Forcing the Spring: The Transformation Of The American Environmental Movement [Paperback]

Robert Gottlieb (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1559631228 | ISBN-13: 978-1559631228 | Publication Date: November 1, 1994

"Forcing the Spring" challenges standard histories of the environmental movement by offering a broad and inclusive interpretation of past environmentalist thought and a sweeping redefinition of the nature of the contemporary environmental movement. Robert Gottlieb demonstrates the centrality of environmental concerns to a wide range of social movements of the past century as he explores the connections between pressures on human and natural environments and the role of these pressures in shaping society. His analysis provides fundamental new insights into the past and future of the American environmental movement by placing it within the larger context of American social history.After considering the historical roots of environmentalism from the 1890s through the 1960s, Gottlieb discusses the rise and consolidation of environmental groups in the years between Earth Day 1970 and Earth Day 1990. He examines the increasing professionalization of the major environmental organizations and the parallel rise of community-based groups over the past decade, and ends with an in-depth consideration of the role of ethnicity, gender, and class in the formation and definition of movements.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This timely and provocative study argues that environmentalism must include discussion of sociological issues-gender, ethnicity and class.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This book will considerably expand most readers' knowledge of environmentalism as experienced in the past and present in the United States. Gottlieb, a teacher in UCLA's Urban Planning Program and author of several other books on the environment, offers a broad interpretation, beginning with a history of the environmental movement in this country from the 1890s forward, then examining contemporary environmental groups of the past 20 years. Mainstream groups such as the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, and Sierra Club are discussed, as are Greenpeace and various grass-roots organizations that are often considered alternative movements. Finally, individual chapters are devoted to gender, ethnicity, and class as they relate to environmentalism. This heavily documented but quite readable work is a good choice for academic libraries and for public libraries with collections on the environment.
- William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Libs., Ames
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 423 pages
• Publisher: Island Press (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559631228
• ISBN-13: 978-1559631228
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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