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THIS ISSUE BEGINS the tenth year of the partnership of the American
Society for Environmental History and the Forest History Society
in publishing Environmental History. By any standard, the
journal has been a success from the start. As I wrote in my first
editor's note in January 2002, the members of both societies owe
many thanks to the journal's inaugural editor, Hal Rothman.
I decided to mark the tenth-year
milestone by publishing a special section about the future of
environmental history. The section has an introduction, so you'll
have to turn to page 30 for details. I hope that you will want
to return to this section again and again!
The lead article in this issue
is by Donald Worster, who was honored by the ASEH last year for
lifetime scholarly achievement. The article comes from Worster's
biography-in-progress of John Muir. Worster also spoke on this
topic as the 2004 Lynn W. Day Distinguished Lecturer in Forest
and Conservation History–the lectureship is sponsored by
the Forest History Society, in collaboration with the Nicholas
School of the Environment and the Department of History at Duke
University. I am thrilled to be able to give this lecture a bigger
audience.
Though Muir is the subject of countless
books and articles, Worster's work will change your view of Muir's
career. Worster offers wonderful new insight into the political
roots of Muir's passion for nature. But I suspect that most readers
will be struck especially by Worster's analysis of the differences
between the young Muir and the old. To a greater extent than scholars
have acknowledged, Worster argues, Muir's "feelings for nature
narrowed and became more conservative and more compromised over
time." The implications of that narrowing go far beyond a reassessment
of one man's life.
Nancy Langston's essay on teaching
a course in world forest history also is wonderful. The course
allowed Langston to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of
forest history. But Langston's essay does not simply analyze the
works she taught. She believes that history should help create
a better future, so her essay ultimately is a reflection on what
would make forest history more useful to people concerned about
the fate of the world's forests.
Tom Dunlap's "Gallery" essay considers
the early history of bird guides. Because guides now are so familiar,
few people have considered how their form shapes our perception
of bird life. By exploring the similarities and differences among
six guide books published between 1889 and 1906, Dunlap makes
clear that their form was not given: Each author had to choose
how to present birds on the printed page.
I am not sure why the circus poster
on the cover is so striking. But the poster reminded me of a film
by Errol Morris, "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control," which is one
of the most compelling documentaries I've seen. Focusing on a
wild animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a designer of mole-rat
exhibits for museums, and a robot designer, the Morris film raises
profound questions about the human urge to control the environment.
As the poster and film both suggest, that urge is complex.
WITH THIS ISSUE, the journal's editorial transition also begins.
Mark Cioc now is editor-elect. In that capacity, Mark takes over
the responsibility for deciding what to do with new manuscript
submissions. Though readers will not see Mark's work until next
January, Mark already is beginning to recruit new manuscripts
for the journal. If you have an idea about a potential article,
you should contact Mark at cioc@ucsc.edu.
You also might look for Mark at the ASEH meeting in Houston in
March.
I still am responsible for the
remaining issues in 2005. I don't promise any fireworks. But I
am excited about the articles we will publish in the next issues,
and I hope you will be too. Of course, I continue to welcome any
comments from readers. My e-mail address is axr26@psu.edu.
ADAM ROME |