Books by Thomas Shevory

The Great Lakes are a remarkable repository of millions of years of complex geological transformations and of a considerably shorter, crowded span of human history. Over the course of four summers, Thomas Shevory rode a bicycle along their shores, taking in the stories the lakes tell—of nature\u2019s grandeur and decay, of economic might and squandered promise, of exploration, colonization, migration, and military adventure. This book is Shevory\u2019s account of his travels, shored up by his exploration of the geological, environmental, historical, and cultural riches harbored by North America\u2019s great inland seas.For Shevory, and his readers, his ride is an enlightening, unfailingly engaging course in the Great Lakes\u2019 place in geological time and the nation\u2019s history. Along the northern shore of Lake Huron, one encounters the scrubbed surfaces of the Canadian Shield, the oldest exposed rock in North America. Growing out of the crags of the Niagara Escarpment, which stretches from the western reaches of Lake Michigan to the spectacular waterfalls between Erie and Ontario, are the white cedars that are among the oldest trees east of the Mississippi. The lakes offer reminders of the fur trade that drew voyageurs to the interior, the disruption of Native American cultures, major battles of the War of 1812, the shipping and logging industries that built the Midwest, the natural splendors preserved and exploited, and the urban communities buoyed or buried by economic changes over time.┬áThroughout The Great Lakes at Ten Miles an Hour, Shevory describes the engaging characters he encounters along the way and the surprising range of country and city landscapes, bustling and serene locales that he experiences, making us true companions on his ride.┬á

This study draws on critical historical analysis and contemporary language theory to illuminate John Marshall's jurisprudence and political philosophy in new ways. Legal scholars, political scientists, and historians interested in law and language, 19th-century history, and republicanism will find this study especially interesting.

Negotiating the terrain between techno-optimism and eco-pessimism, this work establishes the political connections between technologies of the body, property, and the environment.

This collection of essays, the result of a John Marshall Symposium held in conjunction with the state of West Virginia's celebration of the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, examines the contributions of John Marshall and the early Supreme Court from a variety of political and methodological perspectives that have been encouraged by current approaches to constitutional theory and history. It fills a gap in analysis of the constitutional foundations laid by the Marshall Court. It reflects the continuities and changes that have transpired in legal scholarship and political philosophy over the last three decades.Divided into analyses of Marshall's legal decisions, his political philosophy, and his methods of legal interpretation, the essays represent a strong and healthy diversity of opinion on Marshall's contribution to American political and legal development. The essays consider the question of how Marshall's judicial reasoning can be best applied to the continuing process of interpreting the Constitution. Marshall's contributions thus become the starting point for an exercise in political engagement. While often celebrating Marshall's achievements, the contributors attempt to move beyond mere celebration toward a critical analysis of constitutional meaning and political philosophy. Legal scholars and historians alike will welcome this cogent collection and the insight it provides into the early development of constitutional thought and interpretation.

Notorious H.I.V. also traces the impact of such high-profile cases on communities. Shevory provides a nuanced portrait of the hard economic and cultural realities of Jamestown, New York, and, drawing on Williams's narratives, of the life of a lower-level drug dealer in a small upstate city.