Our Better Nature: Environment and the Making of San Francisco
Environmental history in the mode of Fernand Braudel, urban history as practiced by Raymond Williams, and economic history inspired by Karl Marx, this highly readable book is ideal for classroom use. --Matthew Morse Booker, Pacific Historical ReviewThis volume examines San Francisco and the effort to reorganize nature to produce human comfort, wealth, and advancement. It is a fascinating look at human intervention in environmental rearrangement. --Patricia Ann Owens, California HistoryEloquent and always well argued, Our Better Nature illuminates the symbiosis of urban space and countryside and presents many opportunities to inform and provoke. It deserves a place on many bookshelves. --Peter J. Blodgett, Environmental HistoryAn essential read for anyone interested in urban historical geography and the relations that cities have to their local and greater environments. --Karl Byrand, Historical GeographyAuthor Phillip J. Dreyfus has penned a fantastic new book, detailing the history of the urban growth of San Francisco and the delicate balancing act of managing its place in nature against the demands of an ever-growing population. --E. Doc Smith with BeyondChron