American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow (April 24 2012) Hardcover

an interesting part of United States history; arrived on time; item as described; would recommend to those who like to read a variety of North American history

When you really stop and think about it, attempting to write a history of trees in a country as massive and geographically diverse as the United States is necessarily a gargantuan undertaking. Evidently, the idea of America's trees and forests as the subject of a broad historical study had simply never been attempted before. But I am here to tell you that first-time author Eric Rutkow pulls it off with great aplomb in his compelling and comprehensive new book "American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and The Making of a Nation." This one is just chock-a-block full of important people, places, events and issues and lays out for the reader a chronological history of the essential role that America's trees and forests have played in the history of our nation. I simply could not put this book down.In "American Canopy" you will discover that the British had designs on the land that would become America as early as 1584. Richard Hakluyt, a prominent British citizen and preeminent geographer proposed establishing permanent settlements whereby transplanted Englishmen would work the land. Hakluyt well understood the treasure trove of natural resources that seemed to be there for the taking. Timber was badly needed to maintain and expand the British naval fleet. Eventually colonies were established and by 1629 a shipbuilding industry was beginning to emerge in New England. But this was just the beginning of the story....As I indicated earlier "American Canopy" chronicles the important people, places, events and issues in the history of America's forests. Eric Rutkow offers up engaging stories involving several American presidents including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and his distant cousin Franklin Roosevelt. You will learn about the explorers Lewis and Clark and discover the roles played by a distinguished group of other prominent Americans including Thomas Edison, Frederick Law Olmstead, Daniel Boone, Frederick Weyerhauser, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed), Henry David Thoreau, Gifford Pinchot, James Fenimore Cooper and William Levitt to name but a few. Furthermore, you will discover that when our nation was first settled the forest cover was estimated to be some one billion acres and how over a period of just 300 years that figure would dwindle to just 600 million acres. Rutkow talks extensively about the negative effects clear-cutting, insects, fire and disease have had on our forests over the centuries. This is not a pretty picture but you may actually be encouraged by the way America has chosen to fight back in recent decades. You will also discover the role the federal government has played in the development and protection of our forests and wilderness areas over the years. Rutkow cites the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 and John Muir's remarkable effort to establish Yosemite National Park as particularly significant milestones. I was also pleased to read about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that was established by President Franklin Roosevelt back in 1933. As a result of that program a young man from Providence, Rhode Island, who would eventually become my dad, was able to spend a couple of years working in the wilds of Wyoming planting trees, carving out trails, erecting firetowers and building fire protection roads among other things. This proved to be a very rewarding experience for so many young men during that difficult economic time. Meanwhile, Rutkow also documents the origins and evolution of both the "conservation" and "environmentalist" movements in this nation. Merely "protecting the nation's forests" would morph into "conservation" a philosophy that proclaimed that "all natural resources ought to be managed with an eye toward sustainability and efficient use." Then in 1960 with the passage of MUSYA (Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act) the federal government would declare that "It is the policy of the Congress that the national forests are established and shall be administered for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish purposes". Note the amazing change in emphasis here. Our nation's forests were no longer merely a resource to be exploited for profit. Very interesting indeed!So whether you are a history buff or just someone who is endlessly curious about the world around you "American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation" should be right up your alley. This is a thoughtful, meticulously researched and well-written book. I must tell you that this is easily the best book I have read thus far in 2012. It is such a fascinating topic. In my view "American Canopy" is an extremely important work and I suspect that Eric Rutkow is someone we will be hearing a lot more from in the future. He proves to be a very gifted writer! This is a book that is definitely worth your time and attention. Very highly recommended!

When our English daughter-in-law first visited Massachusetts, so was impressed that it was "so green" and had "so many trees."This book discusses the history of the American canopy of trees, initially 92 million acres of them, and how they contributed to/developed the American story. I thought it was fascinating. It is a written description of the diversity of the canopy, how it came to be used, and the deforested results; it is not a National Geographic summary. The research is meticulous.The two weaknesses of the book (written in 2011): it pictures North America as only slightly inhabited. In fact, there were dozens of indigenous tribes with very profound and well-adapted cultures. Second, I could not find an explanation for the destruction of the American chestnut.Overall, however, I found the book fascinating and a good late-summer read, as I prepare for autumn.

Tracing the importance of trees in American history, Eric Rutkow is understandably forced to be selective in what he dwells on in American Canopy. Despite glossing over some areas I would not have, he still has put together a very engaging and clearly well researched series of tales showing how Americans have finally come to understand the profundity of trees through centuries of reliance, abuse and increasingly responsible management.Highlights of American Canopy for me tend to center around the earlier history of the American colonies and the nascent US. From the use of Maine's white pines for shipmasts and early (futile) attempts to restrict the best trees for use by the Royal Navy, to the symbolic importance of liberty trees in town squares throughout states.Much focus is placed on the absolutely vast stock of timber settlers found waiting for them and the profligacy it engendered. Seemingly unending supplies of wood rendered needless any degree of resource management by America's earliest European colonists, and the author charts the long course of that philosophy, and its consequences, into the modern day.Though broadly a chronological history of the country and its use of trees, Rutkow takes time out to focus on various themes, including expansion of logging from the northeast to the lake states, the deep south and the pacific northwest. He also details the fall of two iconic American trees - the chestnut and the elm - all but wiped out by disease.Familiar names include Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park; John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, two of America's founding conservationists; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose Civilian Conservation Corps brought forest tourism to the American people and whose deep love of trees many who know him mainly in the context of World War 2 will find fascinating.The final section of American Canopy expands to include the environmental movement of the latter 20th century as a whole. I didn't mind this but it did seem to me to roam somewhat from the core topic. My only real criticism of American Canopy as a whole relates back to one of my first points - in what Rutkow chooses to omit. I was expecting Theodore Roosevelt to feature much more heavily in this book, and the work done to secure so much land for conservation purposes through the National Parks system around the turn of the century. Perhaps the author felt it has been dealt with elsewhere but to me it seemed an oversight. It also seemed to me that the role of trees and timber in the Civil War was given short-thrift. While it's possible there simply weren't many good stories to tell about this period as they would relate to trees, I probably would have tried to include something.

Even if you don't read a lot of history, American Canopy has something to offer for the casual, educated reader while still packing in a lot of detail and some potentially new arguments for the more well-versed. It moves through a series of stories on the impact of trees on the history and development of America. In fact, this reader comes away with impression that America as it exists could never have happened with our incredible trees. In sometimes hearbreaking fashion, the book shows how trees have been exploited or decimated in the past and and highlights some of the cosequences of not protecting or managing these valuable resources. See for example, the Peshtigo fire that killed thousands and laid waste to miles of forest.The characters are vibrant and the storytelling really makes this a joy to read. Rutkow sheds light on the close relationship many well known Americans have had with trees such as Washington, FDR and Thoreau. In addition, he tells the story of several fascinating figures such as Johnny Appleseed and the lumber barron Frederick Weyerhaeuser (who I had never heard of before reading this book). Along the way, you learn a lot about the role of trees in shaping the state of our country today. Once you start reading this book, you begin to see trees in a whole new light. How must the first colonists have felt landing among giant forests that have no parallel on the east coast today? If you ever go for a walk in the wood or a stroll in a park, you must appreciate the foresight of those who saw the value of preserving and planting trees. We learn from American Canopy that most of these places, even the wild seeming ones, are not there by accident. Overall, this book really kept me turning pages and I learned a lot.