William Cronon's "Changes in the Land": Review.

William Cronon sets out to explain why New England habitats changed as they did during the colonial period and how this was all a process of change. His thesis is to portray that the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes in the region's plant and animal communities. Cronon supports this thesis by providing the reader with contrasts of both the ecosystems and the economies in pre-colonial New England to …

…of waste. "Changes in the Land" is a balanced and interesting book, detailing the importance of ecology, both as a dynamic entity, shaped by human action, and as a focus of shaping how populations organize themselves. It got to be difficult to understand at times but only slightly. I think it could have used some illustrations or maps to show the changes he talked about, but other than that it was very informing and insightful.