Review Andrew C Isenberg 2005. Mining California: An Ecological History - Book Report/Review Example

The lust for money has affected the civilization not only in the recent years, marked by the innovation and change in technology but it can be sourced back in the early 1849-1874 when gold mining started in California. Andrew Isenberg, a reputed historian has enlightened us with facts that are truly significant to determine the hazards faced by nature and the sacrifice it has made in order to support industrialization. The environmental historian has also pointed out that the counter effects from nature is too harsh to deal with and has portrayed the massive effects of flood which washed away California’s forest and grassland leaving no trace of it.

The interest of the author in the history of the North American west can be spotted by the amount of data the author have used to discuss his cases. DESCRIPTION: In the book the author mentioned the eventual turn up of West into a resource extracting site. The author has excellently used five case studies in order to support his arguments regarding the impact on California. In the first chapter the author describes about the condition of the Sacramento valley in the time period ranging from 1850 and 1880.

The valley had to encounter rapid hydraulic mining in search of gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The hydraulic mining caused a major damage to the river basin leaving it polluted .In an illustrated manner the author locates the places of mining which included rivers, farms and towns. The implication of the extensive mining operation resulted in the formation of silt which covered a massive portion of the firm and degraded the quality of the soil for cultivation. Another environmental threat which came in to notice as narrated by the author was the overflowing of Marysville and Sacramento by flood.

The author also marks the development of the mining industry in the California, and the problems associated with the extraction of gold from the areas. The strategies and the technologies used to overcome the difficulties have been mentioned quite clearly in the book. The political economy of California in the advent of industrialization has been considered in respect of the critical view imposed by the author. The nature of the particular industry has been superbly highlighted in the pages of the book.

The justification of hydraulic mining as the mode to extract gold has been supported in the book. The second chapter discusses about the measures incorporated to control flood in Sacramento. In the later chapters of the book, the logging of the redwood belt has been considered. The exploitation of the industry and its after effects has been considered. The impact of drought and the decline of the cattle ranching in the Southern part of California are being explained by the author. The final chapter of the book stressed on the transnational process of the cultural interaction by exploring the white Indian conflicts in the west.

At the end the author mentions these events as instruments which ultimately forced the Californian to enact environmental laws and take measures to protect the environment. The analysis of the different segment of the California can be contributed to the authors’ intention of trying to focus on the readers mind the process of industrialization which took place in California and the advantages and the disadvantages associated with the moves taken by the industrialists. Other than the ecological aspect the context of the book