Guano and the Opening of the Pacific World: A Global Ecological History (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781107004139)

For centuries, bird guano has played a pivotal role in the agricultural and economic development of Latin America, East Asia, and Oceania. As their populations ballooned during the Industrial Revolution, North American and European powers came to depend on this unique resource as well, helping them meet their ever-increasing farming needs. This book explores how the production and commodification of guano has shaped the modern Pacific Basin and the world's relationship to the region. Marrying traditional methods of historical analysis with a broad interdisciplinary approach, Gregory T. Cushman casts this once little-known commodity as an engine of Western industrialization, offering new insight into uniquely modern developments such as environmental consciousness and conservation movements; the ascendance of science, technology, and expertise; international relations; and world war.

Author: Gregory T. Cushman
ISBN-10: 1107004136
ISBN-13: 9781107004139
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 03/25/2013
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.55lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.40d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2014