Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 336
•
Trim: 7¼ x 10⅜
978-1-5381-0396-8 • Hardback • January 2018 • $95.00 • (£73.00)
Richard L. Nostrand is David Ross Boyd Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Oklahoma.
Preface
Chapter 1: Overview
Part I: Colonial America
Chapter 2: The Spanish Borderlands
Chapter 3: New France
Chapter 4: New England
Chapter 5: The Middle Colonies
Chapter 6: The South
Chapter 7: Colonial America
Part II: The Humid East
Chapter 8: The Upland South
Chapter 9: New England Extended
Chapter 10: The Old Northwest
Chapter 11: The Lowland South
Chapter 12: Texas
Chapter 13: The New Northwest
Chapter 14: The Humid East
Part III: The Dry West
Chapter 15: Spanish Americans and New Mexico
Chapter 16: Oregon Country
Chapter 17: Mormons and the Great Basin
Chapter 18: California
Chapter 19: The Great Plains
Chapter 20: The Dry West
Chapter 21: In Perspective
Bibliography
The writing is crisp, clear, and precise. . . . The book is generously illustrated. . . . It is truly a comprehensive look at the historical geography of the United States between two covers. Yet, at the same time the detailed bibliography is well-suited for anyone needing a primer on the major historical regions in the United States. . . . Nostrand’s attention to detail and keen insight are revealed in every chapter of the book; he is a master at blending history and geography. . . . An outstanding example of regional geography.— AAG Review of Books
The new maps alone make the volume worthwhile and vital for teaching. . . . The book is a superb guide for anyone wanting to understand the development of the country’s regional diversity and how features of the cultural landscape created long ago have persisted in the present. — Journal of Historical Geography
A restatement of the book’s three themes for cultural regions, that is, cultural ecology, cultural diffusion, and cultural landscapes, concludes the book with a brief discussion of their six underlying influences, that is, physical barriers, resource management, uneven advance, pluralistic society, geographic persistence, and regions versus homelands. These would merit such lengthy explanations as to exceed the limits of this review. Hence, they are worth the readers’ further attention. Nostrand’s specialization on the United States’ historical geography throughout his teaching career will most especially benefit the general readers due to his gift in this likely culmination.— Journal of the West
Nostrand’s regional portrait of the United States is a joy to read. It is highly accessible and an ideal text in an undergraduate historical geography course or for those new to the regional approach to geography. It emphasizes both the author’s deep understanding of a wealth of historical geographic research and the utility of a regional approach to the historical geography of the United States.— Historical Geography
A thoughtful and effective textbook for teaching university courses on the historical geography of the United States. This textbook is set apart from similar sources in three ways: structure, approach, and style. First, The Making of America’s Culture Regions stands out because it’s chapters are structured region-by-region. . . . Second, Nostrand picks three themes and employs them to interpret each region: cultural landscape, cultural diffusion, and cultural ecology. These pillars afford a sense of unity and memorability [and] provide a stable foundation to sample other thematic varieties, such as gender, race, animals, urbanization, and indigenous rights. Third, the style of the book makes the learning expectations refreshingly obvious. . . . Nostrand masterfully discerns how and when to place diagrams, photos, and maps so that they connect directly to the narrative. . . . The maps are as visually appealing as they are easy to read, relevant to the content, and incredibly practical as stand-alone maps. — Journal Of Cultural Geogrpahy
The chapters are laden with detail and synthesis of the secondary literature as well as the importance of archival study in how historical geographers understand the past. The text's prose is a careful balance of serious discussion and lite anecdotes. . . . the detailed chapters outline the context of features that are still present today but are often poorly understood. — Pacific Historical Review
Richard Nostrand has written an outstanding historical geography of the United States that will introduce generations of students to this engaging, yet neglected, field of study. He has skillfully synthesized decades of historical geography scholarship in a way that is enjoyable to read and thought-provoking for general readers and scholars alike. — Andrew J. Milson, University of Texas–Arlington
Nostrand deftly reexposes historical geography’s rich regional roots, celebrates the contributions of giants of the field, and traces the dynamic human settlement processes that transformed the physical landscapes while creating the cultural and economic landscapes of the United States up to 1900. He efficiently accomplishes this in a single, highly readable volume with ample illustrations.— Craig E. Colten, Louisiana State University
Hands down, the most comprehensive historical geography of the United States between two covers. Nostrand gathers a lifetime of disciplined understanding to showcase why historical geography should be presented regionally. The Making of America’s Culture Regions combines clear and insightful prose with thoughtful and revealing maps and illustrations. Geography at its very best.— Daniel D. Arreola, Arizona State University
A concise, wise, and deeply researched labor of love. Dick Nostrand draws on a vast literature and decades of scholarship to grace us with a splendid one-volume explanation of how America's culture regions formed. It is accessibly written and finely illustrated. The Making of America's Culture Regions assures Nostrand's place beside Brown, Zelinsky, and Meinig as a treasure of historical geography.— John Wright, New Mexico State University
Languages, lifeways, built environments, trails and roads, economies, eccentricities, and ethnicities come together in the ‘culture region.’ Having mastered the beautiful blend of history and geography, Richard Nostrand has given us The Making of America's Culture Regions, a finely illustrated and perfectly realized text that brings North American landscapes together in ways that ‘we the people’—and a wonderfully diverse people we turn out to be—can truly appreciate.— Paul F. Starrs, Regents & Foundation Distinguished Professor of Geography, University of Nevada, Reno
Richard Nostrand has dramatically re-energized the subject of historical geography for my students. Simply put, they absolutely love his book. They appreciate the clear and fact-filled writing, the easy-on-the-eyes standardized maps, and the kind, unpretentious tone in every chapter.— Brad Bays, Oklahoma State University
Nostrand’s regional portrait of the United States is a joy to read. It ishighly accessible and an ideal text in an undergraduate historical geographycourse or for those new to the regional approach to geography.It emphasizes both the author’s deep understanding of a wealth of historicalgeographic research and the utility of a regional approach to thehistorical geography of the United States.— Historical Geography
I wish this book had been available when I was teaching a course in the history of planning. . . It is a well-organized book--academic, but readable--and is thorough and concise without being shallow. The Making of America's Culture Regions is a welcome guide to the American history of the contiguous United States from the early European settlement period through the twentieth century.
— New Mexico Historical Review