From Library Journal
Manning, formerly a reporter covering environmental stories for the Missoulan in Missoula, Montana, tells us what happened when he wrote a series of articles revealing the rape of western Montana's forests by two corporate giants who had taken over timberlands from Anaconda Mining Co. He had good reason to believe that they pressured the newspaper into firing him. Though these are the bare bones of the story, he interweaves the history of forests and their exploitation, the attitudes of his two grandfathers toward trees (one, a farmer, hated them and wanted to cut them all down; the other, a woodsman, cared for his woods and made a living from them), and vivid glimpses of wildfires to make the book much more than a frustrated reporter's news story. He is sympathetic toward the "little people" caught in the middle--the loggers who have to cut and harvest as fast as they can, devastating the land, or else lose their jobs; the conscientious foresters who try to stem the destructive tide; local officials who are powerless against big money. Recommended for its good writing and environmental interest.
- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs., New Milford, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs., New Milford, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
