Description:
By exploring the delta as a quagmire in both natural and political terms, Biggs shows how engineered transformations of the Mekong Delta landscapechannelized rivers, a complex canal system, hydropower development, deforestationhave interacted with equally complex transformations in the geopolitics of the region. Quagmire delves beyond common stereotypes to present an intricate, rich history that shows how closely political and ecological issues are intertwined in the human interactions with the water environment in the Mekong Delta.
Brief description: David Biggs is an associate professor of history at the University of California, Riverside, specializing in Southeast Asia, Vietnam, environmental history, and historical geography. His first book, Quagmire: Nation-Building and Nature in the Mekong Delta (University of Washington Press, 2011), won the George Perkins Marsh Award in 2012 for the best book in environmental history.
Review Quotes:
"Impressively written and well-researched."
--Michitake Aso "Journal of Asian Studies"