{"product_id":"9781742589244","title":"Like Nothing on this Earth: A Literary History of the Wheatbelt","description":"During the twentieth century, the southwestern corner of Australia was cleared for intensive agriculture. In the space of several decades, an arc from Esperance to Geraldton-an area of land larger than England-was cleared of native flora for the farming of grain and livestock. Today, satellite maps show a sharp line ringing Perth. Inside that line, tan-colored land is the most visible sign from space of human impact on the planet. Where once there was a vast mosaic of scrub and forest, there is now the Western Australian wheatbelt. Tony Hughes-d'Aeth examines the creation of the wheatbelt through its creative writing. Some of Australia's most well-known and significant writers-Albert Facey, Peter Cowan, Dorothy Hewett, Jack Davis, Elizabeth Jolley, and John Kinsella-wrote about their experience of the wheatbelt. Each gives insight into the human and environmental effects of this massive-scale agriculture. Albert Facey records the hardship and poverty of small-time selection in Australia. Dorothy Hewett makes the wheatbelt visible as an ecological tragedy. Jack Davis shows us an Aboriginal experience of the wheatbelt. Through examining these writings, Tony Hughes-d'Aeth demonstrates the deep value of literature in understanding the human experience of geographical change. [Subject: Non-Fiction, Environmental Studies, Agricultural Studies, Literary Criticism]","brand":"University of Western Australia Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47057225744624,"sku":"9781742589244","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781742589244_p0.jpg?v=1763703554","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781742589244","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}