The Rhine

"As demonstrated by historian Cioc, the defilement of the Rhine is a case study in the tragedy of unintended consequences. But it is also a fascinating story because the river today is the product of the complex interplay among all of the major forces that shaped modern European history— industry, technology, economy, politics, and, finally, ecology. As such, its story is similar to those that could be told about many other major rivers. . . . Impressive scholarship."—Library Journal

"This enjoyable, scholarly and well-written book is a very welcome addition to the literature in English on the environmental history of Continental Europe, and students as well as professionals will certainly read it with profit and pleasure."—Environment and History

"Sometimes ironic and humorous, consistently clear and persuasive, Cioc's 'life story' of the Rhine deftly weaves together politics, economics, and river ecology.. A compelling study."—Environmental History

"A concise and remarkably authoritative overview of the Rhine..Compelling reading."—American Historical Review

"An impressive book..It is erudite, well-written, and informatively illustrated, and it will unquestionably serve for years to come as an obligatory point of departure for further research into the environmental dimensions of the Rhine's turbulent history."—Technology and Culture

"As the first true environmental history of a major European river, Mark Cioc's stimulating new book is a sign that European environmental history is entering a period of maturation; his eco-biography will serve benchmark for future scholarly work in the field. By tackling the Rhine, the classic European river, Cioc offers an environmental history that transcends national histories."—H-German Reviews

"Mark Cioc shows with intriguing clarity how the staggering degradation of a modern river occurred and how visionary people seek to reclaim what they can. Add this fine book to the select list of great river biographies."—Tim Palmer, author of The Heart of America, The Columbia, and America by Rivers

"A formidable amount of research went into The Rhine: An Eco—Biography. The result is a clear picture of a river refashioned to suit the needs of industrialization."—John McNeill, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

"Over 120 years after Mark Twain wrote A Tramp Abroad, another American has taken a journey down the Rhine, Europe's most celebrated river. It is a very different river today, one that has been tamed, channeled, straightened, shortened, and abused to such an extent that it has barely managed to survive the onslaught of the industrial age."—F. J. Bruggemeier, Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg, Germany

"A formidable amount of research went into The Rhine: An Eco-Biography. The result is a clear picture of a river refashioned to suit the needs of industrialization."—John McNeill, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

""The Rhine: An Eco-Biography is the first true environmental history of a major European river. The story Mark Cioc tells in these pages is both fascinating and cautionary. What happened to the Rhine during the 19th and 20th centuries was unquestionably one of the success stories of modern history, a triumphant example of the human benefits that can flow from harnessing nature's power to benefit humanity. But an immense price was paid for those benefits."—William Cronon, from the Foreword