Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians

Rating:
Summary: Where there are Mountains
Review: This is perhaps the best book that I have read on environmental history. Davis contends that the Southern Appalachian Mountains have been raped, robbed, and pillaged for centuries and casts new light on a largely ignored subject. The strengths of the work are Davis' illustrations of the cultural and environmental developments that have occurred in southern Appalachia from an interdisciplinary approach. The work is well-written and Davis displays an excellent knowledge of the literature using both primary and secondary sources. The sources are current and the bibliography is a useful tool for scholars wanting to do further work in Appalachia. Most scholars who have written on Appalachia have largely ignored Native Americans but Davis has shown in the same manner as William Cronan (Changes in the Land) and Alfred Crosby (The Columbian Exchange) in other areas of America, the consequences that European explorers had on Native American populations. Davis certainly executes and conveys with a skill understanding of the precontact environment, ecology, and landscape for the reader. This book could be used in history courses, folklore, Appalachian studies, sociology/anthropology, and a host of other classes. Also, it is written so well it is good for just general reading. This is a powerful, forceful, well-organized, and convincing work.

Rating:
Summary: Where there are Mountains
Review: This is perhaps the best book that I have read on environmental history. Davis contends that the Southern Appalachian Mountains have been raped, robbed, and pillaged for centuries and casts new light on a largely ignored subject. The strengths of the work are Davis' illustrations of the cultural and environmental developments that have occurred in southern Appalachia from an interdisciplinary approach. The work is well-written and Davis displays an excellent knowledge of the literature using both primary and secondary sources. The sources are current and the bibliography is a useful tool for scholars wanting to do further work in Appalachia. Most scholars who have written on Appalachia have largely ignored Native Americans but Davis has shown in the same manner as William Cronan (Changes in the Land) and Alfred Crosby (The Columbian Exchange) in other areas of America, the consequences that European explorers had on Native American populations. Davis certainly executes and conveys with a skill understanding of the precontact environment, ecology, and landscape for the reader. This book could be used in history courses, folklore, Appalachian studies, sociology/anthropology, and a host of other classes. Also, it is written so well it is good for just general reading. This is a powerful, forceful, well-organized, and convincing work.