When it comes to the recounting of history, the focus has traditionally been on either wars or politics. However when it comes to places like the American west, the land itself has played as much a part in shaping what happened there – and indeed what is still happening – as either of these two traditional foci.
Consequently, more historians are beginning to consider the history of the region with its environment as their central point of focus. The most recent of these to come to my attention is Sara Dant‘s recently published Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West from Wiley Blackwell.
Beginning with the Beringia Migration and working right up to the present day, Professor Dant’s book should prove very worthwhile indeed to all those interested in seeing what has made this remarkable part of the world what it is in a fresh, new light.
