Description
John T. Cumbler's book offers an environmental, social, and economic history of Cape Cod told through the experiences of residents as well as visitors. He notes that over the past four hundred years the Cape has experienced three regimes of resource utilization. The first regime of Native Americans who lived relatively lightly on the land was supplanted by European settlers who focused on production and extraction. This second regime began in the age of sail but declined through the age of steam as the soil and seas failed to yield the resources necessary to sustain continuing growth. Environmental and then economic crises during the second half of the nineteenth century eventually gave way to the third regime of tourism and recreation. But this regime has its own environmental costs, as residents have learned over the last half century.
Although the Cape remains a special place, its history of resource scarcity and its attempts to deal with that scarcity offer useful lessons for anyone addressing similar issues around the globe.
Product Details
| Publisher | University of Massachusetts Press |
| Publish Date | November 05, 2014 |
| Pages | 296 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781625341099 |
| Dimensions | 9.0 X 6.0 X 0.7 inches | 0.8 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"This is the first synthesis of the Cape's environmental history. The author has researched a broad array of sources, gleaning much material on the impacts of economic activity on the natural environment."--James C. O'Connell, author The Hub's Metropolis: Greater Boston's Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth
"Cumbler discusses the social, economic, and cultural history of this fragile land with great success in a well-researched account supported by 50 pages of annotated footnotes. Recommended."--Choice
"An engagingly authentic and fascinating account"--MAL Contends
"Cape Cod provides a fine overview of the region's economic and environmental development. . . . In his conclusion, Cumbler explains that Cape Cod bookstores are now stocking their shelves with books about the local environment. This book will hold an important place among them."--Journal of American History
"John T. Cumbler has written an exceptionally well-researched, environmentally informed history of Cape Cod. . . . Resistance to change has increased rather than diminished and one of the strengths of Cumbler's work is his grasp of the processes that have produced situations where property owners have bought into schemes, such as sea walling that destroy rather than preserve the natural assets of the shore."--AAG Review of Books
"John T. Cumbler's Cape Cod is a fine book that should appeal to a wide audience . . . Cumbler has succeeded in combining a flowing narrative with a thoughtful analysis of humans interacting with nature, the workplace, and each other."--Historical Journal of Massachusetts
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