The right of Paul Wapner to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2020 by Polity Press

Polity Press
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Medford, MA 02155, USA

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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3214-8

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wapner, Paul Kevin, author.
Title: Is wildness over? / Paul Wapner.
Description: Cambridge ; Medford, MA : Polity, 2020. | Series: Environmental futures | Includes bibliographic references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019035362 (print) | LCCN 2019035363 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509532117 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509532124 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509532148 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Naturalness (Environmental sciences) | Nature conservation--Philosophy. | Environmentalism--Philosophy.
Classification: LCC GE40 .W366 2020 (print) | LCC GE40 (ebook) | DDC 304.2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035362
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035363

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Acknowledgments

This is a thin volume, yet my debt in writing it extends far and wide. I wish to thank Louise Knight of Polity for inviting me to write the book and for her insightful editorial support. I am grateful to Nasruddin Chowdhury, Jessie Mehrhoff, Aimee Seligman, and Bryan Hickel for superb research assistance. Two anonymous reviewers offered incisive, challenging, and productive criticism; the book is far better for their efforts. A summer grant from the School of International Service at American University provided much appreciated research support and my students in the Global Environmental Politics Program consistently challenged me to write with greater purpose. Conversations with the Takoma Park Poetic Skull Sippers and the landscape of Taos, New Mexico served as ideal venues for exploring wildness. A special thanks goes to the Lama Foundation, Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, and EarthLoveGo.org for creating opportunities to share insights from this book. I would also like to acknowledge Richard Falk, my long-term mentor and friend, who has shaped my thoughts in ways beyond expression. Many other dear friends have enriched my life while I was researching and writing the book. I thank them for sharing their warmth and being themselves. My deepest gratitude goes to my family. Mindful of and engaged with the immense challenges facing our world, they demonstrate the amazing power of love.

Environmental Futures

Is Wildness Over?

Dedication

Acknowledgments