Day before America - Hardcover

MacLeish, William H

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395468825 ISBN 13: 9780395468821

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade), 1994

Synopsis

History and prehistory come alive in this extraordinary account of America as it was before it got its name. William H. MacLeish paints a heart-rending portrait of the lush, miraculous New World on the eve of the Encounter - the arrival of the first Europeans, after which nothing would be the same. Drawing on the work of anthropologists, geologists, and other academic experts, MacLeish roams over 18,000 years of the continent's history, exploring the role of climate and human activity in preparing the world that we have inherited. The Day Before America is studded with fascinating information on the awesome changes wrought by the ice age (and the inevitability of its return), the ecological effects of hunting and early agriculture, the astonishing variety of Indian civilizations, and the transformations in the continent's nature over the past five hundred years. It is a book informed by a deep commitment to the wonder and sacredness of the natural world. At bottom, it is a statement of belief in an unsentimental environmentalism - an effort to see our world in the longest view, and to value it all the more for that.

About this title

Synopsis:

Discusses the history of America's landscape and its plant and animal life beginning in 1492, and examines the way of life of Americans across the continent.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0395468825
• ISBN 13: 9780395468821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 277