Several subscribers to SANET asked that I post an announcement when
the book that I co-edited became available. The book is now
available and I hope that it provides some valuable perspectives
and information relevant to the quest for more sustainable forms of
agriculture.
Best regards,
Gregory McIsaac
Senior Research Specialist
Agricultural Engineering Department
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
---------------------------
_Sustainable Agriculture in the American Midwest:
Lessons from the Past Prospects for the Future_
Gregory McIsaac and William R. Edwards (editors),
291 pages, including index
Hard cover $32.95
Published by the University of Illinois Press
This interdisciplinary collection provides a general overview
and historical perspectives on social, ecological and technical issues
related to the contemporary quest for sustainable agriculture in the
American Midwest. The collection is based upon the premise that
agricultural sustainability should be understood in the context of
dynamic natural and human systems -- such as climate and culture --
characteristic of a geographic region. Many aspects of Midwestern
agriculture are explored through historical perspectives and
implications for developing more sustainable agricultural systems are
discussed by scholars of agriculture, anthropology, climatology,
ecology, economics, engineering, entomology, geography, plant
biology and soil science. Contributors and chapter topics include:
Wayne Wendland on climate changes of the past and projections for
the future; Dennis Michael Warren on indigenous agricultural
knowledge and social change; Sonya Salamon on ethnicity and
contrasting farming systems; John Thompson on land drainage, levee
building and conflict resolution in the Illinois River valley 1890-
1930; William R. Edwards on agriculture and wildlife; Bruce Hannon,
Matthias Ruth and Evan DeLucia on natural ecosystems as standards
for sustainability; Richard Weinzierl on insects and pest management;
James Power on sustainable cropping systems; Kenneth Olson on soil
formation, erosion and management; Folke Dovring on energy
farming; and Gregory McIsaac on the conceptual evolution of
sustainability and the need for systematic approaches to sustainable
agriculture in the Midwest.
"The most provocative chapters take on some sacred cows...
All advance our thinking by projecting beyond today's knowledge to
the future," according to Dennis R. Keeney, Director of the Leopold
Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The
book "should make a worthwhile addition to the growing literature on
sustainable agriculture," notes Jon Piper, ecologist at The Land
Institute in Salina, Kansas and coauthor of _Farming in Nature's
Image_.
_Sustainable Agriculture in the American Midwest_ is the
second book in the University of Illinois Press' interdisciplinary
series "The Environment and the Human Condition" that focuses on
issues influencing natural, cultural, rural and urban environments
and the human dimension of environmental change.
To order:
In the Americas and Africa contact
University of Illinois Press,
Hamden Post Office 4856
Baltimore, Maryland
USA 21211
Voice: 410-516-6927
Toll free in US: 800-545-4703
FAX: 410-516-6969
In Europe and the Middle east contact
University of Illinois Press
c/o Trevor Brown Associates
First Floor, Dilke House
Malet Street, London
WC1E7JA England
Voice: 071-436-1874, Fax: 071-436-1868
In Asia and Oceania contact
University of Illinois Press
East-West Export Books
c/o University of Hawaii
2840 Kolwalu Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Voice: 808-956-8830 Fax: 808-988-6052