Author Description

Product DescriptionThis volume brings together leading experts in history, history of science, archaeology, geography and environmental studies to discuss diverse aspects of the environmental history of South and Southeast Asia from 50,000 BC to the present. Spanning the geographical region from Peshawar on the northwest frontier to the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia, this book tells the story of the highly complex relationship between people and their environment. Among a multitude of subjects it reports on the latest findings in settlement archaeology, the history of deforestation, climate change, the history of fishing and hunting, colonial science and forest management, indigenous plant knowledge, the history of famine, the impact of coal mining, and the tragic history of India's tribal communities.Review... this is a valuable collection of essays, particularly useful for the teaching at university level of a new imperial history which refuses to be blind to the often dire environmental consequences of European colonialism./ David Hardiman, associate fellow in history, Warwick University, THES, 23/04/99.`this is a valuable collection of essays, particularly useful for the teaching at university level of a new imperial history which refuses to be blind to the often dire environmental consequences of European colonialism.' David Hardiman, associate fellow in history, Warwick University, Times Higher Education Supplement`this is a valuable collection of essays, particularly useful for the teachimg at university level of a new imperial history which refuses to be blind to the often dire environmental consequences of european colonialism.' THES David Hardiman`The book is extensive in every respect. It account sfor an impressive 1036 pages, and besides its broad regional and disciplinary approach its contents cover a long time span from the stone age to the early 1990s... an important landmark in the field of interdisciplinary environmental research.' Tilman Frasch, Internationales Asienforum`an interesting book' Philip Stott, Journal of Historical Geography, 27, 2001`this is a valuable collection of essays, particularly useful for the teaching at university level of a new imperial history which refuses to be blind to the often dire environmental consequences of european colonialism.' THES David HardimanAbout the AuthorRichard H. Grove, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Economic History, Research School of Social Science, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. Vinita Damodaran, Lecturer, School of African and Asian Studies, University of Sussex. S. Sangwan, Senior Scientist, History of Science Faculty, National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, New Delhi.