Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millennium - Interdisciplinary

In this review of Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millennium the bottom line is clear: this essay collection is best suited to readers who want a rigorous, interdisciplinary examination of how ideas of nature are being reshaped at the turn of the century. The volume rejects sweeping apocalyptic claims and instead gathers contributors across the human sciences to argue for a concept of social nature that opens practical and political possibilities. It is a thoughtful, debate-driven book for scholars and advanced students rather than casual readers seeking narrative natural history.

Key Features

• Interdisciplinary contributors: Essays bring perspectives from sociology, geography, anthropology and related fields to map how nature is produced socially, offering broad theoretical range.
• Focus on politics and movements: Chapters engage with contemporary debates in politics, science and social movements to show how race, gender and class shape environmental outcomes.
• Thematic structure: Essays are organized around two clear themes, capitalising and envisioning nature and actors, networks and hybridity, which helps readers follow recurring arguments.
• Theoretical engagement: Contributors apply varied theoretical approaches so readers gain exposure to different frameworks for understanding human-environment interactions.
• Afterword reflection: An afterword by Neil Smith offers a critical reflection on the problems and possibilities raised, adding a synthetic voice to the collection.

Who It's For

This book is aimed at academics, graduate students and policy-minded readers who want a deep, critical treatment of how nature is being remade through social processes. It will be particularly valuable for readers studying environmental politics, human geography, critical ecology or the sociology of science.

Readers seeking a general-audience introduction to ecology, a field guide or narrative natural history should look elsewhere; the text assumes familiarity with scholarly debates and rewards sustained attention to theoretical argument and case studies.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Rich interdisciplinary dialogue provides multiple lenses for understanding social nature.
• The organized themes help readers track how ideas about capital, networks and hybridity recur across essays.
• Engagement with race, gender and class offers timely political depth rather than only abstract theory.

Cons

• The collections academic tone and dense theoretical language may limit accessibility for casual readers.

Specifications

Title	Remaking Reality: Nature at the Millennium
Editor / Author	Bruce Braun (brand/editor)
Scope	Essay collection across the human sciences
Themes	Capitalising and envisioning nature; actors, networks and hybridity
Afterword	Neil Smith
Primary focus	The concept of social nature and its political consequences

Our Verdict

Remaking Reality is a valuable, provocative collection for readers who want a sustained interdisciplinary account of how nature is being socially produced. Its essays and afterword combine theoretical sophistication with political concern, making it a strong purchase for graduate courses and researchers seeking critical perspectives on ecology and society.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book take a scientific or social approach?
Answer. The collection foregrounds a social sciences perspective, using theory and political analysis to examine how nature is produced socially rather than providing natural science data.

Who wrote the afterword?
Answer. The afterword is written by Neil Smith and reflects on the problems and possibilities discussed in the essays.

Is this suitable for undergraduate courses?
Answer. It can be used in advanced undergraduate or graduate seminars, especially those covering environmental politics, human geography or critical ecology, but may be demanding for introductory surveys.