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American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation

Eric Rutkow

4.12 · Rating details · 820 ratings · 129 reviews

In the bestselling tradition of Michael Pollan’s Second Nature, this fascinating and unique historical work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and trees across the entire span of our nation’s history.

This fascinating and groundbreaking work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and their trees across the entire span In the bestselling tradition of Michael Pollan’s Second Nature, this fascinating and unique historical work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and trees across the entire span of our nation’s history.

This fascinating and groundbreaking work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and their trees across the entire span of our nation’s history.

Like many of us, historians have long been guilty of taking trees for granted. Yet the history of trees in America is no less remarkable than the history of the United States itself—from the majestic white pines of New England, which were coveted by the British Crown for use as masts in navy warships, to the orange groves of California, which lured settlers west. In fact, without the country’s vast forests and the hundreds of tree species they contained, there would have been no ships, docks, railroads, stockyards, wagons, barrels, furniture, newspapers, rifles, or firewood. No shingled villages or whaling vessels in New England. No New York City, Miami, or Chicago. No Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, or Daniel Boone. No Allied planes in World War I, and no suburban sprawl in the middle of the twentieth century. America—if indeed it existed—would be a very different place without its millions of acres of trees.

As Eric Rutkow’s brilliant, epic account shows, trees were essential to the early years of the republic and indivisible from the country’s rise as both an empire and a civilization. Among American Canopy’s many fascinating stories: the Liberty Trees, where colonists gathered to plot rebellion against the British; Henry David Thoreau’s famous retreat into the woods; the creation of New York City’s Central Park; the great fire of 1871 that killed a thousand people in the lumber town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin; the fevered attempts to save the American chestnut and the American elm from extinction; and the controversy over spotted owls and the old-growth forests they inhabited. Rutkow also explains how trees were of deep interest to such figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR, who oversaw the planting of more than three billion trees nationally in his time as president.

As symbols of liberty, community, and civilization, trees are perhaps the loudest silent figures in our country’s history. America started as a nation of people frightened of the deep, seemingly infinite woods; we then grew to rely on our forests for progress and profit; by the end of the twentieth century we came to understand that the globe’s climate is dependent on the preservation of trees. Today, few people think about where timber comes from, but most of us share a sense that to destroy trees is to destroy part of ourselves and endanger the future.

Never before has anyone treated our country’s trees and forests as the subject of a broad historical study, and the result is an accessible, informative, and thoroughly entertaining read. Audacious in its four-hundred-year scope, authoritative in its detail, and elegant in its execution, American Canopy is perfect for history buffs and nature lovers alike and announces Eric Rutkow as a major new author of popular history. ...more

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Hardcover, 416 pages

Published April 24th 2012 by Scribner (first published April 17th 2012)

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Dec 31, 2012 Paula Koneazny rated it liked it

Shelves: history

Interesting, but insufficient. Perhaps all histories are notable as much for what they leave out as for what they put in. Retelling American history by looking to the trees is a worthwhile endeavor, however. It skews our perspective just enough to make us look at what we already know in a fresh way. That said, Rutkow doesn't deviate from the traditional approach of viewing history as the consequence of the acts of Great (or at least infamous) White Men. Most of the actors in the drama here have Interesting, but insufficient. Perhaps all histories are notable as much for what they leave out as for what they put in. Retelling American history by looking to the trees is a worthwhile endeavor, however. It skews our perspective just enough to make us look at what we already know in a fresh way. That said, Rutkow doesn't deviate from the traditional approach of viewing history as the consequence of the acts of Great (or at least infamous) White Men. Most of the actors in the drama here have names that will be familiar to most readers: Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, George Washington,Thomas Jefferson, the Presidents Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, Frederick Law Olmstead, Al Gore, Henry Ford, William Levitt, etc. I do have to give the author credit for, particularly where the earlier figures are concerned, telling stories that we probably haven't heard before. This is the advantage of choosing a fresh point of view. One glaring omission in Rutkow's survey of the impact of the trees upon & their relationship to American history is any mention of the lynching tree, powerful both as symbol & site; another is any serious consideration of the relationship of indigenous peoples to the forests (granted, that might be the subject of another book entirely; nevertheless, even if the author's focus is strictly upon post-Columbian North America, he is delinquent in not mentioning, for example, how the colonists' encounter with American Indian modes of battle impacted how their own Revolution was fought and won). The author has also by and large omitted women from his narrative except for a few nods to women here and there, of foot-note quality in their brevity. How, for example, in a tome already diminished by its lack of inclusion of women, blacks, Mexicans, Indians, etc. could he not have told the story of at least one female activist. Julia Butterfly Hill, for example, whose name became synonymous with preservation of Old Growth Coastal Redwoods in the 1990s. This is, in sum, mostly a top-down telling of the story of Americans & the trees. I would have liked some alternative telling as well. ...more

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Jul 02, 2013 Erin Bartels rated it it was amazing

A unique lens through which to view our country's history. At times, hard to read, not because of the prose (which was excellent and engaging while still being informative, professional, and unbiased) but because of the cringe-inducing activities of both our forebears and ourselves. It is amazing that our country has any trees left after what it has endured at the hand of man. But Rutkow manages to give us hundreds of years of history, ring by ring, in a tone that never wags fingers or condemns ...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Gary Brecht rated it really liked it

Not being a “tree hugger” by nature, I was a bit reluctant to pluck this one off the library shelf. However, Eric Rutkow’s history of America, told through our nation’s relationship with trees and forests, managed to enkindle within me a spark of concern over the fate of our planet. The author traces the evolution of our nation’s attitude towards woodlands; from the early colonists’ view of forests as an obstacle to be tamed, to a resource for survival, to a restorative place for the human soul. ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Debbie rated it really liked it

Really good book. Not just about trees but each chapter is a vignette on how a certain tree influenced life in America; through housing, agriculture, business, economy on into the future.

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May 03, 2012 Paul rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, nature-etc, history

Overall, a very balanced and informative book. I particularly liked his treatment of the 19th century and the early 20th century. His history of the logging industry, the growing awareness of the importance of our forest resources and the development of the National Forests were particularly interesting to me. I feel his treatment of the late 20th century tended towards the political. I would have interested to hear of Nixon's attitude towards the myriad of environmental legislation passed duri ...more

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Jun 22, 2019 Art rated it really liked it

Shelves: nature, science, read-in-2019, trees

Trees define much of American history, we learn here in this interesting book from wood’s point of view. Billions of trees lived in North America four hundred years ago. This book tells the story of timber here since then in its many roles. For example:

Our ancestors landed and used cheap, abundant wood for fuel, furniture, shelter and buildings as well as tools and transport. The settlers from Europe found a density of trees here that dwarfed what they left in their rockier homelands.

Railroads ...more

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Oct 15, 2018 Miri rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

Occasionally a little dry, though I never found it boring. Just a solid, interesting read about the single best part of the U.S. American Canopy is about the way trees shaped the country throughout history, and made me deeply sad that I'll never be able to see the majestic primeval forests that were "capable of growing taller than nearly any others on earth, to reach proportions almost incomprehensible to London shipwrights (or, for that matter, modern-day Americans)". I have a particular love f ...more

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May 10, 2012 Joe Zagrodnik rated it really liked it

The best history books bring long deceased historical figures back to life, instilling the same hopes, fears, and passions in the reader that the characters experienced themselves. Usually, these figures are known for their role in major events or for having a positive influence that radiates far beyond their physical lives. Historian Eric Rutkow illuminates one of these under-appreciated participants in the American history narrative, but Rutkow’s main character is not a person but rather an ea The best history books bring long deceased historical figures back to life, instilling the same hopes, fears, and passions in the reader that the characters experienced themselves. Usually, these figures are known for their role in major events or for having a positive influence that radiates far beyond their physical lives. Historian Eric Rutkow illuminates one of these under-appreciated participants in the American history narrative, but Rutkow’s main character is not a person but rather an easily ignored plant: a tree! As Rutkow notes, “trees are the loudest silent figures in America’s complicated history.”

American Canopy begins with a highly engaging prologue about Prometheus, a tree that stood seemingly unchanged for over Nevada for over 5,000 years. The tragic yet redeeming story introduces Rutkow’s premise but differs in one important aspect. Most other trees in America were not frozen, passive observers as civilization expanded around them. As America evolved, its forests changed in tandem. In colonial times, trees were an obstacle to overcome, concealing Indians in the forest and blocking the plow as stumps. As industrialism proliferated in the 19th Century, wood became the “stalwart of American development”—and the conservation movement subsequently responded by curtailing the carelessness and waste that caused forest fires and ecosystem destruction. The automobile and highway building by the CCC made camping and outdoor recreation in national forests accessible to almost all Americans—and Aldo Leopold responded by spearheading a movement to preserve the remaining pristine wilderness.

Individual forests experienced dynamic changes, as uses were discovered for different species, imported diseases wiped out the American Chestnut and Elm, and deciduous trees filled in the white pine forests. Old growth forests were clear cut, converted to farmland, and then later restored into commercial tree plantations. Americans’ attitude toward trees changed as well. Within a short period of time, Americans went from cutting trees for firewood to planting trees for fruit and later for shade, drought prevention, and finally to counteract global warming. Rutkow shows that trees are as American as apple pie—or maybe as American as the hard apple cider that sustained countless homesteads in the colonial period.

The best aspect of this work is the way Rutkow brings in anecdotes from all sorts of American history themes and relates them to trees. It turns out that quite often trees are not just a side story, but a prominent contributor to more widely known events. For example, Englishman Richard Hakylut advocated colonial exploration in the late 1500s primarily as a means to acquire ship masts from New England pine trees to counteract supply shortages and keep pace with the Spanish Navy. It was also interesting to learn that a major reason why George Washington ceded power so easily after the Revolutionary War was that he longed to cultivate his tree collection at Mount Vernon. Virtually all aspects of American politics, society, and culture are somehow influenced by trees. Central Park was even envisioned partially as a way to refine the lower rungs of society in New York.

For those familiar with American history, especially environmental history, some of the book’s material (especially from the progressive era onward) will be a review. American Canopy is in the same vein as environmental history works such as Nature’s Metropolis, which first brought to light the intricate connections between Chicago and its hinterlands, including the Great Lakes logging industry. American Canopy is unique for bringing together themes from the entirety of American history and for using trees as the common denominator to connect different eras. As an overview of hundreds of years, some of the stories lack depth, and Rutkow spends very little space connecting the themes between the sometimes disparate sections. Prominent figures like Gifford Pinchot are described in detail, but other important minds get glossed over to an extent. Women were also noticeably absent, perhaps that is the case in the primary source material also (I can only remember Lady Bird Johnson being mentioned).

The most amazing facts are the sheer magnitude of uses for forest products and the statistics for the tremendous volume of wood that was extracted. A single English ship required an astonishing two thousand oak trees. Railroads were known as the “iron horse” but they were initially comprised almost entirely of wood—including the bridges, cars, fuel, ties, and even the rails themselves. Each species of tree had specific uses and Rutkow explains in detail why White Pine was preferred for ship masts, longleaf pines for turpentine, and Sitka spruce for WWI airplanes. The various descriptions (by Rutkow and his sources) make it especially sad to read about the American Elm, “the most magnificent vegetable in the temperate zone,” succumbing to disease. After finishing this book, one will almost certainly advocate for increased concern and protection for trees. American Canopy will definitely go down as one of the better history books of the year, but it falls short of the top tier of American history works.
...more

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Aug 29, 2018 Apollo rated it liked it

i love trees
trees are nice
can you believe how important lumber was throughout history?
can you believe peoples keep cutting them all down?
i hope the apocalypse
comes in the form of tree zombies
or ninja polar bears

why did reagan not like trees?

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Jan 17, 2019 Quinn Rollins rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, science

A very interesting take on history, as told through the lives of American forests. A completely unique perspective, and one that I hadn't ever considered. It made me look at the country and history and life in a different way. What's not to love? ...Dutch Elm Disease, THAT'S WHAT. ...more

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Sep 10, 2019 Becky Loader rated it liked it

Interesting read about the role of trees in the development of the United States. Unfortunately, the author gets a little preachy.

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Dec 19, 2020 Nick Fanelli rated it it was amazing

This book is absolutely fantastic.

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Feb 28, 2014 Tom rated it it was amazing

A thoroughly enjoyable, albeit a little overwhelming in its detailed history, book that provides a look at our history from the perspective of our trees, our exploitation and consumption of them, their contribution to critical phases of the country’s development and our eventual movement to protect them and the ecosystems of which they are part.

The book was part of the genre of storytelling from the perspective of a particular product or commodity’s effect on the world, e.g., Mark Kurlansky’s bo A thoroughly enjoyable, albeit a little overwhelming in its detailed history, book that provides a look at our history from the perspective of our trees, our exploitation and consumption of them, their contribution to critical phases of the country’s development and our eventual movement to protect them and the ecosystems of which they are part.

The book was part of the genre of storytelling from the perspective of a particular product or commodity’s effect on the world, e.g., Mark Kurlansky’s books, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World; Salt: A World History; Tom Standage’s A History of the World in Six Glasses and Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World. As in these books Rutkow reveals how history has been influenced by the American Forests and surprises us with so much we never really knew. For example, White Pines! Who can imagine White Pines 250 feet tall, with the first 100 feet having no branches, and a 4 foot diameter at the base! And then all the wood needed just to heat, power transportation and machines, and build homes, railways, bridges and then airplanes for the war effort!

And General Washington – what a tree person! His wonderment at tree diversity and his efforts to create more by seeking new trees, planting for diversity in species and space, and corresponding to people about trees and waxing philosophical:
“Those trees which my hands have planted … by their rapid growth, at once indicate knowledge of my declining years, and their disposition to spread their mantle over me before I go hence to return no more. For this, their gratitude, I will nurture them while I stay.” (p. 53)

One reviewer writing about Rutkow’s work summarized “Our country and national character were profoundly shaped by the presence of an immense and seemingly inexhaustible supply of trees, and our changing attitudes toward trees and forest reflect our no-longer-young society’s gradual acceptance of limits.”(Washington Post, Colin Woodard, Published: June 1, 2012)

The stories about Pinchot, Muir, Weyerhauser, Morton, Roosevelt and others, and indeed the whole book, reminds one of the tension and conflict from the very early years of the nation until today between the people who want to use the resources, unfettered, and those who want to preserve them for other reasons, esthetic, spiritual, pleasure or just sustainability! The arguments from the western states against forming national parks and national forests sound similar to today’s, i.e., the government has no business owning and controlling land. Interesting that in the early days of our nation the government didn’t want to keep land and had a desire to get rid of public lands as soon as possible and into the hands of private owners. After all, where in the constitution does it say that the central government should control land?

In the story of development and growth in New York City and the replacement of forests with slums, he provides on of the most provocative quotes, “Cities are places where you cut down trees and then name streets after them!” (p. 85) The whole story of the evolution of Central Park and the birth of the parks movement is fascinating. No less so is the discussion of the huge influence of one book, Man and Nature by George Marsh. This book sowed the first seeds of the conservation movement, was published during the Civil War and had its greatest influence right in the middle of the industrial revolution!

Rutkow has made an enjoyable and important contribution with this book.
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Jan 25, 2015 Joyce added it · review of another edition

Shelves: librarybook

A couple months ago I was having an extra hard day, and Panda decided the cure would be to visit the new Palo Alto public library and pick out a book. This one practically jumped into my hands, and has been a perfect bedtime companion for weeks -- I even took it to Yosemite with me so it could visit the great Sequoias :)

The overarching theme of the book is America's changing relationship to trees and forests. Given that the author was a student at Yale, home of the first professional forestry sc A couple months ago I was having an extra hard day, and Panda decided the cure would be to visit the new Palo Alto public library and pick out a book. This one practically jumped into my hands, and has been a perfect bedtime companion for weeks -- I even took it to Yosemite with me so it could visit the great Sequoias :)

The overarching theme of the book is America's changing relationship to trees and forests. Given that the author was a student at Yale, home of the first professional forestry school in the nation, there is an undeniable Yankee focus to the narrative. Even the forests of the far west are largely seen through the eyes of white male elites in New York, Washington DC, Boston, and New Haven. You just aren't gonna learn much here about how different Native American groups, the Spanish, or Russians -- or women or Mormons or General Sherman! -- looked at trees. There's still TONS of great material that is probably new to you, but just setting expectations here.

That said, the book is stuffed with intriguing factoids. For instance, apple and peach orchards were taken as a quick-and-dirty evidence of home ownership for many years in America, and even required by landlords -- hence the need for Johnny Appleseed and his wares. Even today you can tell the locations of former homesteads on California public lands by the apple orchards. Did you know that American trees were considered supreme for making early aircraft, and an officer was specifically assigned to ensure the health and productivity of the great spruces of the Pacific Northwest? One of the running themes of the book is that conservation of forests was specifically tied to an age-old but incorrect scientific theory that they guaranteed rainfall and therefore water supplies for the cities!

Another fascinating theme is how each generation of tree-huggers came inevitably to push against the ideas of the previous one. One of the more recent episodes pitted wilderness advocates (where defined as roadless areas big enough for a 2 week backpacking trip) against those who had won access for car camping. Today our generational conflicts have become international, e.g. global warming and whether resources should be devoted to overseas tree conservation -- but the overarching theme of America's attempts to manage tree resources for the greater good or personal profit seems to be everlasting. ...more

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May 04, 2015 Robin rated it really liked it

Given the author's day-job as an environmental lawyer, one might excuse him for writing, or at least expect him to write, a soapbox screed on environmentalism. And yet, in American Canopy, one finds a measured and virtually opinion-free telling of the history of America's relationship with its trees. It's a more interesting tale than one might expect, and is well-written and well-researched to boot. The relationship between humans and nature is a complex one with much gray area. American Canopy ...more

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Jul 19, 2017 James (JD) Dittes rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-astronomy, american-history-the-cool-bits, anything-western, 2017, california-sierra-road-trip

Just as Howard Zinn did for American history in the 1980s, Eric Rutkow has found a new lends through which to interpret events that are part of the historical record.

In his case, he focuses on the trees.

Many familiar events are missing from Rutkow's account. The first war to be mentioned is World War I, during which harvests of the Sitka spruce were militarized to support airplane manufacture. There is barely a mention of Washington or Lincoln--although the two Roosevelts are covered lavishly.

T ...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Lori rated it really liked it

This book is about the role trees have played in american history. how our huge amount of natural resources were an advantage in both world wars and helped build our navy when masts were made out of wood (england had depleted their forests and were forced to buy ours). many important figures like franklin, FDR, TR, frederic law olmsted, gifford pinchot, johnny appleseed. sounds boring to read about trees but it was not. there was even an effort to plant trees from canada to texas during the Dust ...more

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Jul 12, 2015 Michael rated it it was amazing

Really an amazing book. The author does a great job walking through the history of America and our relationship to the trees. The book had a lot of information, ready well, and was well organized.

I feel that up until the last 20 pages, he remains mostly factual and scientific. The author clearly has an opinion which tarnishes an otherwise pleasant read.

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Apr 29, 2012 Dayna rated it it was amazing

I finally got this back from the library and am digging back into it. Stupid work that ruins my reading schedule.

Great read about the importance of forests to humans.

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Apr 07, 2018 Carol Douglas rated it it was amazing

American canopy is the history of trees in the United States since the coming of Europeans. If you love trees, it's a painful book.

I didn't know that the Eastern forests were filled with giant trees. The giant white pines that covered most of the New England were destroyed for lumber. Poplars were taken for ship masts. Representatives of the English crown tried to prevent colonists from taking tall trees that were supposed to be reserved for the king, but the colonists foiled them.

After ravagin ...more

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Jul 23, 2018 Zach rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: american-mind

While reading this book, I was constantly amazed by Rutkow's breadth of knowledge. Every sentence was densely packed with new facts, but arrayed in such a well thought-out narrative structure that they never felt overwhelming. From the very first settlements in the North American continent, to the suburbs of Southern California, Rutkow provides his readers with a new vantage point from which to view the history of the United States. But beyond that, he also provides new insight into the world ar ...more

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Sep 01, 2019 Jesse Melton rated it it was amazing

Although it can get kind of dry in places, the story is fascinating and the writing is very well done. The sections about Colonial America are especially insightful.

It’s also a great review of the consequences of poor natural resource management. The British were out of trees and had no hope of maintaining maritime dominance without them. They bet, and ultimately lost, the Empire on gaining unlimited access to the trees in North America. Heavy handed colonialism in forestry practices had stirre ...more

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Apr 30, 2020 Curtis Bozif rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, environment, nature

One of those books that feels both cursory and longish. Each chapter, could itself, be expanded into an entire book.

One critique I do have, and that I've seen leveled by others, is that there is almost no time spent on the relationship between Native Americans and the forests of America. From the knowledge they provided the earliest Europeans to their role in the the Environmental Movements of the 60s and 70s. At best, these omissions are missed opportunities, at worst, they're a careless overs ...more

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Jul 06, 2020 Heather rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“As we rush headlong into the twenty-first century, the physicality of trees seems more vital than ever. The modern workplace and home are becoming increasingly antiseptic. Americans now spend their days staring into computer screens that receive information as if by magic. Daily life seems alarmingly virtual. Trees provide the antidote. The smell of pine needles, the crunch of autumn leaves, the roughness of bark are all reminders that we are a part of nature. Tree hugging, in its most literal ...more

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Feb 27, 2020 Cindy Dyson Eitelman rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020

It started off just as I'd expected--all about the white pines of the Eastern U.S. and their use as masts in British sailing ships. Fully one-quarter of the way through I was on target for a five-star review and many hours of happy enjoyment. The story of Dutch Elm Disease was heartbreaking as expected. But then it got more and more general--less about individual trees and forests and more about men and timber harvest operations and all kind of depressing stuff. I eventually gave up. I wanted mo ...more

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Oct 11, 2019 Jim D'Ambrosia rated it liked it

Shelves: history

It was fine; maybe a touch light-weight. I was hoping for a more systematic history/natural history of the nation's forests, but it was more of a grab-bag. As a grab-bag, it was fine, with interesting chapters and details within the chapters. My favorite parts were the details about how the country's consumption of wood changed over time.

Fun fact: "The transition to inexpensive wood-pulp paper, which began in the 1860s, allowed for an explosion in written materials—daily penny papers, dime nove ...more

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May 29, 2018 Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, non-fiction, environment, science

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves trees. I love trees and found most of this book fascinating. Other times it seemed to drag on through meticulous details. I think i would have loved it more if i listened to it on audiobook or if it were 100 pages shorter :) i can’t imagine how long and dense the the pre-edited version was.

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Jun 08, 2018 Ford Prior rated it liked it

As a tree nerd, this was kind of a disappointment because it dove way too deep into the history of American naturalism and eco-stuff, and not enough nerding out on specific trees. This guy kinda sees trees as a economic asset, which they totally are in the context of US history, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. ...more

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Jul 28, 2020 FRZ rated it it was amazing

Holy hell what a read! In depth, entertaining, sad and very informative.

This is the type of book you could read five or six times and still gather more great info. Mr Rutkow has done us all a favor by producing this tome of knowledge and if you're interested at all in trees or the history of the US this is a great read. ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 Allane Wood rated it really liked it

Infuriating and illuminating. Sad to think so much of our post-contact history depended on ravaging such an important, and often renewable, resource. The book is very Euro-centric and white-male oriented ~ which is probably not surprising; just wish it was more inclusive of other perspectives. That said, I learned and better understand the last 400 years of our culture, economy, and politics.

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About Eric Rutkow

Eric Rutkow

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Eric Rutkow is an assistant professor of history at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and the author of The Longest Line on the Map. His first book, American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation (2012), received the Association of American Publishers’ PROSE Award for US history and was named one of the top books of the year by Smithsonian magazine. He earned his BA and Ph ...more

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“However, since the early 1930s, new-home construction had been somewhat stalled, first due to the economic effects of the Depression and then due to the war, a period when many homebuilders were contracted to meet emergency military housing needs. The lack of immediately available housing forced families to double up and, occasionally, to take more extreme measures. In 1947, two years after the war’s end, some 500,000 families were still occupying Quonset huts or other temporary housing. In Chicago, 250 families took up residence in former trolley cars that had been converted into living quarters. In Omaha, one newspaper advertisement declared: “Big Ice Box, 7x17 feet, could be fixed up to live in.” — 0 likes

“The arrival of war brought new opportunities and challenges to the firm. In 1941, it received a contract from the government to build sixteen hundred military worker homes in Norfolk, Virginia. The contract demanded speed and efficiency on a scale that the Levitts had never before attempted. In response, they began to experiment with mass-production techniques: time-consuming dug-out basements were replaced with poured-cement foundations; walls and roofs were partly preassembled; construction was broken down into simple tasks that could be performed without trained carpenters or unionized labor. Homes became stationary units in a moving assembly line of people; it was Fordism turned on its head. Thanks in large part to these innovations, the Levitts” — 0 likes

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American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation

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