"This superbly written biography provides a brilliant insight into the life and background of one who was influential in the development of today's environmental movement."
"Brings to life the career and ideas of an important green forerunner [whose] book was one of the founding works of modern environmentalism."
A vivid portrait of Marsh against his intellectual and social background. . . . Lowenthal is the ideal biographer. . . . Everyone should come away with a better appreciation of a man who was a century ahead in recognizing many of our environmental problems and who addressed them at a fundamental level.
-- "Nature"
Brings to life the career and ideas of an important green forerunner [whose] book was one of the founding works of modern environmentalism.
-- "The Economist"
Classic. . . a compelling read.
-- "Boston Globe"
Every page, almost every line, of this remarkable book shines with the scholarship, learning, and insight of both the subject and the author.
-- "Historical Geography"
Learned in twenty languages, a lawyer, (unsuccessful) businessman, several-term congressional representative, sometimes university lecturer, lexicographer, grammarian, archaeological enthusiast, veteran diplomat, and ceaseless pursuer of sundry projects civic and scholarly, Marsh was a rare example of amateurish Yankee ingenuity transformed into a disciplined, cosmopolitan intelligence.
-- "The Journal of American History"
The history of science in 19th-century U.S., the political culture of the diplomatic world, the politics of Italian independence-- all are commented on by two brilliant scholars: Marsh and Lowenthal.
-- "Choice"
This book is well written, well constructed, and thoughtful-- valuable as a biography of a fascinating American Victorian amateur scholar, politician, and diplomat, and essential as a contribution to the history of environmental thought.
-- "American Historical Review"
This is a keenly felt and carefully written biography by one of our leading geographers.Every page, almost every line, of this remarkable book shines with scholarship, learning, and insight of both the subject and author. I don't know whom I admire more-- Marsh or Lowenthal.
-- "Historical Geography"
This superbly written biography provides a brilliant insight into the life and background of one who was influential in the development of today's environmental movement.
-- "The Naturalist"
Truly remarkable. . . Lowenthal is masterful in weaving together the whole of Marsh's remarkable life: his wide ranging scholarly interests, diverse personal experience, command of myriad languages, and his ability to constantly criticize and reverse himself in the light of new evidence and experience.
-- "Northern Woodlands"
"A vivid portrait of Marsh against his intellectual and social background. . . . Lowenthal is the ideal biographer. . . . Everyone should come away with a better appreciation of a man who was a century ahead in recognizing many of our environmental problems and who addressed them at a fundamental level."
A vivid portrait of Marsh against his intellectual and social background. . . . Lowenthal is the ideal biographer. . . . Everyone should come away with a better appreciation of a man who was a century ahead in recognizing many of our environmental problems and who addressed them at a fundamental level.
Anyone with an interest in protecting the environment should not miss
it.
Masterful summaries of complex Balkan and Italian politics, power
struggles at the Smithsonian, small-town life in Woodstock and Burlington,
big-town life in Washington D.C. and Turin...One of the classics of
environmental biography.
Every page, almost every line, of this remarkable book shines with the
scholarship, learning and insight of both the subject and the author.
Classic...a compelling read.
—Boston Globe
New biographical expectations, new historical and environmental insights, and the availability of new primary sources inspired Lowenthal (professor emeritus of geography, University Coll., London) to revise his 1958 biography of George Perkins Marsh. A lawyer, farmer, manufacturer, congressman, diplomat, scholar, linguist, and pioneer conservationist, Marsh is best known for Man and Nature, first published in 1864. A lifetime of study and keen observation helped him understand the impact of humans on the environment and the resulting social, economic, and political ramifications. Considerable history is included in this biography, which ranges from antebellum America, the Civil War, and Reconstruction to Turkey, the Middle East, and the story of Italian unification; Marsh witnessed them all. Marsh was a product of Puritan New England, with all the attendant class prejudices, but as Lowenthal demonstrates, he had a modern, holistic world view as well. Recommended for all libraries, especially those with environmental collections.--Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley Coll., Mt. Carmel, IL Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Mr. Lowenthal deserves considerable credit for bringing to life the career and ideas of an important green forerunner.
