Wilderness and the American Minds
‘Wilderness and the American Mind’ is a book by Roderick Nash. The book is about a classic study of changing attitudes towards wilderness during American history. The book also gives a history of the environmental and conservation movements.
The book involves a study of the attitudes of Americans towards the wilderness. When studying the views of Americans towards the desert, Nash gives an account of how perceptions have changed ever since the pioneer of wilderness studying. The book provides a detailed report of how wilderness perception has changed over time and what influence the changes. For instance, the wilderness was perceived as a place to sanctify oneself, as evident from the Bible. Then, the desert was thought of as a tough place that could not support life. However, as time went by, and civilization took over, people became more open about the wilderness. Over time, the American wilderness has been tamed, and it can support life. Also, environmental and conservation movements were founded to continue preserving the wilderness.
‘Wilderness and the American Mind’ consists of historical accounts on how the perceptions of Americans about the wilderness changed over time. Nash makes use of people and philosophers who studied the American wild. There is a whole chapter on Henry David Thoreau, who was a philosopher. In this particular chapter, Nash gives an account of how Thoreau contributed to the American perception of the wilderness. Also, John Muir and his work are used in the book. Muir played a significant role by creating and publicizing movements that created awareness about the wilderness and wilderness preservation.
The book gives a history of how Americans changed their attitudes about the wilderness over time and are therefore relevant. The book plays a social role by describing how civilization affected the perception of the desert. Furthermore, the book gives purpose to environmental conservation movements because they understand the origin and importance of their role.
The book also plays an economic role because the wilderness can be used for commercial purposes without altering the natural forces. In the book, Nash describes how Americans slowly tamed the wilderness into valuable land. Therefore, this book shows how the desert can be converted into useful, valuable land that can provide economic gains. The wild is no longer viewed as a threat to civilization; instead, it is one of the unique and useful assets among Americans.
The book is most relevant to environmental conservation. Nash shows the critical role of the wilderness. Over-taming, the desert has adverse effects on the ecosystem. In his book, Nash shows how vital the wilderness is in American history and civilization. Also, the book is of importance to all environmental conservation movements.
Roderick Frazier Nash is a professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Professor Nash received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and his Ph. D from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. His book “Wilderness and the American Mind” has been considered as one of the foundational texts in the field of environmental study. Other books by Roderick Nash include ‘The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics,’ ‘American Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History’ and ‘Environment and Americans: The Problem of Priorities.’ Apart from his academic qualifications, Nash is an avid white-water rafter.