American Georgics takes as its primary problem the question of the human place in nature. By extending our understanding of what counts as environmental literature back before Thoreau, Sweet shows that early texts, while not necessarily "green" in contemporary terms, can offer important insights into our relationship to the environment.

American Georgics
Economy and Environment in American Literature, 1580-1864

Timothy Sweet

2001 | 232 pages | Cloth $69.95
Literature | Cultural Studies
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Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Economy and Environment in Sixteenth-Century Promotional Literature
2. "God Sells Us All Things for Our Labour": John Smith's Generall Historie
3. "Wonder-Working Providence" of the Market
4. "Admirable Oeconomy": Robert Beverley's Calculus of Compensation
5. Ideologies of Farming: Crevecoeur, Jefferson, Rush, and Brown
6. Cherokee "Improvements" and the Removal Debate
7. "Co-Workers with Nature": Cooper, Thoreau, and Marsh

Notes
Woks Cited
Index
Acknowledgments