Making of the American Landscape

The only compact yet comprehensive survey of environmental and cultural forces that have shaped the visual character and geographical diversity of the settled American landscape. The book examines the large-scale historical influences that have molded the varied human adaptation of the continent’s physical topography to its needs over more than 500 years. It presents a synoptic view of myriad historical processes working together or in conflict, and illustrates them through their survival in or disappearance from the everyday landscapes of today.

"The skillfully interwoven essays in The Making of the American Landscape, Second Edition paint a broad but penetrating picture of the changing character of the continental United States as seen through the lens of landscape change. The volume is a testament to the importance of work in historical geography and a showcase for what it means to seek understanding of a place through the study of landscape."—Alexander Murphy, University of Oregon"This richly illustrated and engagingly written survey of American landscapes provides exactly the right education to begin to see and understand landscape in all its order and variety. The second edition adds some sparkling new chapters, updated information, and attractive photographic color to what is already the standard of excellence for American landscape studies."—John Agnew, University of California, Los Angeles "Michael Conzen has re-assembled a superb line up of authors renowned for their capacity to see detail and interpret the big picture. Chapters have been updated, especially through an expanded array of historical and contemporary views of landscapes, and several new authors make this an even more compelling text. "—Deryck Holdsworth, Pennsylvania State University "Everyone who has ever paused to wonder about the many historical features that survive in this sprawling country will enjoy the expertise as well as the enthusiasm that these authors bring to their topic in this second edition. The American landscape gains a whole new dimension."—Ellen Eslinger, DePaul University "With this second edition of The Making of the American Landscape, earlier essays have been substantively revised and new ones added to present critical new perspectives on topics that extend from early American Indian to contemporary mass culture and the utopian dimensions of sustainability. This impressive, wide-ranging history will be a necessary resource. "—Gwendolyn Wright, Columbia University "Only a second edition of Michael P. Conzen’s The Making of the American Landscape could be better than the first. Full color maps and photographs along with new chapters on religion, civil society, consumer and utopian landscapes provide fresh insights into how historical forces have physically shaped places and imbued them with meaning."—Anne Knowles, Middlebury College , 'Michael Conzen has re-assembled a superb line up of authors renowned for their capacity to see detail and interpret the big picture. Chapters have been updated, especially through an expanded array of historical and contemporary views of landscapes, and several new authors make this an even more compelling text." – Deryck Holdsworth, Pennsylvania State University "Since its publication in 1990, The Making of the American Landscape has remained the best single-volume introduction to the country's cultural landscape mosaic." –Chris Wilson, University of New Mexico, USA"The Making of the American Landscape is, simply stated, an amazing book. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the evolution of landscape. It is also a fine text to be used in classes which focus on historical geography or landscape studies more broadly....There is not a single chapter that this reviewer found disappointing or uninteresting." – Dawn S. Bowen, Department of Geography, University of Mary Washington

Michael Conzen is Professor of Geography at the University of Chicago