Earth's Vanishing Forests [Hardcover]

Roy A. Gallant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1992

Discusses the ecology of rain forests, the problem posed by the present danger to rain forests, and possibilities for the future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-- Having travelled to an unspoiled tropical rain forest in the Caribbean and a the devastated temperate one in Washington state, Gallant uses a personal approach that creates a tone of urgency and anguish. He devotes the first third of the book to statistics and specific cases that present a discouraging picture of political shortsightedness and greed. The irreversible damage of deforestation on land, flora and fauna, and people of a region, as well as its global impact are all considered. It is therefore disappointing that the writing is awkward, repetitious, and characterized by stereotypes, cliches, and questionable terminology. There is no anthropological evidence that the migrants from Asia to North America 12,000 years ago were ``bronze-skinned people with mongoloid features.'' To say that ``The two groups (Efe and Lese) have come to depend on one another. . . as surely as other organisms'' is insensitive and condescending. That ``mosquitoes prowl'' and ``. . . termites may chew up your garage'' may be colorful but hardly accurate , and use of ``critter'' is unscientific. Chapter subheadings do not reflect the material contained. Accompanying black-and-white charts, maps, and photographs are adequate, but the captions are at times dated and imprecise. Nations's Tropical Rainforests (Watts, 1988) and Mutel's Tropical Rain Forests (Lerner, 1991) are better sources.
- Meryl Silverstein, Docent, American Museum of Natural History, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

At last, a book explaining deforestation that isn't afraid to name multinational corporations as the primary culprits. In just a few pages, Gallant explains why forests (especially rain forests) are vital to the earth's health, leaving plenty of space for fascinating details of rain-forest life (plant, animal, human) as well as the vicious processes of deforestation in Brazil, Central America, Africa, and the Pacific Northwest. Colorful adjectives, interesting syntax, and human-interest elements sprinkled among the factual accounts make the text easy to read. Given the gloomy prospects for primary forests, Gallant's call for humans to leave them alone may be unrealistic; still, nothing else can save them, as his examples of the timber industry's ``voodoo forestry'' make clear. Gallant does balance his account with the perspective of timber workers, beset with corporate production quotas on one hand and environmentalist pressure on the other. Extensive bibliography; glossary; index & photos not seen. (Nonfiction. 11+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (February 28, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027357740
• ISBN-13: 978-0027357745
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,842,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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