About this book:

*Hidden Landscapes: Environmental History of North America* explores the continent’s transformation from the glaciated terrain of deep time to the human-engineered ecosystems of the modern era. The book argues that landscapes are living archives of human decision-making, power dynamics, and economic priorities. It begins by contrasting Indigenous stewardship—characterized by reciprocal relationships and the strategic use of "cultural fire"—with the extractive logic introduced by European colonization. This colonial shift initiated a series of biological and industrial revolutions, including the Columbian Exchange, the fur trade, and the massive clearing of timber and conversion of prairies into agricultural monocultures.

The text details how the nineteenth and twentieth centuries accelerated these changes through monumental engineering and industrialization. The construction of transcontinental railroads, the damming of major river basins for "Big Water" projects, and the draining of vast wetlands reordered the continent’s hydrology and geography to suit market demands. These developments facilitated a transition from local subsistence to a global extractive economy, while simultaneously creating "hidden landscapes" of environmental degradation, such as the toxic legacies of mining and the catastrophic soil erosion of the Dust Bowl. The book also examines the rise of "petro-modernity," where the automobile and the suburban lawn created a new, artificial aesthetic of nature that remains heavily dependent on chemical inputs and fossil fuels.

A significant portion of the book is dedicated to the social and political consequences of environmental change. It examines the "wilderness idea," noting that the creation of national parks often necessitated the violent dispossession of Indigenous peoples to create a myth of pristine, uninhabited land. Furthermore, the narrative tracks the rise of the chemical century and the subsequent birth of the environmental justice movement, as marginalized communities began to protest the disproportionate burden of industrial pollution and toxic waste. These chapters highlight that environmental history is inseparable from issues of race, labor, and civil rights, as seen in the struggles over "Cancer Alley," the Flint water crisis, and the grassroots organizing at Love Canal.

In its concluding chapters, the book shifts toward themes of resilience and repair. It documents an "Indigenous Resurgence," where tribal nations are reclaiming sovereignty and utilizing traditional ecological knowledge to lead restoration efforts in forestry, fisheries, and wildlife management. As the continent faces the intensifying effects of the Anthropocene—including megafires, rising sea levels, and species extinction—the text advocates for a move away from the "control" paradigm of the past. Instead, it suggests a future rooted in adaptation, reciprocity, and regenerative practices, urging a fundamental reimagining of the human relationship with the North American landscape to ensure long-term ecological and social health.

What You'll Find Inside:

• Landscapes as archives that store historical residues of power, property, and belonging through physical transformations like canalized rivers, treeless prairies, and chemical drift from farm fields to aquifers
• Indigenous stewardship practices that created productive 'hidden landscapes' through cultural burning, agroforestry (like the Three Sisters), and kinship-based relationships treating land as a relative rather than a resource
• The Columbian Exchange as a biological revolution that reconfigured North American biomes through species introductions, disease epidemics, and ecological simplification that created novel ecosystems still evident today
• Resource extraction frontiers (fur trade, timber empires, mining, plantations) that reshaped ecosystems through boom-and-bust cycles, leaving enduring environmental legacies in altered hydrology, soil composition, and species distributions
• Contemporary environmental challenges framed by historical legacies, including climate justice, Indigenous resurgence through co-management and restoration, and the need for reciprocity and regenerative futures to live with change in the Anthropocene

Who's It For:

This book is designed for students and scholars of environmental history, ecology, and North American studies, as well as professionals in conservation, environmental policy, and natural resource management. It will particularly benefit readers seeking to understand how historical processes have shaped contemporary North American landscapes and environmental challenges, including the deep roots of current issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental injustice. The interdisciplinary approach makes it accessible to anyone interested in the intersection of human history, ecological change, and social justice.