The rise of American geography as a distinctive science in the United States straddles the 19th and 20th centuries, extending from the post-Civil war period to 1970. American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographic Science is the first book to thoroughly and richly explicate this history. Its author, Geoffrey J. Martin, the foremost historian on the subject and official archivist of the Association of American Geographers, amassed a wealth of primary sources from archives worldwide, which enable him to chart the evolution of American geography with unprecedented detail and context. From the initial influence of the German school to the emergence of Geography as a unique discipline in American universities and thereafter, Martin clarifies the what, how and when of each advancement. Expansive discussion of the arguments made, controversies ignited and research voyages move hand in hand with the principals who originated and animated them: Davis, Jefferson, Huntington, Bowman, Johnson, Sauer, Hartshorne, and many more. From their grasp of local, regional, global and cultural phenomena, geographers also played pivotal roles in world historical events, including the two world wars and their treaties, as the US became the dominant global power. American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographical Science is a conclusive study of the birth and maturation of the science. It will be of interest to geographers, teachers and students of geography, and all those compelled by the story of American Geography and those who founded and developed it.

"Foreword by Amy Briggs, executive editor of National Geographic History"--Jacket.

Geography is a wide-ranging discipline and the number of information sources available is truly enormous. These include printed books and journal articles, maps, satellite photographs, archives, statistical information, and much else. One particular problem facing geographers is that when one studies a foreign country, information may be available only in the foreign country and difficult to obtain. This book discusses the information sources available to geographers.

Fieldwork is a hallmark of geographical scholarship, encompassing all the approaches by which we learn first-hand about the world. Too often, though, fieldwork details—the challenges, the failures, and methodological mash-up used—are left out of geographers’ published work. This accessible collection brings together 18 of those too-often overlooked stories, and reveals the ongoing vibrancy of geographical fieldwork today. The 32 authors span many of geography’s subfields, and their work incorporates multiple methodological traditions: ethnographic, digital, archival, mixed, and more. With short, readable contributions, Geographical Fieldwork in the 21st Century offers an ideal resource for students across the social sciences who are wrangling with the process of fieldwork. It shows fieldwork’s core attributes—innovation, commitment, and serendipity—are alive and well. But this collection also illustrates just how fieldwork is changing as our ability to learn about the world is shaped by new pressures of the 21st century neoliberal academy, by the proliferation of new technologies, and by the growing social demand for collaborative, engaged, and ethical scholarship. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Geographical Review.