Environmental Histories of the First World War

Surveys the ecological impacts of World War I, showing how the war had a global impact on the environment.

Richard P. Tucker (Edited by), Tait Keller (Edited by), J. R. McNeill (Edited by), Martin Schmid (Edited by)

9781108429160, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 August 2018

320 pages, 21 b/w illus. 2 maps 8 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.58 kg

'… delivers a comprehensive and much-needed analysis of the conquest of Central Asia and its place in the history of nineteenth-century global expansions.' Alex Souchen, War in History Book Reviews

This anthology surveys the ecological impacts of the First World War. Editors Richard P. Tucker, Tait Keller, J. R. McNeill, and Martin Schmidt bring together a list of experienced authors who explore the global interactions of states, armies, civilians, and the environment during the war. They show how the First World War ushered in enormous environmental changes, including the devastation of rural and urban environments, the consumption of strategic natural resources such as metals and petroleum, the impact of war on urban industry, and the disruption of agricultural landscapes leading to widespread famine. Taking a global perspective, Environmental Histories of the First World War presents the ecological consequences of the vast destructive power of the new weaponry and the close collaboration between militaries and civilian governments taking place during this time, showing how this war set trends for the rest of the century.

List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Acknowledgments
1. Mobilizing nature for World War I: an introduction Tait Keller
Part I. Europe and North America: Battle Zones and Support Systems: 2. Beans are bullets, potatoes are powder: food as a weapon during World War I Alice Weinreb
3. Dissolution before dissolution: the crisis of the wartime food regime in Austria-Hungary Ernst Langthaler
4. The chemist's war: Edgewood Arsenal, World War I, and the birth of a militarized environment Gerard J. Fitzgerald
Part II. War's Global Reach: Extracting Natural Resources: 5. 'The mineral sanction': the Great War and the strategic role of natural resources Roy MacLeod
6. Something new under the fog of war: World War I and the debut of oil on the global stage Dan Tamir
7. World War I and the beginning of over-fishing in the North Sea Ingo Heidbrink
8. The political and natural eco-footprint of World War I in East Asia: environments, systems building, and the Japanese Empire, 1914–23 Jack Patrick Hayes
Part III. The Middle East and Africa: Ecosystems, Refugees and Famine: 9. 'Make them hated in all of the Arab countries': France, famine and the creation of Lebanon Graham Auman Pitts
10. Why are modern famines so deadly? World War I in Syria and Palestine Zachary J. Foster
11. Starving for someone else's fight: World War I and food insecurity in the African Red Sea Region Steven Serels
12. Forest policy, wildlife destruction, and disease ecologies: environmental consequences of World War I in Africa Thaddeus Sunseri
Part IV. The Long Aftermath: Environmentalism and Memory: 13. Disruption and reorganization: international preservation networks and World War I Raf De Bont and Anna-Katharina Wöbse
14. Memories in mud: the environmental legacy of the Great War Frank Uekötter.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], Military history [HBW], General & world history [HBG]