America's Ancient Forests: From the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "We live in the age of glaciers..." (more)
Key Phrases: settler species, ancient ponderosa pine forests, old transitional stage, North America, Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Despite these misgivings, I think America's Ancient Forests is a much needed text, written by a skilled forest ecologist and his historian. It deserves a place in every restorationist's library alongside Gordon Whitney's From Coastal Wilderness to Fruited Plain and Michael Willams' comprehensive Americans and Their Forests: A Historical Geography." (Ecological Restoration, Vol. 19, No. 4, 11/01)

"What a wonderful synthesis of information from fields as widely varied as botany, ecology, geology, archaeology, anthropology, and history! Thomas Bonnicksen has produced a work that will capture the imagination of anyone interested in the grandeur and beauty of the forests of North America."(Botanical Research Institute of Texas, March 2002)

Product Description

Forests reflect the history of our planet. They adjust to fires and storms, expand and contract in size, and respond to changes in climate and elevation with changes in species composition. This book presents the story of North America's forests--unfolding their dynamic history from the glaciers of the Ice Age to the beginning of the age of discovery.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471136220
• ISBN-13: 978-0471136224
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,103,577 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Thomas Bonnicksen's America's Ancient Forests, January 19, 2001

By	Robert W. Wernerehl (Barneveld, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This book could have been titled America's Ancient Landscapes. One of the pleasant surprises about this book is that it deals with all types of landscapes: prairies, barrens, savannas, and all types of wetlands, as well as forests. For those of us in the Midwest, who deal with all of those types, this is a great bonus. Bonnicksen gives us the needed background, through the tremendous changes of the ice age and the plant migrations that followed, to the landscape affects of the Native Americans, to be able to knowledgeably manage natural areas, and restorations. The background on the Indians is so very thorough. You can't help but acquire a new impression of how important and ubiquitous their influence was. What I really like about this book is the complete documentation, done in the old fashioned way, with footnotes! The chapter on fire had 317 footnotes, all of which can be looked up in first the Notes and Citations, then in the extensive Bibliography, which alone covers 75 pages! This is a great reference work. If you can't afford it, get your local library to purchase a copy. I did!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas M. Bonnicksen Brilliant Paen to our Ancient Forests, September 27, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Swarthmore, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Professor Bonnicksen has devoted his career to the care and protection of the forests. Where public relations folks talk the talk, Professor Bonnicksen walks the walk. Ancient Forests is a tour through history, a tour de forest that takes us from ancient lands and brings us to the present day, making us realize that from the forest we came and from the forests we shall go. A member of the Congressional Commission charged with oversight of American forest and land use and a devoted conservationist, Professor Bonnicksen in this brilliant volume brings many of his themes expounded in shorter articles and books together in a densely forested wood of pine and deciduous scented brilliance. After reading this book, no one will pass a tree and look at it the same, ever, again. Kudos to Professor Bonnicksen of Texas A & M University.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, February 24, 2003

By A Customer

I found this book to be very well researched and written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the natural history of our great nation.