Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West -- Sara Dant

<p>Historical narratives often concentrate on wars and politics while omitting the central role and influence of the physical stage on which history is carried out. In <em>Losing Eden</em> award-winning historian Sara Dant debunks the myth of the American West as "Eden" and instead embraces a more realistic and complex understanding of a region that has been inhabited and altered by people for tens of thousands of years. </p><p> In this lively narrative Dant discusses the key events and topics in the environmental history of the American West, from the Beringia migration, Columbian Exchange, and federal territorial acquisition to post-World War II expansion, resource exploitation, and current climate change issues. <em>Losing Eden</em> is structured around three important themes: balancing economic success and ecological destruction, creating and protecting public lands, and achieving sustainability. </p><p> This revised and updated edition incorporates the latest science and thinking. It also features a new chapter on climate change in the American West, a larger reflection on the region's multicultural history, updated current events, expanded and diversified suggested readings, along with new maps and illustrations. Cohesive and compelling, <em>Losing Eden</em> recognizes the central role of the natural world in the history of the American West and provides important analysis on the continually evolving relationship between the land and its inhabitants.</p><p><br></p><p><