Carolyn Merchant takes the reader through the past 400 years of New England's history with an environmental lens, noting three ecological revolutions. More than just analysing the environment, however, Merchant analyzes economic conditions and modes of production, social and cultural relations including science and religion, and women's history, demonstrating how capitalism dispossessed many New Englanders from the land, and how they resisted before capitalism won out.

By weaving these together, Merchant provides the reader with a fascinating account, ending in a philosophical epilogue that highlights the need of environmental action - and offering a philosophical framework and suggestions of how New England can go about it.

The one weakness I can note is that after the initial chapters, and prior to the epilogue, there is not much discussion of the Indigenous peoples in New England and any ongoing dispossession from the land, which would have been beneficial in understanding the continuing environmental impacts of colonization. Further, in the final chapters, when discussing the rise of capitalism and textile mills in the region, the discussion of the French Canadian and Irish immigrants working in these industries is not present.

The inclusion of ethnic others and their own dispossessions and exploitation in a capitalist extractavist economy may have added additional strength to the historic analysis, and contributed to the epilogue as well.

Overall, this book is a fantastic read, and offers critical insight. I would highly recommend it to any student of New England history, environmentalism, feminism, or marxism. It may quickly become one of your favorites as well! ( )

Environment