In a Dark Wood: The Fight over Forests and the New Tyranny of Ecology [Hardcover]

Alston Chase (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 1995

In a Dark Wood depicts the fight to save the old-growth forests of the Northwest - the biggest environmental conflict in U.S. history - and explains how the ideas generated by this battle have come to dominate American politics and culture. Bringing unprecedented clarity to this subject, Chase weaves together the dramatic stories of individuals who clash over powerful ideas whose implications they do not understand. The book begins with a shocking account of the 1990 car bombing of environmental activist Judi Bari, then explores the origins of the conflict through the eyes of loggers, foresters, activists, scientists, and rangers. It proceeds to a blow-by-blow description of the full-scale war that ensued after the leveraged buyout of the Pacific Lumber Company by Wall Street raider Charles Hurwitz. And it describes how radical environmentalists lost the battle but won the war with the dissemination of biocentrism, the philosophy that holds that humans are no more important than other

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Chase begins by tracing the swath of logging from east to west, the efforts of silviculturists to achieve timber sustainability, and the evolution of ideas that have led to the "teleological myth" of ecology. Next he recounts the attempts by ecologists, principally Earth First!ers, to block logging in the Northwest, initially to preserve old-growth forests. In addition to finding biocentric beliefs offensive, Chase also appears to find the Earth First!ers' lifestyles as nasty as their terrorist tactics, and the narrative devolves into irrelevant tattle and ridicule. Perhaps because of this antipathy, he is persuasive in his sympathetic depiction of the plight of the logging community. Chase's pro-forestry contribution to the ongoing controversy of whether habitat preservation is essential, nonessential, or detrimental to species survival is also effective, and examples are provided of some deleterious consequences of preservation, such as the nationwide overabundance of deer. Brenda Grazis

Product Details

• Hardcover: 535 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; First Edition edition (September 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395608376
• ISBN-13: 978-0395608371
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry

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Customer Reviews

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A blend of bias and critical analysis, December 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Dark Wood: The Fight over Forests and the New Tyranny of Ecology (Hardcover)

While Chase does an admirable job here of blending a whole lot of intellectual history with a modern clash of ideology, one can't help but wonder who he is actually writing this for. At times insightful, others discursive, but always readable, it seems that the main point of this book is to sway the fencesitters and romantics in the big cities to not be so quick in sending a check upon viewing a demonstration on the evening news. Ultimately, Chase shows his hand by portraying the loggers of the Northwest as the victims, while the 'Earth First!ers' are their hedonistic nemesis bent on growing marijuana and making love in their idealized wilderness. These nefarious 'eco-terrorists' are the bad guys here, and the poor loggers clinging to the vestiges of family values are the tragic heroes of perseverence. Not exactly the critical analysis one would hope for. Nevertheless, if the reader transcends the obvious bias of the author (which seems to stem from left-over dissatisfaction and anger with liberalized 60's university politics) there are other, deeper messages well worth noting.

The main strength lies in his analysis of ecological 'science' and uncovering many of its inherant fallacies. The reader will do well to expand this theme in taking from this lengthy tome the lesson that far from being based on immutable laws, Science as a whole is as subjective as philosophy. Indeed, Science is in large part determined and shaped by philosophy. As such, while Chase spends much time debunking the environmentalists by discrediting the foundations of ecology, he ultimately hurts his own thesis by conveniently appropriating Science in justifying the plight of the logger. It is a catch-22 of sorts that Chase hides well, but he can not escape from it entirely.

All in all, it is a good read and certainly houses something for all. Those simpathetic to the logging industry will find little to disagree with, while those whose hearts lie in the ideal of pristine wilderness will come away feeling as though they've been chastized by their stodgy uncle. Somewhere in the middle is where this book has the most value as, despite the ubiquitous timbre of distaste towards environmentalists, it offers an intriguing critique of man's overdependance on 'Science' and his ability to manipulate it for whatever his or her ideals demand. Ultimately, the recognition that Science is inherantly a human construct shaped by our own capacities of comprehension demands that we stop and reconsider our motives for either cutting or saving trees, rather than simply relying on some numbers to make those decisions for us. That is the message that makes this book worth reading: Think, people, think....then act.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tale Without Heroes or Villains, May 2, 2011

By 

James Henderson "Frugal Reviewer" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Dark Wood: The Fight over Forests and the New Tyranny of Ecology (Hardcover)

With his book, In a Dark Wood, Alston Chase has written a story about the ecological struggle over the forests, but in doing so he has also developed the history of an idea. The idea is really many ideas, incorporating questions about the definition of nature, the science of ecology and the question of eco-systems -- just what are they and what should we do about them.

"It is a tale without heroes or villains, in which the bad guy isn't a person at all but an idea"(p xi)

His story begins with people, from John Muir and Henry David Thoreau to the eco-revolutionaries of the seventies and eighties. But the story also begins with the question: What is Nature? For it is the battle over nature that guides the narrative and the history of the ecological movement. His focus is primarily on the forests of Northwestern United States, and the battles to protect "endangered" species like the Spotted Owl. In doing so he provides a tremendous amount of detail about incidents that, like a mosaic of tiles, fit together to create a story. But the battle is also philosophical and political. Alston points out the unintended consequences of ideas that are not fully understood, of actions that are based on questionable science or faulty and limited studies, and the irrational passions that drove many of the people in the story, both good and bad, to take unreasonable actions. Ultimately it becomes a story about those who insist on determining the one way that all must follow to do what is good for man, forgetting the folly that has occurred throughout history when that has been attempted in the past.

For Chase his ne plus ultra was a focus on people and ideas, devising a book interesting to all who are stimulated by the history of ideas and the actions men take. It also allowed him to be balanced in his approach, emphasizing science and carefully pointing out what we do know and, more importantly, what we do not know.

17 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ever hear of fact-checking, Alston?, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Dark Wood: The Fight over Forests and the New Tyranny of Ecology (Hardcover)

In A Dark Wood is compellingly-written, and Chase has a couple of valid criticisms of modern-day environmentalists. As a fan of Playing God in Yellowstone, I looked forward to reading the book. However, from my vantage point as a journalist with a decade of experience covering West Coast environmental issues, the book is essentally ruined by a cavalier approach to documentable facts.

We're not talking about typos or errors of interpretation here, we're talking inexcusable sloppiness. Noted sports figure Pete Roselle, for instance, is not to my knowledge associated with Earth First, as Chase states on page 310 of the hardcover version. Maybe Chase means Earth First co-founder Mike Roselle? That's the most major of the name glitches, but there seems to be at least one per chapter. Chase refers repeatedly to the "Berkeley Environmental Center" (as opposed to the Ecology Center, the actual and readily verifiable name), to San Jose activist Richard Serina (whose name is really Robert Serina), etc.

These errors, perhaps indicative of a need for greater skill among Houghton Mifflin's editing staff, would be excusable were it not that Chase seems to extend the same careless lackadaisy to allegations more serious than the spelling of a name. He asserts as fact the idea that Earth Firsters called the family of a logger killed on the job to say "he had it coming." What's his source for this allegation? Interviews with two unrelated timber industry advocates. Maybe such a hideously insensitive call happened and maybe it didn't, but Chase couldn't be bothered to corroborate the assertion - by asking the family, for instance - before stating it as bald fact. At another point, Chase castigates environmentalists who sabotage logging equipment as "destroying property of people who make far less money than they do." Oh, really? Did Chase survey those green miscreants and obtain their W-2s for the year? Or is the assertion like so many others in the

I'm all for criticism of the environmental movement, and I almost always enjoy reading books by people I disagree with. But it's one axe so carelessly to the grindstone that it won't cut fog. The two or three good points Chase makes about modern environmentalism are lost in that fog. Chase should have known better