In this book Ramachandra Guha, an acclaimed historian of the environment, draws on many years of research in three continents. He details the major trends, ideas, campaigns and thinkers within the environmental movement worldwide. Among the thinkers he profiles are John Muir, Mahatma Gandhi, Rachel Carson and Octavia Hill; among the movements, the Chipko Andolan and the German Greens. Environmentalism: A Global History documents the flow of ideas across cultures, the ways in which the environmental movement in one country has been invigorated or transformed by infusions from outside. It interprets the different directions taken by different national traditions and also explains why in certain contexts (such as the former Socialist Bloc) the green movement is marked only by its absence.
Massive in scope but pointed in analysis, written with passion and verve, this book presents a comprehensive account of a significant social movement of our times and will be of wide interest both within and outside the academy. For this new edition, the author has added a fresh prologue linking the book’s themes to ongoing debates about the environmental impacts of global economic development.