The Republic of Nature reframes standard accounts of American history based on the simple but radical premise that historical events are shaped by natural circumstances. From the natural philosophy of the founding fathers to the environmental forces behind Brown v. Board of Education, the book's focus on nature reveals a powerful new perspective on the most familiar icons of U.S. history. Mark Fiege is an associate professor of history at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and the author of Irrigated Eden: The Making of an Agricultural Landscape in the American West.