Benjamin Kline

Dr. Kline currently teaches World and Environmental History at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA and African History at San José State University. The author of several works, his most popular book, First Along the River, is now in its 4th edition. Dr. Kline is a native of San José, California. He received his BA (1978) and MA (1980) from San José State University and a PhD from the University College Cork, Ireland (1986). He has taught at San José State University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Wheelock College in Boston. In 1989 he taught at the University of Sierra Leone as a Fulbright Scholar. His primary fields of interest are the Environment, British Empire, modern Europe, Britain, Ireland, and Africa. Among his many publications are four books, including First Along the River: A Brief History of the Environmental Movement in the United States, Genesis of Apartheid: British African Policy in the Colony of Natal 1845-93 and numerous articles including 'Northern Ireland: A Protracted Conflict,' 'Winston Churchill and Michael Colins 1919-22: Their Conflicting Views of Ireland and its Future,' and a contribution to the Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire. Of his other achievements that can be noted: Coordinator and Presenter at the Cambridge University Workshop on the British Empire in March 1993, Research Director for the McNair Scholars Program, ASPIRE Program in 1996, and Liaison Professor for the University College Cork, Ireland in 1990.

First Along the River provides students with a balanced, historical perspective on the history of the environmental movement in relation to major social and political events in U.S. history, from the pre-colonial era to the present. The book highlights important people and events, places critical concepts in context, and shows the impact of government, industry, and population on the American landscape. Comprehensive yet brief, First Along the River discusses the religious and philosophical beliefs that shaped Americans' relationship to the environment, traces the origins and development of government regulations that impact Americans' use of natural resources, and shows why popular environmental groups were founded and how they changed over time. The fourth edition includes up-to-date coverage of the environmental movement and developments since 2000, including the second term of George W. Bush and the administration of Barack Obama.