Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape [Hardcover]

Jan Albers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2000

In this book Jan Albers examines the history--natural, environmental, social, and ultimately human--of one of America's most cherished landscapes: Vermont.Albers shows how Vermont has come to stand for the ideal of unspoiled rural community, examining both the basis of the state's pastoral image and the equally real toll taken by the pressure of human hands on the land. She begins with the relatively light touch of Vermont's Native Americans, then shows how European settlers--armed with a conviction that their claim to the land was "a God-given right"--shaped the landscape both to meet economic needs and to satisfy philosophical beliefs. The often turbulent result: a conflict between practical requirements and romantic ideals that has persisted to this day.Making lively use of contemporary accounts, advertisements, maps, landscape paintings, and vintage photographs, Albers delves into the stories and personalities behind the development of a succession of Vermont landscapes. She observes the growth of communities from tiny settlements to picturesque villages to bustling cities; traces the development of agriculture, forestry, mining, industry, and the influence of burgeoning technology; and proceeds to the growth of environmental consciousness, aided by both private initiative and governmental regulation. She reveals how as community strengthens, so does responsible stewardship of the land.Albers shows that like any landscape, the Vermont landscape reflects the human decisions that have been made about it--and that the more a community understands about how such decisions have been made, the better will be its future decisions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The fascination of Hands on the Land lies in its beautifully orchestrated build-up to the Vermont of today." Tom Hotaling Architecture Boston

"Jan Alber's provocative book walks the reader through the fascinating geography and history of Vermont. Throughout, she artfully captures the events contributing to the shaping of the land, thus giving a history of the people and communities who have creatively lived and worked against the backdrop of one of the most remarkable and gently preserved landscapes in the world." Thomas P. Salmon , Governor of Vermont, 1973-1977, and President of the University of Vermont, 1991-1997

"Jan Albers has captured the essence of Vermont, showing us how inextricably linked are its land, its people, and its way of life. In chronicling the changes time has brought to Vermont's land and economy, Albers prompts us to look anew at how inevitably the decisions of today will determine the Vermont of tomorrow." Jean Hocker , President, The Land Trust Alliance

"Jan Albers's wry, sympathetic portraits of immigrants, farmers, entrepeneurs, scientists, politicians, and eccentrics combine with a remarkable sequence of illustrations to make Hands on the Land feel like a family album for Vermont. This is a book of illuminations and delights." John Elder , Middlebury College

"The unique character and timeless appeal of Vermont are rooted largely in the look of the land itself. In Hands on the Land, Jan Albers offers a lively and insightful study of the geological factors, the social and economic trends, and—perhaps most compelling—the human dreams and schemes that have shaped the landscape and in the process made Vermont one of America's truly special places." Richard Moe , President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

"What an exciting book! Jan Albers is eloquent and expert. This is an important work both for its historical perspectives and considerable foresight. Opening it, I'm invariably absorbed." Edward Hoagland , author of Walking the Dead Diamond River

About the Author

Jan Albers received her doctorate in history from Yale University. She has taught at Yale, the University of Sussex, and Middlebury and St. Michael's Colleges in Vermont.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st edition (February 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262011751
• ISBN-13: 978-0262011754
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sense of place, November 20, 2000

By 

Toby Fenwick (Coventry, Warwickshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape (Hardcover)

Rarely has a volume of such physical grace and beauty contained such an important and topical message. I picked up my copy after returning to Vermont for a long weekend, and found the text both forceful, dynamic and informative, artistically combined with beautiful illustrations. Not a hagiography, and avoiding the temptation to airbrush the realities of Vermont into a pastiche of the country idyll in Yankee New England, Jan Albers has created an immensely readable but intellectually rigorous study of the development and land-use choices that Vermonters have made since the Abenaki were disturbed by white settlers.

This alone would be enough to qualify "Hands on the Land" for a place on the bookshelves of students of land-use and concerned citizens in rural and semi-rural areas everywhere. That this study is so accessible and lavishly illustrated, (much in the style of the latest offerings from the OUP History of England series) commends it to the broadest possible audience. In fact, I was so taken with this that I bought two - one for my mother, a native and transplanted Vermonter, and one for me - your bookshelf will be a richer and happier place with a copy!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for planning boards, June 30, 2000

By 

frank w. gibson (Cummaquid (Cape Cod),MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape (Hardcover)

Although subtitled, "A History of the Vermont Landscape," "Hands On The Land" is a book that should give everyone pause to think about what is happening to the landscape surrounding them, no matter where they live. Published for the Orton Family Foundation "to help the citizens of rural America define the future, shape the growth, and preserve the heritage of their communities" author Jan Albers accomplishes her task well. Her text is interesting, highly informative, easy to read and provocative for those concerned about "where do we go from here?" The illustrations (on almost every page)share top billing with the text. "Hands On The Land" should be "must reading" for all planning board members and conservationists to help them gain new perspectives about growth and control. If I could afford it I'd give a copy to every town official on Cape Cod.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiential Magnificence, December 29, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape (Hardcover)

This among the very few books I have experienced which combine exceptional beauty with information of urgent importance. As this volume indicates, no other state is lovelier than Vermont. Few others have a more interesting historty. But as Lyman Orton correctly indicates in the Foreword, the reader can also "take away some lessons about what determines land use, and what economic, social, cultural, and environmental consequences land-use choices may have." The reader is then urged to become involved in her or his community's efforts "to define its future, while realizing that the future's scenarios are written by today's actions." True enough. What's at stake? Examine the wealth of photographs provided in Chapter 1 and in subsequent chapters. Such natural beauty could indeed be compromised...as it has already been in so many other areas throughout the United States.

By examining the almost 400-year history of the Vermont landscape, Chapters 2-5, Albers suggests that the values of the past can be betrayed by what is done (and not done) now. Thus can the future be pre-determined, for better or worse. To have "hands on the land" is to have the power to determine its fate. That is as true of neighborhoods in the inner-city as it is of villages in Vermont. All are communities at risk.

Almost everyone will enjoy experiencing this beautiful as well as informative book. It is "must reading" for anyone involved in decisions which concern land use, and especially those decisions which have significant economic, social, cultural, and environmental consequences.