Anacostia The Death and Life of an American River

by Wennersten, John R.

• ISBN13: 9780963515964
• ISBN10: 0963515969
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-20
• Publisher: Chesapeake Book Company

Summary

An Unspoiled Waterway teeming with fish, its shores a virtual paradise, the Anacostia River figured prominently in the original plans for the new nation's elegant, bustling capital. Instead it quickly became a poster child for America's tragically neglected and abused urban waterways. With a clear eye and sharp pen, accomplished environmental historian John R. Wennersten takes an unsparing look at the historic forces and misguided policies that all but ruined a beautiful river while imposing the burden of pollution unequally on Washington's poorer citizens. Anacostia offers a much needed corrective to the uncritical assumptions of growth for its own sake and the cost it imposes on our waters, our natural resources, and the health of our citizenry. It also demonstrates how thoughtless destruction can be stopped, and rivers restored. Book jacket.

Author Biography

John R. Wennersten, author of The Chesapeake: An Environmental Biography, and the Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay, is an accomplished historian with a strong interest in environmental studies. He has retired from academic life to write full-time, and now resides in Washington, D. C.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Genesis	p. 3
The Anacostia in Plantation's Shadow, 1690-1776	p. 16
L'Enfant and the Failed Vision of an Anacostia Waterfront, 1790-1820	p. 36
The Anacostia and the Civil War	p. 57
An Urban River: Public Health, Infrastructure, and Race, 1865-1914	p. 72
Man, Nature, and the River, 1870-1930	p. 94
Engineering the River, 1870-1909	p. 114
The Iron Heel of Power: Class, Race, and Social Ecology on the Anacostia	p. 130
Water Woes, 1945-1990	p. 162
The View from River Terrace	p. 179
Rescuing the Ruined River, 1990-2000	p. 196
Waterfront Fever, 1996-2005	p. 222
Currents of Hope	p. 255
Epilogue	p. 271
References	p. 275
Bibliography	p. 298
Chronology	p. 309
Index	p. 312
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.