Changes in the Land

Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England

By: William Cronon

Narrated by: Bob Souer

In this landmark work of environmental history, William Cronon offers an original and profound explanation of the effects European colonists' sense of property and their pursuit of capitalism had upon the ecosystems of New England. Reissued here with an updated afterword by the author and a new preface by the distinguished colonialist John Demos, Changes in the Land provides a brilliant interdisciplinary interpretation of how land and people influence one another. With its chilling closing line, "The people of plenty were a people of waste", Cronon's enduring and thought-provoking book is ethnoecological history at its best.

©2003 William Cronon; foreword copyright 2003 by John Demos (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Setting his sights squarely on the well-worn terrain of colonial New England, [Cronon] fashions a story that is fresh, ingenious, compelling and altogether important. His approach is at once vividly descriptive and profoundly analytic." ( The New York Times)

Phenomenal

A terrific history from any perspective. Author knows his stuff and tells the story well.

Great

I just re-read this book after reviewing it 15 years ago in graduate school. It’s very worthwhile.

Interesting local New England overlooked subject

Being from New England, Cape Cod, I love this new and interesting overlooked subject but the narrator really should’ve figured out how to say the word Quahog🤣 (co-hog) he says quay og 🤣

Excellent histgory and ecology

This 1983 history describes the destruction of New England's ecoystems after the European colonization in 1620. The Native American (Indians in the book) population had already drastically declined after 1610 from 70,000 to 122,000 due to pandemics presumably caused by the introduction of viruses by traders. While the Native Americans had lived sustainably for thousands of years, occasionally burning forests to clear land, and those south of the Maine's Sacco River relying mainly on horticulture, the burning of forests, destruction of deer and bird population and the wanton destruction of clam and oyster beds led to the starvation of Native American populations. Cronon describes the changes in the ecosystems and the populations that relied on those natural resources. It is a brief book, but Cronon weaves together research from William Wood's description of New England's natural resources to relatively modern ecological anlayses.

So Worth It

This novel, while dense and thorough, is fully engaging and performed flawlessly. It gives a we'll rounded image of how, in addition to the driving forces of imperialism, the socioeconomic war between natives and colonists changed irrevocably the landscape of North America.

Needed a New Englander to read it!

The narrator was definitely not familiar with New England, he did not know the unique pronunciations of towns and shell fish. This is maddening if you’re from the area, like nails on a chalk board!