Book cover of The Making of the American Landscape

Book description

The only compact yet comprehensive survey of environmental and cultural forces that have shaped the visual character and geographical diversity of the settled American landscape. The book examines the large-scale historical influences that have molded the varied human adaptation of the continent's physical topography to its needs over more than…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Making of the American Landscape as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book takes the physical and built environment as the centerpiece for looking at the historical trajectory of the United States. The multiple essays highlight the ways in which the country was being shaped by the interaction of both the physical environment of North America and the cultural forces acting upon the land from Native Americans to the Federal Government.

The landscape is seen as a text that, if one stops to observe, reveals itself as a rich artifact to be examined. Place names, architecture, and land use patterns are not arbitrary but are the result of culture, politics, economics,…

From Michelle's list on understanding cultural landscapes.

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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