From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx–whose novels are infused with her knowledge and deep concern for the earth–comes a riveting,revelatory history of our wetlandstheir ecological roleand what their systematic destruction means for the planet. A lifelong environmentalistAnnie Proulx brings her wide-ranging research and scholarship to the subject of wetlands and the vitally important yet little understood role they play in preserving the environment–by storing the carbon emissions that greatly contribute to climate change. Fensbogsswampsand marine estuaries are the earth’s most desirable and dependable resourcesand in four stunning partsProulx documents the long-misunderstood role of these wetlands in saving the planet. Taking us on a fascinating journey through historyProulx shows us the fens of 16th-century England to Canada’s Hudson Bay lowlandsRussia’s Great Vasyugan MireAmerica’s Okeefenokee National Wildlife Refugeand the 19th-century explorers who began the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Along the wayshe writes of the diseases spawned in the wetlands–the AguemalariaMarsh Fever–and the surprisingly significant role of peat in industrialization. A sobering look at the degradation of wetlands over centuries and the serious ecological consequencesthis is a stunningly important work and a rousing call to action by a writer whose passionate devotion to understanding and preserving the environment is on full and glorious display.