New Books Network

New Books in Environmental Studies
Charles Emmerson, “The Future History of the Arctic: How Climate, Resources and Geopolitics are Reshaping the North, and Why it Matters to the World” (Vintage, 2010)
Charles Emmerson
The Future History of the Arctic
How Climate, Resources and Geopolitics are Reshaping the North, and Why it Matters to the World
Vintage Books, 2010

New Books in Environmental StudiesNew Books in European StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Russian and Eurasian StudiesNew Books in Science & TechnologyNew Books Network May 23, 2011 Nicholas Walton

I don’t know how many young boys develop a fascination with the world from having a map of the world hung above their beds, but this certainly fits in with the experiences of both Charles Emmerson and myself. Charles’ interest in the Arctic was born from a childhood of staring... Read More
James Fleming, “Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control” (Columbia UP, 2010)
James Fleming
Fixing the Sky
The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control
Columbia University Press, 2010

New Books in Environmental StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in Public PolicyNew Books in ScienceNew Books in Science & TechnologyNew Books in Science, Technology, and SocietyNew Books Network October 20, 2010 Marshall Poe

In the summer of 2008 the Chinese were worried about rain. They were set to host the Summer Olympics that year, and they wanted clear skies. Surely clear skies, they must have thought, would show the world that China had arrived. So they outfitted a small army (50,000 men) with... Read More
Donald Worster, “A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir” (Oxford UP, 2008)
Donald Worster
A Passion for Nature
The Life of John Muir
University Press, 2008

New Books in American StudiesNew Books in BiographyNew Books in Environmental StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in Science & TechnologyNew Books Network December 5, 2008 Marshall Poe

If you study pre-modern history in any depth, one of the most startling things you will discover is that “traditional” societies usually had an adversarial relationship with “nature.” They fought the wild tooth and nail in a never-ending effort to bring it under human control. It never really occurred to... Read More