Nature Shock: Getting Lost in America

A rival form of spatial understanding then rose to the fore, what Coleman calls "individual space, where people understood their position on earth by the coordinates provided by mass media, transportation grids, and commercial networks" (4). When westbound settlers "cut ties with Nati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAgricultural History Vol. 95; no. 3; pp. 539 - 540
Main Author Young, Phoebe S K
Format Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published Durham Duke University Press, NC & IL 01.07.2021
Subjects
Children
Colonialism
Coordinates
Emigration
Enthusiasts
Expeditions
Federal government
Mass media
Men
Mothers
Political alliances
Postal service
Postal services
Settlers
Wilderness
Wilderness areas
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Summary:A rival form of spatial understanding then rose to the fore, what Coleman calls "individual space, where people understood their position on earth by the coordinates provided by mass media, transportation grids, and commercial networks" (4). When westbound settlers "cut ties with Native inhabitants" and relied instead on the federal government, steamboats, stagecoaches, and the postal service, they were discarding "the early modern colonial encumbrances of gift exchanges, intermarriages and political alliances." The pages produce a rogues' gallery of lost travelers-children and adults, women and men, enslaved folks fleeing their bondage, gold rush emigrants, members of military expeditions, Boy Scouts, wilderness enthusiasts, and other recreational travelers.
ISSN:0002-1482
1533-8290