Customer Reviews

The Buffalo Commons

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a homesick former Montanan, I loved this book. Wheeler does such a great job of an even-handed presentation of the pros and cons of ranchers versus restorers. I sort of resented the "feds' being cast as the villains, since I know many of them and they are sincere, caring people who want the best for the land and its inhabitants, but I am also aware that the individuals who work for the agencies are often the victims themselves of political agendas. Kind of an old-fashioned novel--heros were flawed, but good-villains were BAD--made it fun to read.Wheeler obviously had done his homework--lots of fascinating information presented in a readable, entertaining manner. Well worth the read,

I was kept in constat limbo. Do I side with the environmentalists, or do i let my humanitarian side shine through? Wheeler gave me a great perspective of what is going on in the minds of everybody involved during a major environmental policy change. I liked this because this broad array of view points are rarely convayed in most environmental liturature. I felt there was no "protagonist" per say. The protagonist was actually whomever you wanted it to be, it depends on the view point in which you are reading. I thank Wheeler for writing this book in such a manner.

Richard Wheeler has written many--perhaps most--of the best historical novels of the American West available today and it is time for this Montanan to be enjoying as wide an audience as a writer of his gifts deserves. BUFFALO COMMONS is a Wheeler masterpiece, a modern story of the conflict between an idealistic environmentalist (with the money to make his dreams realities) and the ranching folk whose old, honest, productive way of life stands in the way of a retrograde "progress" toward returning the land to the buffalo. There have been comparisons made in reviews of Wheeler's book to Nicholas Evans' much-ballyhoo'd THE LOOP. There is no comparison. Wheeler's story is infinitely richer, more compelling and thought-provoking.

In his very readable novel The Buffalo Commons Richard Wheeler gives us a clear picture of the issues that divide wildlife environmentalists and Montana ranchers. In his author's note a the end of the book, Wheeler confesses conflict within himself, "I would love to see the High Plains restored to their presettlement splendor, but I love Montan's salt-of-the-earth people, who are tough, unique and honorable." That duality is reflected throughout the story. There are two main characters: Laslo Horoney who is trying to create a hughe Grassland National Trust and Cameron Nichols who wants to continue ranching on the same land. Wheeler has cast neither of them as hero or villain. They are both good men but with different goals that bring them into conflict. Wheeler draws all his major characters with sympathy, no matter where they stand on the issues. Even while the characters in this novel struggle with each other, they face severe economic, political and moral pressure from other sources. They have their strengths and weaknesses. And, they are often uncertain--just like real people. This is a serious work by an articulate and knowledgeable author.

Montana. Rancher with alcoholic wife. Environmentalists. Wolves.
Billionaire with a dream to turn replace failing ranches
with a vast buffalo-covered prairie.

All the ingredients for a great and stirring novel, right? Maybe
so, but Richard Wheeler's _The Buffalo Commons_ isn't it.

I really *wanted* to like it, honest. Unfortunately, there's
something to dislike on almost every page.

The title is stolen from a real-life proposal by Professors Frank and
Deborah Popper. But if you hoped to learn something about that proposal,
you won't find much here: the Poppers aren't even mentioned once.

Instead you find insipid characters that are given to saying things
like "Alcoholism is a demon each person fights alone, even when there
are friends and counselors around" and "It's an instinct I have that
leaps beyond my very limited powers of thought."

The portrayal of native Americans borders on racism, with the main
Indian character described as having "some primordial way of
recognizing other peoples".

But the worst aspect of the book is its nasty slant on the Buffalo
Commons controversy. It's so one-sided it could have come directly out
of a Rush Limbaugh radio program. In Wheeler's portrayal, the
ranchers are all noble and long-suffering, while the environmentalists
are all evil, soulless hypocrites --- even more so if they happen to
work for the government. We learn that the Environmental Protection
Agency has a "penchant for abusing citizens" (p. 193) and "the
protection of civil rights of citizens" is of little concern to Greens
(p. 302). Wheeler's kindly old Professor Kazin says things like "The
very concept of wilderness touted by the Sierra Club and the Greens is
essentially racist" (p. 29) and "The government's bought most of the
university environmental sciences departments in the country".
Vegetarians by their very nature are suspect; one character is only
redeemed when he "[takes] beef into his mouth"!

The author hasn't done his homework very carefully, either. He
mistakenly calls the Wood Bison or wood buffalo (Bison bison
athabascae) the "woods buffalo", and he gets the name of Canada's Wood
Buffalo National Park wrong. The decline in the Wood Bison population
in the park isn't, as claimed by one character in the book, "all
because of wolf depredation". As Mark Bradley, the conservation
biologist for the Park told me, the decline isn't fully understood,
but is certainly due to many factors, including the cessation of winter
feeding.

The lowest point in the book was when one of the characters buys "a
Skye's West novel, and thus spent the day amiably." Guess who the
author of the "Skye's West" series is? That's right, Richard Wheeler.
This self-congratulatory ploy is par for the course.

If you're interested in the Buffalo Commons proposal, avoid this
cynical propaganda exercise, and pick up a copy of Anne Matthews'
splendid nonfiction book, _Where the Buffalo Roam_, instead.

The novel has a wonderful plot and was fascinating reading primarily for the amount of research that Wheeler evidently put into it. He put that research to very good use. I found the format intriguing--it is set very slightly in the future (book was published in 98; the novel is set in the year 2000) so it consists of an extrapolation of current events into a future that is very close at hand.

Contemporary novels of the west are pretty hard to come by, so Wheeler is a real "goldmine" for anyone who likes that genre.

I thought, however, that Wheeler's characterizations and dialogue fell short of the level of skill required by his sophisticated and interesting plot. But this would not stop me from recommending the book to anyone who likes the genre.

This is the only contemporary novel by Wheeler and is written in service of an environmental concept -- not so much to persuade as to elucidate, explore the issues. Wheeler is a writer well-equipped to handle this major and controversial topic by imagining a scenario of how a buffalo commons might get created.

First of all, his historical knowledge is deep from all those genre Westerns and, more recently, research for historical novels. Another useful skill is training as a screenwriter at Pasadena Playhouse and this book is very much visualized in scripts and shots. He assigns a point of view to each character and then lets that character do or say what will explain why he or she feels that way. And he knows to set characters up in dialoguing pairs, one of which must be persuaded, which also helps to pull information out in an easy-to-understand Q/A format. Though there are a lot of characters, each is vivid enough to remember as the plot unfolds -- and there IS a plot. No vioence, unless you count the wolves. Wheeler's newspaper background helps him to dissect issues and show how to interweave politically and economically.

Only one character is really a caricature, but he is so villanous (as well as funny) that I was hoping the wolves would bite him good and hard. (He's a latex heir hypnotized by New Age stuff.)

This is a skillfully written and often quite moving novel with colorful characters: patricians, plutocrats, and prophets It's hard on Greens, bureaucrats, and the kind of faculty members who build little empires staffed by grad students. It is "rancher-friendly," which might not be one would expect, given the subject.

What can I add to the praise from readers and professional reviewers? Mostly that I was surprised that this story could be so gripping when there is almost no violence, no profanity or uncouthness, just lots of drama. These are real people, undergoing changes that could be happening today. The last time I encountered a book that read like non-fiction but had the kick of a good story was "House" by Tracy Kidder. Most slick novels will roll out of your consciousness like yesterday's newspaper, but the effects of this one will stay with me for a long time to come.

Oh yes, if you've ever been to Montana, this book will greet you like an old friend. If you've never been there, you'll find out why you should go--now.

Richard Wheeler's books suck you in from the first page, and keep you there...a truly enjoyable read that delves into controversial issues. I don't consider myself a typical Western reader, but I loved this book. I'm now trying Wheeler's other fiction.

I can say now that I vastly prefer the author's historical works. I just didn't appreciate being lectured to for 400 pages. Everyone in this book is stubborn, drunk on personal belief, and mostly unlikable, a trait seen in many of Wheeler's antagonists, making it that much harder to stomach.