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florisw's review against another edition
2.0
This book distills J. DOnald Hughes' decades of research, conversations, experiences, and thoughts in the field of Environmental History into what is essentially a glorified critical bibliography. Great as an account of environmental history's development and most prominent trends, this book feels a bit too dated to still be considered an authoritative summary of the field for the 2020s. A very explicit (and deliberate, I should add) focus on Anglo-Amererican themes and scholarship is sometimes padded with some remarks about East Asian, Latin American, or Pacific scholarship, but half of these are still written by Anglo-American scholars. Discussion about the interdisciplinary nature and potential for environmental history is disappointingly limited to only other historical fields, historical geography, and perhaps a tiny bit of sociology. Throughout the book there is a huge emphasis on the works of only a handful of influential pioneers (Donald Worster, J.R. McNeill, Carolyn Merchant, William Cronon), but it would have been nice to see some newer names get the same kind of love and attention, especially for a second edition. Although I respect what the author has achieved here, the question the book tries to answer probably warranted a collaborative effort (e.g. edited volume). Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone will be misinformed by this book - I'd just prefer to see people attempt an updated version for the 2020s and beyond.
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