Saving the Planet: The American Response to the Environment in the Twentieth Century

Hal Rothman chronicles the American response to the environment in the 20th century, showing how the idea of conservation management was transformed after World War II into a program for quality of life. His cogent narrative history is punctuated throughout with accounts of crucial episodes in the growth of environmentalism—Hetch-Hetchy, the Echo Park Dam, the oil spill at Santa Barbara, Love Canal, and others. A thoughtful tracking of the American environmental sympathies during this century. —Kirkus Reviews. American Ways Series.