Product Description

A regional treatment of geography of the U.S. and Canada highlighting what makes each region distinctive.

Based on decades of research and written in clear, concise prose by one of the foremost geographers in North America, John C. Hudson's Across This Land is a comprehensive regional geography of the North American continent.

Clearly organized, the book divides the entire United States and Canada into six major regions, then further subdivides them into twelve smaller areas. Hudson emphasizes each region or area's distinguishing place-specific attributes, including—to a larger degree than previous regional geographies—political considerations. In this way, the book tells the story of each region, relying on a brisk narrative that reveals the dynamic processes of their distinctive characteristics.

The first extensive regional geography of the North American continent in over seventy-five years, Hudson's Across This Land will become the standard text in geography courses dealing with Canada and the U.S. as well as a popular reference work for scholars, students, and lay readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #391937 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 504 pages

Review

"This fact-packed, well-organized and felicitously written book goes miles beyond the mere recitation of state capitals. Drawing upon his nearly 30 years of teaching university-level geography, Hudson offers a comprehensive history of the geological, agricultural, topographical, industrial, social and political development of the United States and Canada." -- Northwestern

"The delicious historical details are interspersed with sweeping generalizations that capture the essence of each region and sub-region... It's such good reading and such a valuable resource that Across This Land is an essential book in the personal library of any well-read American or Canadian." -- Russell S. Kirby, Wisconsin Magazine of History

"A well-written story of a land and people, enhanced by photographs taken over a 20-year period. The narrative is tied to a series of fascinating and uncluttered maps, which enable readers to relate place and circumstance... This regional study of the geography of North America is as comprehensive as it is excellent." -- Choice

"A readable and informative volume that is not limited to one phase of geography, but which includes the physical, historical, economic, human, and political aspects of the topic." -- American Reference Books Annual

"Extensive emphasis on the history and politics of each region makes it unique and outstanding. The book offers a new direction for teaching the regional geography of the United States and Canada." -- James C. Saku, American Review of Canadian Studies

"An elegantly written and concise regional geography... The result accomplishes the best intent of regional geography -- to shape the character of the whole through careful description of its parts." -- Michael Steiner, Annals of Iowa

"This book is a genuine tour de force. Light years ahead of existing textbooks, Across This Land is a true regional geography that will benefit anyone who reads it." -- John Fraser Hart, University of Minnesota

From the Publisher
"This book is a genuine tour de force. Light years ahead of existing textbooks, Across This Land is a true regional geography that will benefit anyone who reads it."—John Fraser Hart, University of Minnesota

About the Author
John C. Hudson is a professor of geography and director of the Program in Environmental Sciences at Northwestern University and the first recipient of the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize for popular books in American human geography, awarded by the Association of American Geographers.

Customer Reviews

Across This Land, A Comprehensive View of North America
If one wants to comprehend the geography of North America, John C. Hudson's book ACROSS THIS LAND is a good stating point. Hudson breaks North America (the United States and Canada) down into twenty-seven sub-regions. The book is a comprehesive geography in that it explores the scope of the field, from physical geography to the realms of culture, economics, and history. To understand the contemporary landscape and the forces that shaped it, one must look into the past. Hudson's analysis is well-written and engaging. I use this book, which is written for a general audience, as a text for my course in Geography of North America at Dickinson State University.