_REVIEWS PATHWAYS TO THE PRESENT: U.S. DEVELOPMENT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE PACIFIC by Mansel G. Blackford University ofHawaii Press, Honolulu, 2007. Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 278 pages. $48.00 cloth. In 2001,historian John McNeill wrote that the field of Pacific environmental history did not yet exist, although many scholars had writ ten of the commonalities in environmental developments throughout the Pacific Rim. Mansel G. Blackford, a professor of history at The Ohio StateUniversity, has added to this growing literaturewith a thoughtful look at how World War II and the Cold War acted asmajor catalysts for change throughout the Pacific region. American spending provided much of the impetus for regional economic growth and integration of trade.But the local costs have been high. Political and economic colonialism have shaped development throughout the entire Pacific Rim. Yet, many areas (Guam and American Samoa, for example) failed to develop self-sustaining economies. Tourism has replaced military spending as amainstay ofmany economies (such asHawaii's), creating controversies surrounding land use, water use, and homogenization of culture and identity. The development of Silicon Valley and Seattle exposed many workers to toxic materials, creat ing congestion and pollution of the air, open bodies ofwater, and groundwater. Pathways to thePresent seeks the commonalities in these developments. Blackford focuses on how Pacific peoples have tried to shape their lives in this changing region.While the complexity of the Pacific regionmakes generalizations difficult,he has picked some provocative examples to examine using the theme of environmental justice. Standards of livinghave risen throughout the region, but many areas of the Pacific are still dependent on boom and bust economies that are based on extractive industries. Blackford builds his case for commonal itythrough amix of historical examples and modern-day environmental analysis. In a chap teron Alaska, he focuses on the 1961decision by the Point Barrow Natives to fight Project Chariot, anAtomic Energy Commission pro posal to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor onAlaska's Northwest Coast. The conflict led to theestablishment of theAlaskan Federation of Natives. Such conflicts continue among farm ers, fishers, lumber workers, and oil workers who battle over access topublic lands. Similar conflicts are echoed in the chap ters on Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and American Samoa. The Hawaii chapter looks at effortsto restoreKaho'olawe, the smallest of theeight islands,which was used fordecades as amilitary bombing range.Residents ofGuam andAmerican Samoa have also fought military control of their islands. Blackman likens their effortsto thework of urban residents in the United Stateswho are fighting toprevent their neighborhoods from being used as landfills, sewage stations, and electrical power plants. Another concern is the battle to protect native species from introduced species, a process that began with the colonization of theHawaiian Islands by the Polynesians. The brown tree snake, inadvertently introduced to Guam by the American military,has decimated native wildlife, creating a major ecological disaster and significantlyhindering develop ment of the island's economy. One of the most interestingchapters focuses on the rebuilding of Hiroshima after World 146 OHQ vol. 109, no. 1 War IL Blackford traces the development of the citybefore thewar, itsdevastation, and the involvement of environmental and economic trade-offsin itsrebuilding.Residents agreed on an ideological mission for theircity,that itbe known as the "Cityof Peace" (p. 146).Rebuild ing did not reallybegin until 1949,when the Peace Parkwas created in Nakajima and nearby Saiku-machi, an area of about thirty acres. While thepark enjoyedwide support, italso involved the removal and relocation of residents,just as Native Americans were removedwhen national parkswere created in theUnited States.During the1980s, heavy industry declined in Hiroshima, which became a centerfornew high-technology firms. In 1984,the Japanese government desig nated an area east of the city,called Higashi Hiroshima, tobecome a JapaneseSiliconValley. The expected economic stimulus,however,did notmaterialize. Where high-tech has been successful in reshaping economies, there are hidden costs. Both Seattle and SiliconValley boomed during World War II and theCold War. Landscapes were severely altered and economic develop ment was uneven, stimulating the growth of grassroots environmentalism. The hazards of high-tech production fellheavily on a largely immigrant workforce, and relativelyfew immi grants foundmanagerial positions. As Blackford points out, historians...