An exploration of the enduring influence of the colonial legacy on attitudes about relationships between people and nature in countries that were once part of the British Empire, either at the periphery or the centre. Colonial annexation and government were accompanied by the colonization and exploitation of nature, both for production and even in the name of conservation. At the start of the 21st century, the conservation of nature is still of vital importance in these countries, but what should this conservation look like? What ideas can it be based upon? This work argues that there is a...

William L. Adams has led a varied and exciting life, severing in the United State Navy as an officer and teaching around the world. On sabbatical in 1999, he journeyed to central China, the "real China," and spent a year teaching writing and British and American history at Henan Normal University. It is his experience there, living and teaching in impoverished Henan province - China's most populated province - that inspired this book.