Brian W. Blouet

Images of the plains : the role of human nature in settlement

Sixteen papers by foremost American, Canadian, and English historical geographers examine the sources of Imagery of the American and Canadian Great Plains, the processes of image formation, and the behavioral implications of various kinds of images. The papers deal with exploratory images of the Plains, resource evaluation in the prefrontier West, governmental appraisal of the western frontier, real and imagined climatic hazards, the desert and garden myths, and adaptations to reality.

The Political Geography of Europe: 1900-2000 A.D.

Abstract During the 20th century, the political geography of Europe has been reshaped several times. In World War I, Germany created several new states in Eastern Europe including an independent Ukraine. After the war, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire helped to produce the familiar middle tier of states that ran from Poland on the Baltic to Yugoslavia on the Adriatic. Germany altered that pattern in WWII when Poland and the Czech lands were taken over and the new states of Slovakia and Croatia appeared. The Soviet Union radically altered the boundaries of Eastern Europe after World War II. With the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe in recent years, creation of another group of states and further changes in boundaries have taken place. Five times during the course of the century the political geography of Europe has undergone major change. There is nothing to suggest that the political scene has stabilized.

A Review of: “The Introductory Reader in Human Geography”

This excellent collection of classic and contemporary geographical essays will be of value as a supplementary text for an introductory human geography course. The papers in the volume are grouped in eight parts –