| Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany Contributor(s): Blackbourn, David (Author) |
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ISBN: 0393329992 ISBN-13: 9780393329995 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $27.50 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2007 Annotation: Majestic, lyrically written, and handsomely illustrated, this absorbing work traces the rise of the German nation through the development of water and landscape. 70 illustrations. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Historical Geography - History | Europe - Germany |
| Dewey: 627.094 |
| Physical Information: 1.3" H x 5.9" W x 9.1" (1.45 lbs) 480 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Germany |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Majestic and lyrically written, The Conquest of Nature traces the rise of Germany through the development of water and landscape. David Blackbourn begins his morality tale in the mid-1700s, with the epic story of Frederick the Great, who attempted--by importing the great scientific minds of the West and by harnessing the power of his army--to transform the uninhabitable marshlands of his scattered kingdom into a modern state. Chronicling the great engineering projects that reshaped the mighty Rhine, the emergence of an ambitious German navy, and the development of hydroelectric power to fuel Germany's convulsive industrial growth before World War I, Blackbourn goes on to show how Nazi racial policies rested on German ideas of mastery of the natural world. Filled with striking reproductions of paintings, maps, and photographs, this grand work of modern history links culture, politics, and the environment in an exploration of the perils faced by nations that attempt to conquer nature. |
Contributor Bio(s): Blackbourn, David: - David Blackbourn is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University. His previous books include Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century and Marpingen: Apparitions of the Virgin Mary. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts. |
