Customer Reviews

In a Dark Wood: The Fight Over Forests and the Myths of Nature

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Until reading "In a Dark Wood" I espoused "politically correct" environmentalist views -- such as "all old growth forests must be saved at any cost from evil logging" -- in a knee-jerk, emotionally charged, self-righteous way, without ever taking the trouble to study or think through what was really at stake, and what premises about reality underlay my views. Alston Chase's thinking on conservation is so clearly presented, so well backed by evidence, so carefully analysed, and so full of good will and integrity, that I find it impossible to read his book without respecting his intentions -- and his conclusions, which challenge everything I had unthinkingly assumed in the past. This is the kind of book that not only addresses concrete problems, such as the political struggle between, say Earth First and Maxxam Corporation, but also inspires the reader to think more deeply, and question his/her assumptions. This is the kind of book I think most self-labeled "environmentalists" -- especially those who come from white, middle class, college-educated backgrounds -- will dismiss prior to investigation, and will never read. If so, it is a sad loss. It's a book that can change your views and help you learn to think better -- and I believe most people would rather not do so, since thinking better might well spoil the dramatic excitement of waging a war of good against evil, nature against humanity. Still, I hope people will read this book. It's one that changed my life.

This book should be required reading in schools across the country. From Middle School through College.

There are few books that can change the way that you view the world, but this one surely did for me. Coming into this book, I had very conventional views on Environmentalism and humanity's place in the world. After reading this detailed history of the environmental movement, and the history of the ideas behind it, you can't help but realize how wrong you were.

This book is apolitical, and refreshingly free of opinion. It doesn't preach easy answers, and despite claims otherwise, it doesn't lean right or left in the political spectrum. This book eschews that, and simply steps back to examine human history and the history of our ideas about nature. The conclusions that it draws, (or rather, that it asks YOU to draw), are all based on solid evidence easily found in other sources. The truly remarkable thing about this book though is how it deals with the history of IDEAS. A subject of study that is little discussed in the mainstream, but which has much to teach.

I can't recommend this book enough. I think everyone will find something useful within this book, and I can't believe that it is isn't more widely regarded. This book will change your life.

I was not expecting such a thoughtful and open-minded look at the fight for old growth forests. I had always wondered why deep ecologists were willing to suspend critical thinking and accept the gaia world view. Chase explains that right at the beginning of the book. In other words he uses critical thinking, something not well taught today.

A very educational book. I always suspected the eco-freak wackos & even some of the so-called scientists were not following true scientific principles.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand the Environmental left and their deceitful tactics and general disregard for science. The book also walks you through the debacle that is the Endangered Species Act. It is very well written and very well cited. Reading anything by so called 'environmentalist' authors will underscore the assertions he makes in the book. And if you don't believe what he writes, just go up to an 'environmentalist,' mention that you think topics such as global warming are myths (whether or not you believe it, it's fun), and brace yourself for the zealous fervor and demagoguery that follows.

A very well researched and well written account of the "Old Growth Forest" controversy. I strongly encourage students of enviromentalism to read it. It clearly lays out some of the seminal disagreements of forest management that stil plague our forests today.

Chase's angry critique of "environmentalists" and their myths of nature has its points, but he ignores most of the substantial efforts to manage our ecosystem holistically -- e.g. including land, people, and money. He criticizes "biocentrism" but many of us recognize that human life, for example, is totally dependent on other organisms, E. coli to start. The question is not hierarchy, but interdependence.

Hundreds of pages on what's wrong in my edition, and only two pages that mention possible pathways to the future in the form of the Quincy Library Group and Applegate Partnership.