Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape by Francesca Russello Ammon (review)

The bulldozer, for too long taken for granted as a symbol in twentieth-century history, becomes for the first time a subject of inquiry in Francesca Russello Ammon's book, Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape. Ammon unearths the history of the bulldozer as both a piece of technology and a metaphor for clearance. This approach allows her to weave together the histories not only of suburbs and cities, but of such disparate landscapes as an Alaskan highway, islands of the South Pacific, and the terraced hills of Southern California. Historians of technology and the built environment have much to learn from her careful eye and creative use of a variety of sources that include photo shoots, advertisements, business records, children's books, and art exhibits.

In part a history of technology, Ammon's book details not only the history of bulldozer development, but also the evolution of other construction equipment that "lay observers" might reasonably lump together with this iconic machine, including front-end loaders, scrapers, and other earthmoving machines. While bulldozers are perhaps most emblematic of urban renewal, Ammon's book reminds us that bulldozers and construction equipment also shaped rural areas. Ammon demonstrates that the bulldozer, and related earthmovers, are all variations on the tractor, perhaps the most quintessential farm tool. Technically, Ammon explains, "bulldozer" refers to a blade attachment affixed to a tractor, and not a full machine at all.

Going beyond what the title suggests is a focus on the "postwar landscape," the first section of Ammon's book, "Bulldozers at War," explores the uses of bulldozers as both weapons and tools in World War II. As Ammon explains, the war was the "most important rehearsal" for postwar development. She demonstrates how the military provided training and developed new construction standards through specialized units such as the Naval Construction Battalions or "Seabees." Her approach asks us to reconsider familiar characters and aspects of the history of postwar development. For example, she points out that many suburban developers, including William Levitt, had served as Seabees, while many of the demolition contractors responsible for urban renewal were former World War II army engineers. Ammon also notes that the practice of eminent domain, often associated with postwar urban renewal, was crucial in the Pacific theater of World War II, where Seabees and Marines commandeered property from Pacific Islanders in the South Pacific.

These connections between wartime training and postwar clearance are further explored in the second part of the book, "Bulldozers at Work." Here Ammon details three case studies exploring the implementation of these new land-clearance practices and technologies in reconstructing postwar suburban, urban, and rural landscapes.

The third section, "Bulldozers of the Mind," focuses on the depiction and uses of bulldozers in art and children's literature. While the chapter on "Benny the Bulldozer" and other children's literature focuses, like much of Bulldozer as a whole, on the reception and depiction of bulldozers in popular culture, her last chapter describes Earthworks, an avant-garde art movement that both employed and critiqued earthmoving technology.

Most of the book focuses on the exuberant embrace of the "culture of clearance" and the pop cultural veneration of "bulldozer men," leaving the last chapter and conclusion to delve into growing environmentalist and urbanist critiques of clearance. This is perhaps because, as Ammon suggests, cultural histories of how Americans came to see demolition as progressive have received less attention from historians than the perspectives of activists resisting urban clearance. However, I wonder whether future research building on Ammon's work might alter slightly Bulldozer's broad narrative regarding the move toward "a culture of conservation." In particular, I was disappointed with Ammon's conclusion that urban clearance is today a "relatively isolated" practice that is limited to areas with long-standing vacancies and neighborhoods hit hard by the recent foreclosure crisis. This was a missed opportunity to explore some of...