This comes of settling a country : European colonization and the market's arrival -- This wilderness becomes a fertile plain : engineering the Empire State -- We are still in Eden : romanticism, tourism, and the power of culture -- Tainted and unwholesome atmospheres : urban environments, government, and reform -- A sound conservation program : Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and the power of individuals -- Tracing man's progress in making the planet uninhabitable : environmental interest groups and postwar threats -- We live in this filth : the urban crisis, environmental justice, and threats from beyond -- Epilogue : finding places in history.