David Evans, A History of Nature Conservation in Britain (Routledge, 1992)
This is an interesting book written by a former policeman with a clear passion for conservation. It tells a comprehensive story of conservation in Britain from pre-history to the (1990s) present. The overall argument seems to be that not enough is being done, and this is clearly demonstrated by the books lamenting the current state of the environment that I’ve been reading over the past few months. Another theme seems to be the constant flux and fluidity of conservation organizations/departments and policies. This lack of stability creates its own sense of uncertainty and decline, although the opposite is intended with every re-organization. It is very helpful on the history of national parks, although perhaps a little teleological on criticising the faith in agriculture that way shown by Dower and the other proponents of National Parks in Britain: nobody could really know in the mid-1940s that agriculture would develop so rapidly and largely cease to be an ally of conservation. Towards the end of the book Evans gets very preachy, and the last couple of chapters come across as a bit of an extended rant. But this is still a useful book and worth coming back to as I continue to work on National Parks.
Religion, Environment, History 