The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.64 (716 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0393329992 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 480 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-06-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Brilliantly conceived.A tour de force in historical writing."Ian Kershaw Majestic and lyrically written, The Conquest of Nature traces the rise of Germany through the development of water and landscape. Filled with striking reproductions of paintings, maps, and photographs, this grand work of modern history links culture, politics, and the environment in an exploration of the perils faced by nations that attempt to conquer nature. Chronicling the great engineering projects that reshaped the mighty Rhine, the emergence of an ambitious German navy, and the development of hydroelectric power to fuel Germany's convulsive industrial growth before World War I, Blackbourn goes on to show how Nazi racial policies rested on German ideas of mastery of the natural world. David Blackbourn begins his morality tale in the mid-1700s, with the epic story of Frederick the Great, who attemptedby importing the great scientific minds of the West and by harnessing the power of his armyto transform the uninhabitable marshlands
A brilliant masterpiece In this masterful and original account the author takes the reader on a virtual tour de force examination of the way in which nature was changed, conquered, preserved, destroyed and manipulated in Germany between the time of Fredrick the Great and the present. The author notes that to "write about the shaping of the modern German landscape is to write about how modern Germany itself was shaped." It begins with the tale of the draining of the Oderburch, a great swamp on the river Oder from Oderberg to Lebus. This swamp along with others was progressively drained and settled in the 18th century. David Blackbourn succeeds to bring together cultural and environmental history David Blackbourn succeeds to bring together cultural and environmental history. His argument--German's representation of nature mirrored the German state--is not just compelling. Indeed, Blackbourne succeeds with elegance, helped with a series of biographies and case-studies, to support his claim. Nevertheless, some can complain about the absence of the German Empire considering the role played by internal colonization to vanquish nature.. Ethan G. said Environmental history. as a new field, this book does some really groundbreaking stuff with environmental history. Although a bit dense at times, it raises interesting questions and is a must read.
All rights reserved. The unique framing of Blackbourn's interpretation of German history and the lavish illustrations make this an engrossing read. The Nazis, too, perceived land reclamation as a duty for a "people without space." More recently, Greens have highlighted the downsides of water engineering (loss of biodiversity, pollution, overconsumption) even as its supporters trumpet its successes (free commerce, the end of malaria, control of flooding). The simple act of draining a marsh, Blackbourn points out, can be interpreted in multiple ways. . Liberals saw in human mastery