Why read The Ecology of War in China?

Book cover of The Ecology of War in China: Henan Province, the Yellow River, and Beyond, 1938-1950

Book description

This book explores the interplay between war and environment in Henan Province, a hotly contested frontline territory that endured massive environmental destruction and human disruption during the conflict between China and Japan during World War II. In a desperate attempt to block Japan's military advance, Chinese Nationalist armies under Chiang…

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Asian history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Ecology of War in China as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Simo Laakkonen

Author

Historiography of the Second World War has traditionally focused on European powers and/or the United States while such major actors as the Soviet Union and China have been largely neglected.

Dr. Muscolino’s book approaches the long Second World War in China by examining the interplay between landscapes, rural society, and “hydraulic warfare” in Henan Province in the central part of the country.

Here the Nationalist government in 1938 deliberately destroyed a dam in the Yellow River, which caused a catastrophic flood and famine that had long socioenvironmental percussions in Chinese society until Mao’s era.

From Simo's list on The best books on the environmental history of war.