"This book is well written and makes an important contribution both to political theory and African American history. . . . A welcome addition to a growing body of literature demonstrating that far from being on the sidelines of American environmentalism, African Americans were at the forefront from the beginning."—Environmental Ethics
"An exceptional example of interdisciplinary scholarship. . . . A solid foundation for informing substantive and theoretical discussions about the fundamental nature and significance of African American environmental thought and its effects on the current thinking in many professional and scholarly fields inside and outside the academy, including black studies, environmental justice, law, literary studies, politics, and public history."—H-Net Reviews
"This is a book that all environmental historians should read, and one that all American historians should consult. In recounting the diversity of black environmental thought, [Smith] offers fresh and provocative interpretations of many towering figures in African American history. And in doing so, she suggests how mainstream environmentalists might liberate themselves and their politics from an enduring fixation on purity in nature."—Reviews in American History
"In this fluently and carefully argued book Smith . . . broadens our sense of what constitutes environmental thought historically and clarifies the foundations of black aspirations and policy prescriptions in relation to land, space, and urban amenities at different historical moments. . . . Smith has amply succeeded in integrating the environmental dimension into a fresh and stimulating study of political and social thought."—Journal of American History
"Smith’s scholarship is critical to a growing historiography and dialogue about African Americans and the environment."—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
"[A] trailblazing, seminal work in which [Smith] powerfully argues that early preservationists and conservationists were oblivious of African Americans’ material and social conditions. Drawing on the writings of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Alain Locke, Smith ties alienation from the land to racial oppression, and freedom to environmental stewardship. Elegantly written, exquisitely lucid, and thoroughly researched, the book is a definitive contribution to environmental studies. Essential."—Choice
“Thoroughly researched and well-informed, this extraordinarily rich and well-written study reveals hitherto neglected aspects of Black American life and thought.”—Wilson J. Moses, author of Alexander Crummell: A Study of Civilization and Discontent
“A terrific book that fills an important gap in political theory and offers fresh interpretations of such figures as Douglass, Du Bois, and Locke.”—Lawrie Balfour, author of Evidence of Things Not Said: James Baldwin and the Promise of American Democracy
“An arresting, insightful, and compelling look at environmental thought through the eyes of African Americans.”—Carolyn Merchant, author of The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History
