The Metamorphosis of the Amazon

‘The history of oil is full of criminality, corruption, authoritarianism, violence, and frustrations. In Ecuador, it caused profound metamorphosis, and its Amazon, for more than half a century, transformed into a madhouse of multiple destructions. In great depth, Maximilian Fritz Feichtner sheds light on this history.’ Alberto Acosta, former President of the National Constituent Assembly of Ecuador‘In a time that seems trapped in its dependence on fossil fuels, Maximilian Fritz Feichtner brings us back to the history of oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Indigenous people, workers, and corporations blend their memories with the non-human nature of the Amazon. The result is a toxic legacy still embedded into the ecologies of oil extraction. A much-needed work for everyone who wants to see how oil has entered the history and ecology of the planet.’ Marco Armiero, European Society for Environmental History‘A meaningful contribution to the environmental humanities, this book offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the social, cultural, and environmental transformations that oil wrought in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Eschewing simple binaries, treating non-human actors as agents, and taking Ecuadorian oil workers seriously as historical figures, Feichtner sheds light on the complex dynamics through which Texaco and its subcontractors advanced their project of extraction in the RAE, and contemplates the wreckage they left behind.’ Rebecca Herman, University of California, Berkeley‘This work makes an important contribution to understanding complex processes of change in resource extraction areas and offers a sound starting point for further research.’ Lena Krause, H-Soz-Kult‘… a provocative and engaging study of the RAE’s metamorphosis that may open up the field to more nuanced historical understandings of environmental transformation.’ Ernesto Capello, Hispanic American Historical Review

Maximilian Fritz Feichtner is an Independent Scholar and environmental consultant. He advises German state and federal government agencies on environmental and sustainability issues and climate change.