyer
Cronon promotes a nuanced understanding of historical environmentalism and how it has influenced the movement today. After reading this book, I felt less guilty as a human in nature and ready to redefine my place as part of an ecosystem.
Thought-provoking set of essays by great thinkers, including William Cronon as the editor. Cronon was writing and innovating in American environmental history before folks like Jared Diamond entered the scene and (in my opinion) repackaged some of the thinking of writers like Cronon and Crosby in a way that reached the masses. But Cronon was trying to reinsert the environment in our understanding of history long before it was a popular theme -- he was booed off of academic stages before his idea...more
A series of essays that provide a well rounded assessment of how humans interact with nature. Environmentalists often perceive their view of nature and "preservation" as morally superior to other uses and needs that we rely upon from Mother Nature. One particular essay, titled, "Are you and environmentalist or do you work for a living" gets at the crux of this issue of how we can sustainably grow and develop societally and enhance our valuation and care for our environment.
Very interesting and VERY dense.
A collection of essays resulting from a special sponsored project by UC-Irvine bringing together thinkers from different disciplines working to get at the meaning of "nature" in American life.
Really good book, full of fascinating stuff. The essay about Simulation alone will blow your mind, and once you throw in all the other stuff, you're going to be sucking up your brain drippings with a wet-vac. But, seriously, this book lays down an expansive challenge to what we think of as "natural" and how we consider our "stewardship" of the planet.
Some good essays about rethinking our views on wilderness and what constitutes as "natural". Some of the essays were better than others - Cronon's piece was particularly good and has influenced a lot of subsequent writings about nature.
Generally interesting geography/environmentalist essays. Not as impenetrably philosophical as the other book I had to read for this class, "Human Geography: an Essential Anthology."
a collection of essays looking at nature and the role of humanity in today's world as well as historical and cultural relationships between man and nature.
A new glance at the Sublime. William Cronon and Richard White are Giants.
Excellent. Always useful to think about our accepted paradigms.
May 22, 2013
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Feb 06, 2009 10:59pm