Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 / Edition 2

by Alfred W. Crosby

Overview

People of European descent form the bulk of the population in most of the temperate zones of the world—North America, Australia and New Zealand. The military successes of European imperialism are easy to explain because in many cases they were achieved by using firearms against spears. Alfred Crosby, however, explains that the Europeans' displacement and replacement of the native peoples in the temperate zones was more a matter of biology than of military conquest. Now in a new edition with a new preface, Crosby revisits his classic work and again evaluates the ecological reasons for European expansion. Alfred W. Crosby is the author of the widely popular and ground-breaking books,The Measure of Reality (Cambridge, 1996), and America's Forgotten Pandemic (Cambridge, 1990). His books have received the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, the Medical Writers Association Prize and been named by the Los Angeles Times as among the best books of the year. He taught at the University of Texas, Austin for over 20 years. First Edition Hb (1986): 0-521-32009-7 First Edition Pb (1987): 0-521-33613-9

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521837323
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/19/2004
Series:	Studies in Environment and History
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 1.06(d)

About the Author

Alfred W. Crosby is a Professor Emeritus in American Studies, History and Geography at the University of Texas, Austin, where he taught for over twenty years. His previous books include America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918, 2nd edition (Cambridge, 2003), Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology through History (Cambridge, 2002), The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250–1600 (Cambridge, 1997). The Measure of Reality was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 100 most important books of 1997.

Table of Contents

1. Prologue; 2. Pangaea revisited, the Neolithic reconsidered; 3. The Norse and the Crusaders; 4. The Fortunate Isles; 5. Winds; 6. Within reach, beyond grasp; 7. Weeds; 8. Animals; 9. Ills; 10. New Zealand; 11. Explanations; 12. Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

Review of previous edition:
"Crosby has unfolded with great power the wider biopolitics of our civilization."
Nature

Review of previous edition:
"[This] book is important, and required reading for politicians worldwide … Nuclear war may be spectacular and a valid focus for our exertions, but ecological insouciance is even more dangerous because it is unspectacular, and it merits efforts to combat it as strenuous and urgent."
The Guardian

Review of previous edition:
"The biological bases of radically changing historical ecosystems must never be forgotten - and Crosby has made them intelligible as well as memorable."
Natural History

Review of previous edition:
"Crosby argues his case with vigour, authority and panache, summoning up examples and illustrations that are often as startling in their character as in their implications. Ecological Imperialism could not ask for a more lucid and stylish exponent."
The Times Literary Supplement

Review of previous edition:
"In telling his very readable story, Mr Crosby combines a historian's taste for colorful detail with a scientist's hunger for unifying and testable generalization … [He] shows that there is more to history than kings and battles, and more to ecology than fruits and nuts."
The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher