Reviews for Imperial ecology

The average rating for Imperial ecology based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-11 00:00:00 Robert Huckleberry Very strange book, arguing that the science and politics of ecology alike were shaped as an ideological pillar of British imperialism. Not sure I buy it, but an interesting look at a lot of history I was not aware of. It emerges that Arne Naes, the grand-daddy of "deep ecology," worked with Julian Huxley when he headed UNESCO in the '40s. Also surprisingly mentioned are CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, who are said to have been influenced by one Robin George Collingwood, their Oxford colleague and author of "The Idea of Nature," who in turn was a protege of Jan Christian Smuts. Yes, the notorious Field Marshal Smuts who was the architect of South African apartheid—but also originator of an idea called "holism." This "holism" is portrayed as influential on the rise of ecology, but used to justify segregation on the basis that different races are suited to different climate zones. Implication is that romanticized racist ideas about nature were passed on to the eco-freaks of the '60s and '70s through the fantasy fiction of Lewis & Tolkien. Interesting, weird stuff.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-11-01 00:00:00 Lynn Baranyi Interesting subjects, pretty incoherent and repetitive book