Weeds : an environmental history of metropolitan America

"Theodore Dreiser once declared that weeds would become 'indispensable.' Now Zachary Falck reveals that weeds are indeed indispensable to the history of metropolitan America. In this richly researched and contextualized work, Falck shows how much ecological history of the city has yet to be explored. Here we begin to see just how fully nature and culture blend in cities, and how weeds--at times loathed and admired--can be used to illustrate Americans' changing ideas of nature and the city."--David Stradling, University of Cincinnati "Falck reinterprets cities from the perspective of some of their most unwanted inhabitants--the plants that choked vacant lots and sprang from sidewalk cracks. Such vegetation reveals how residents experienced urban life--their aspirations and discontents, their feelings about their neighbors, and what they did about it all. Who knew so much history lay among the weeds?"--Jared Orsi, Colorado State University "An important reconsideration of the story of urban development during the last two centurires. . . . Commendable for its author's ability to tease out the social and the ecological in order to tell a sophisticated urban environmental history. "--Environmental History "Gives a novel perspective . . . Falck's fascinating, detailed case studies of court proceedings to compel residents to remove 'weeds' from their land remind us that the land of the free has been remarkably authoritarian in its pursuit of the ubiquitous American lawn."--Australian Garden History ""The historiography of the persistence of happenstance plants and the enduring human conception of their meaning has found rich expression in this book. Indeed Falck's insights offer a singular contribution to a field that began forty years ago by interrogating the formation of the conservation movement and its wild and monumental artifacts--the national forests and parks--as emblems of the American claim to be nature's nation."--American Historical Review Theodore Dreiser once declared that weeds would become indispensable. Now Zachary Falck reveals that weeds are indeed indispensable to the history of metropolitan America. In this richly researched and contextualized work, Falck shows how much ecological history of the city has yet to be explored. Here we begin to see just how fully nature and culture blend in cities, and how weeds at times loathed and admired can be used to illustrate Americans changing ideas of nature and the city. David Stradling, University of Cincinnati" Falck reinterprets cities from the perspective of some of their most unwanted inhabitants the plants that choked vacant lots and sprang from sidewalk cracks. Such vegetation reveals how residents experienced urban life their aspirations and discontents, their feelings about their neighbors, and what they did about it all. Who knew so much history lay among the weeds? Jared Orsi, Colorado State University" An important reconsideration of the story of urban development during the last two centurires. . . . Commendable for its author s ability to tease out the social and the ecological in order to tell a sophisticated urban environmental history. " Environmental History"" Gives a novel perspective . . . Falck s fascinating, detailed case studies of court proceedings to compel residents to remove weeds from their land remind us that the land of the free has been remarkably authoritarian in its pursuit of the ubiquitous American lawn. " Australian Garden History"" The historiography of the persistence of happenstance plants and the enduring human conception of their meaning has found rich expression in this book. Indeed Falck s insights offer a singular contribution to a field that began forty years ago by interrogating the formation of the conservation movement and its wild and monumental artifacts the national forests and parks as emblems of the American claim to be nature s nation. American Historical Review" ""The historiography of the persistence of happenstance plants and the enduring human conception of their meaning has found rich expression in this book. Indeed Falck's insights offer a singular contribution to a field that began forty years ago by interrogating the formation of the conservation movement and its wild and monumental artifacts--the national forests and parks--as emblems of the American claim to be nature's nation."--American Historical Review "An important reconsideration of the story of urban development during the last two centurires. . . . Commendable for its author's ability to tease out the social and the ecological in order to tell a sophisticated urban environmental history. ""--Environmental History" "Falck reinterprets cities from the perspective of some of their most unwanted inhabitants--the plants that choked vacant lots and sprang from sidewalk cracks. Such vegetation reveals how residents experienced urban life--their aspirations and discontents, their feelings about their neighbors, and what they did about it all. Who knew so much history lay among the weeds?"--Jared Orsi, Colorado State University "Theodore Dreiser once declared that weeds would become 'indispensable.' Now Zachary Falck reveals that weeds are indeed indispensable to the history of metropolitan America. In this richly researched and contextualized work, Falck shows how much ecological history of the city has yet to be explored. Here we begin to see just how fully nature and culture blend in cities, and how weeds--at times loathed and admired--can be used to illustrate Americans' changing ideas of nature and the city."--David Stradling, University of Cincinnati "Gives a novel perspective . . . Falck's fascinating, detailed case studies of court proceedings to compel residents to remove 'weeds' from their land remind us that the land of the free has been remarkably authoritarian in its pursuit of the ubiquitous American lawn.""--Australian Garden History" "Theodore Dreiser once declared that weeds would become 'indispensable.' Now Zachary Falck reveals that weeds are indeed indispensable to the history of metropolitan America. In this richly researched and contextualized work, Falck shows how much ecological history of the city has yet to be explored. Here we begin to see just how fully nature and culture blend in cities, and how weeds-at times loathed and admired-can be used to illustrate Americans' changing ideas of nature and the city." -David Stradling, University of Cincinnati "Falck reinterprets cities from the perspective of some of their most unwanted inhabitants-the plants that choked vacant lots and sprang from sidewalk cracks. Such vegetation reveals how residents experienced urban life-their aspirations and discontents, their feelings about their neighbors, and what they did about it all. Who knew so much history lay among the weeds?" -Jared Orsi, Colorado State University Read more...