Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England

Carolyn Merchant's book speaks of the relationships between human and non-human nature that have evolved over the last three centuries. The book is a sympathetic approach to non-human nature and also the reasoning(s) behind the causes of its abuse. A very interesting read that gives a clear picture as to the destructive role that capitalism.

Ecological Revolutions is an absolutely fundamental text in the fields of Colonial and Environmental American history. This book, along with William Cronon's Changes in the Land, transformed historians' understandings of Native American relationships to the land, as well as the ecological, economic, and reproductive changes brought by European colonists. Changes in the Land is more entertaining to read, but Ecological Revolutions is more advanced methodologically. I recommend both books heartily.