The American Environment

430 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE greaterjustice to the many valley residents forcibly removed from their homes and communities to make way for many of the TVA dams (as elaborated in Michael McDonald and John Muldowny’s TVA and the Dispossessed: The Resettlement of Population in the Norris Dam Area [Knox­ ville, Tenn., 1982]). Creese’s book reads as if no blacks lived in the valley, much less worked for the agency, and as if the poor whites who were dispossessed invariably were beneficiaries rather than victims of “mod­ ernization.” Despite these drawbacks, TVA’ s Public Planning is a notable contribu­ tion to the ongoing réévaluation of TVA. Howard P. Segai, Dr. Segai. is professor of history and technology' studies at the University of Maine. He is the author of Future Imperfect: The Mixed Blessings of Technology in America (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1994). TheAmerican Environment: Interpretations ofPast Geographies. Edited by Lary M. Dilsaver and Craig E. Colten. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1992. Pp. xxii+271; figures, tables, notes. $60.00 (cloth); $22.95 (paper). This book contains a collection of essays and a literature review that examine human impact on the environment from a historical vantage point. Lary M. Dilsaver, a professor of geography at the University of South Alabama, and Craig E. Colten, associate curator of geography at the Illinois State Museum, have selected essays that “integrate human activities and environmental processes within the context of historical geography” (p. 2). The book has four sections organized according to the type of human activity that has altered the American environment: early explorations, economies and resource exploitation, legislation and management, and preservation and recreation. Although the papers are specifically grouped, some of the essays may befit more than one subheading. In addition, the book follows a loose chronological format that effectively gives the reader a sample of human impact on the environment from the colonial to the postindustrial era. In the preface, Stanley W. Trimble calls attention to the importance of historical geography to integrate both its physical and human aspects. By bridging this existing duality, the true nature of historical geography, the landscape, is manifested. Thus, the waning interest in historical geography may be revived with a more viable base. Similarly, Dilsaver and Colten feel that “addressing the environmental dimension of human impacts and management policies, historical geography can blend its perspective with that of history and make a significant contribution” (p. 10). Their literature review in chapter 1 provides a brief compilation of historical geographers who have utilized the environment in their studies. TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 431 In part 1, Trimble’s paper investigates the once-fertile Alcovy River watershed that was transformed into swamp and marshland. His re­ search reveals that the accelerated erosion is due to European settle­ ment and agricultural practices. The other paper in part 1, by ArthurJ. Ray, discusses the various conservation practices employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company to manage fur trapping in Canada. The next three papers probe the exploitation of agrarian practices, mining, and timber harvesting, respectively. Carville Earle reexamines the negative image ofAmerican capitalism in relation to environmental history. By analyzing the southern cotton belt, he attributes the accel­ erated erosion of soil to “scientific agrarian reform” rather than “capitalism avarice.” Richard V. Francaviglia looks at the evolution of mining and its dramatic impact on the American topography. Improve­ ments in mining technology transformed the landscape by increasing the scale of mining and allowing lower-grade ores to be mined. Martha L. Henderson explores the American Indian Trusts Forests and the Mescalero Apaches in south-central New Mexico. The Mescalero struggle over time with changes in federal policy and non-Native American intervention in timber production has resulted in opportuni­ ties for more self-management. Part 3 shows how laws have affected the environment. David S. Hardin “examines the legislation created in colonial Virginia to either suppress or encourage wildlife” (p. 139). Olen Paul Matthews explains the unique management conflicts that arise when a mobile resource crosses state boundaries: the uses of the Arkansas River are being disputed over “allocation between competing users in the basin’s water-short western half and flood control

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