Miller, Daegan. 2018. This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Lara Nagle

doi:10.21061/cc.v3i1.a.28

Abstract

Miller, Daegan. (2018). <em>This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent</em>. Chicago: University of Chicago Press., 336 pp. $30.00. ISBN: 9780226336145. Daegan Miller’s book explores concepts such as environmentalism, wilderness, and community development in the context of 19<sup>th</sup>-century westward expansion and growth in the United States. Miller describes Henry David Thoreau’s interpretations of natural environments as a surveyor; the Adirondack land partitioned by Gerrit Smith for antebellum African American farmers; A. J. Russell’s photo-narrative of the Union Pacific Railroad; and the socialist Kaweah Colony in California situated at the foot of the “General Sherman” sequoia, briefly renamed “Karl Marx.” The tree figures prominently throughout the book as a landmark for, witness to, and victim of human exploits.

Highlights

Miller describes Henry David Thoreau’s interpretations of natural environments as a surveyor; the Adirondack land partitioned by Gerrit Smith for antebellum African American farmers; A
Russell’s photo-narrative of the Union Pacific Railroad; and the socialist Kaweah Colony in California situated at the foot of the “General Sherman” sequoia, briefly renamed “Karl Marx.”
The concept of nature as witness, both testifying to a celebrated past and potentially a survivor of past crimes, persists throughout the cases highlighted by Miller’s comprehensive research efforts. He describes Henry David Thoreau’s highly animated and critical riposte to reductionist interpretations of natural environments as a surveyor, and the Adirondack land partitioned by Gerrit Smith for antebellum African American farmers to settle a sustainable community

Summary

Introduction

This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent. Daegan Miller’s book explores concepts such as environmentalism, wilderness, and community development in the context of 19th-century westward expansion and growth in the United States.

Results

Conclusion