Environing Empire

Martin Kalb is an Associate Professor of History at Bridgewater College in Virginia. His research on the histories of everyday life (Alltagsgeschichte), youth, and environmental history has appeared in academic journals and edited volumes; his monograph Coming of Age: Constructing and Controlling Youth in Munich, 1942–1973 was published in 2016.

“…a brilliant contribution to the growing corpus of more-than-human histories of Africa. Integrating humans, animals, microorganisms, sea currents, desert sands, rainfall, harbors, railways, and other nonhumans as agentive forces in the history of the German settler colony of Southwest Africa (now Namibia), Kalb makes …major contributions…a master class in writing more-than-human histories of both colonialism and African countries. It deserves the greatest success and the highest praise.” • H Net“In this compelling portrait of how non-human actors—from ocean currents to arid interiors to naval shipworms—thwarted German colonial ambitions, Martin Kalb fills a significant gap in the scholarship about a country and a region of growing international interest to environmentalists and ecotourists.” • Thomas M. Lekan, University of Southern Carolina

• FiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1. Currents, Chances, CommoditiesOn the MarginsBoiling GiantsClubbing the Wing-footedShoveling White GoldChapter 2. Accessing an Arid LandOur Place in the DesertReaching Southwest AfricaGermany’s Own EntranceChapter 3. Harbors, Animals, TrainsTechnological MarblesAnimal EngineeringReaching InlandChapter 4. Solving AridityExisting StructuresWater StructuresEngineering WaterChapter 5. Access and DestructionSupplying WarMaintaining AccessFighting People and NatureChapter 6. Expanding War and DeathDrilling WoodAccessing the SouthReaching BeyondChapter 7. Creating a Model ColonyVisions of a Model ColonySolving the Water QuestionCreating a Settler ParadiseConclusionBibliographyIndex