Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry [Hardcover]

Bill Devall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 1994

Once, old-growth forests blanketed the entire Pacific Northwest. Today, after a mere century of intensive logging, only a fraction remains. This book combines more than 175 dramatic photos of decimated forests with 15 impassioned yet authorative essays by leading ecologists and activists, including key figures in the modern "eco-forestry" movement.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Though clearcutting (the felling of all trees in a section of forest) has recently become a major social issue, few books have been written on its environmental consequences. This exhibit-format volume uses the talents of 15 leading ecologists and 33 nature photographers, presenting 15 essays and over 176 photographs and maps. This volume doesn't just show the destruction of clearcutting, but offers solutions, which makes it a unique publication. Nevertheless, it has several drawbacks. It is done in the classic "coffee-table" style, which is good for the photographs but makes it difficult to use as a research tool. In addition, the lack of an index makes quick look-ups impracticable. Those seeking an essay-style format on this topic might prefer Chris Anderson's Edge Effects: Notes from an Oregon Forest (Univ. of Iowa Pr., 1993), an excellent exploration of the social repercussions of clearcutting. Recommended for libraries with extensive collections in environmental or forestry issues.
Amy L. Paster, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The eye-popping photographs in most Sierra Club books and calendars inspire fascination, respect, even awe at nature's remarkable beauty, variety, and complexity. The photos in Clearcut, a joint publication of Sierra Club Books and Earth Island Press, are just as startling, but the primary emotion they produce is anger. From air and ground, the 35 photographers whose vivid work is gathered here document the devastation clear-cut forestry has caused across Canada and the U.S.: from Alaska and British Columbia east through the Rockies and Great Plains to Maine and Cape Breton, and south to Alabama, Texas, and California. More than 100 colorplates of the slash-and-burn destruction of "industrial forestry" call up memories of pockmarked bomb sites from London under the Blitz to Baghdad and Sarajevo. But Clearcut moves beyond complaint to action: in 15 essays, ecologists and eco-foresters demand recognition of the "intrinsic value" of forests and an "ecosystem-based approach to timber management." Libraries in pictured areas may already have received a donated copy of Clearcut, but policy decisions about the future of North America's forests are sufficiently important to justify purchase of this pricey but powerful volume by libraries in other areas. Mary Carroll

Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: Random House, Inc.; 1ST edition (March 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871564947
• ISBN-13: 978-0871564948
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 12.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,641,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Photos, August 2, 2005

By 

Mulsane (Northern VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry (Hardcover)

Just so you aren't lead astray by the last review....
The paper used is indeed of an uncoated variety. However the photos are NOT of newspaper quality. They are similar to Iris Ink Jet prints. They don't have ben-day dots at all... at least not that you can see with the naked eye (I haven't louped the photos). The darks tend to block up at times. On the other hand there is incredible sharpness and detail in other areas of the images.

True they aren't glossy images, but like most things in life it's a trade off. They're far above 'newspaper quality' that's for sure.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, but the Photos are of newspaper quality., January 17, 2005

By 

S. Wilson "tradersww" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry (Paperback)

This book is a shocking revelation of the extent of clearcutting in our national forests (public lands owned by you and me and given over to companies like Weyerhauser under massive government subsidy contracts). Despite what public relations materials from Forest Products companies will have you believe, clearcutting (removing all the trees from a vast area) does not replicate natural processes (such as fire or windthrow), is not sustainable and has devastating ecological consequences for the watershed and forest community. This book provides many photos (most of them aerial) of huge swaths of forest that have been harvested in this way. The author's aim is to motivate - through outrage - the average citizen so he can take action to curtail clear-cutting in our national forests (especially old growth stands).

An imoportant note about the quality of photos: While the photos in this book are large and from great vantage points, the entire book is printed on post-consumer recycled paper. This means that the photos have a similar quality to the color photos in a newspaper such as USAToday or the New York Times. In short, if you are expecting the glossy, highly-defined photos that you may be accustomed to in nature photography books, you may be dissappointed.

Still, this book is worth the money. It will definitely increase your awareness of the wholesale looting and destruction of our national heritage.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST-HAVE BOOK, July 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry (Paperback)

This is an incredible, epic book that every person should have.