Americans and their Forests

‘Rare indeed is the privilege of reviewing a book that is destined to become a classic, but Michael Williams’s Americans and Their Forests gives me just such an opportunity. Williams has written the definitive historical geography of the importance of forests in the life, livelihood, and landscape of the United States and the way in which our thinking about and our use of our forests have changed through time in response to our changing needs and ideals.’ John Fraser Hart, Forest and Conservation History ‘This magisterial work, ten years in the making, addresses the question, what happened to the forest that once covered so much of the United States? … Scholars, ranging from geographers to agricultural and literary historians, will applaud Williams’s reach of analysis and attention to detail.’ John R. Stilgoe, The Geographical Review ‘While there are a number of solid studies that chronicle the significance of the forest in American history, this meticulously researched, elaborately documented, and carefully written volume provides the most detailed assessment of the evolving economic, political, and cultural relationship between Americans and their timber resources … The comprehensive nature of this study will establish it as a base point for further examination of the role of the forest in the growth and development of the United States.’ Phillip Drennon Thomas, Journal of American History ‘Michael Williams’s Americans and Their Forests is rich in insights. Much more than a historical geography, as proclaimed by its subtitle, it explores the role of forests in American history, economics, literature and culture.’ Norman Myers, Times Literary Supplement

Michael Williams is Reader in Geography at the University of Oxford. He has written and published extensively in the fields of environmental science and landscape history.

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