Green Land, Brown Land, Black Land: An Environmental History of Africa, 1800-1990

by James C. McCann

James C. McCann provides a synthesis of evidence and a narrative of Africa's evironmental history over the past two centuries. In a book readily accessible to undergraduates and nonspecialists, Professor McCann argues that far from being pristine and primordial spaces, Africa's landscapes were created by human activity. This argument contrasts strongly with the idealized notions of an African Eden commonly held in the West and in Africa itself. It...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0325000964
• ISBN13: 9780325000961
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT Work

I read this book for an undergraduate course in comparative environmental history. McCann dispells common myths about Africa (static, has been in environmental decline throughout its history). Instead, he argues that Africa's environmental history can't be judged in a linear perspective - it is neither "declensionist" (continued decline) nor progressive (environment always being improved by people). His book places African agriculturalists within a larger framework of history. Several chapters discuss the role of politics in impacting local environmental change. This a valuable perspective and shows that environmental history has many applications in public policy (implied connections that are mentioned but not developed within the book).