A Love of the Land: Selected Writing of John Fraser Hart (review)

The geography profession owes tremendous gratitude to John C. Hudson for compiling and editing the 13 chapters in A Love of the Land: Selected Writings of John Fraser Hart, as well as providing a perceptive and contextual “Introduction” to the book. To set the framework for this collection, it is appropriate that I begin by quoting from Hudson’s “Introduction” (p. xii):

A living icon of American geography, Fraser Hart became the best-known geographer of his generation, an exemplar of the highest standards of geographical scholarship, and an inspiration to countless others who appreciate the example he has set. Academic societies do not bestow honors for having served as a muse, but if they did my hunch is that Fraser Hart would be among the first to be honored. Some scholars are known for a particular idea or paper they wrote, while others are known for the students they produced or for the influence they had on departments in which they made their careers. Fraser Hart has gained recognition in all of those respects, but his greatest contribution probably has been his indefatigable presence as a participant in all things geographical over a career that has spanned six decades.

And I would add, Fraser Hart has no doubt been the most published geographer over these six decades, from his 1950 Ph.D. dissertation from the then-mighty Northwestern University, to the present.

The 13 chapters, except for the first, are in approximate chronological order and range from original publications in 1955, “British Moorlands,” to his 2003 “Change in the Corn Belt.” His publications largely reflect his interest in cultural and agricultural geography—the rural landscape. Perhaps these interests derive from his being the first geography major at the University of Georgia in 1947, having studied closely with Merle C. Prunty, Jr., Head of the Department of Geography (1946–1971) and known for his strong research focus on the Southern rural landscape, his valued mentor and sometimes nemesis in later years.

Following Hudson’s “Introduction,” the first chapter is “The Highest Form of the Geographer’s Art,” Hart’s 1981 AAG presidential address, published in the Annals, AAG in 1982, in which he asserts that “The highest form of the geographer’s art is producing good regional geography— evocative descriptions that facilitate an understanding and appreciation of places, areas, and regions,” (Hudson, 2009, p. 1). This statement epitomizes Hart’s research agenda and is expressed throughout the other 12 chapters. Hart’s publications place him squarely in the area studies or regional tradition, and therefore in later decades a somewhat lonely voice among the recent plethora of “isms” in the discipline.

A listing of a few of the chapter titles reflects Hart’s fundamental interests in geography: “Reading the Landscape”; “Tobacco Barns and Their Role in the Tobacco Economy of the United States”; “Urban Encroachment on Rural Areas”; and “Mobile Home Parks.” The collection reflects Hart’s careful field work and his love of maps.

The book also includes a gallery of 7 photographs of the U.S. rural landscape taken by Fraser Hart, plus an excellent full-bodied photograph of Fraser himself holding a topographic map, complete with his ever-present bow tie. In addition to the references cited, the book provides a listing of Fraser Hart’s 16 books, published from 1952 to his two books published in 2008.

A Love of the Land: Selected Writings of John Fraser Hart encapsulates the long, prodigious career of a genuine professional geographer, still teaching at the University of Minnesota at age 85. Thank you, John Hudson. Thank you John Fraser Hart, whose writings and teachings have touched thousands, including this reviewer during my graduate days at Indiana University, 1961–1964.