Living in the Runaway West: Partisan Views from Writers on the Range [Paperback]

High Country News (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The preface of this collection describes its broad-based political essence: "In the public domainDthe more than 500 million acres of land that are the birthright of every AmericanDanother revival of sorts is underway." Compiled from previously published articles in the Colorado-based monthly High Country News, the two- to three-page essays are organized into six categoriesD"Growing Pains," "Myth Busting," "Whose Public Domain?," "Political Turmoil," "The Nature of the West," and "Culture Clash"Dand discuss issues currently under debate regarding the New West. In "A Newcomer's Old Story," for instance, Paul Larmer discusses the "many shades of nativeness" that hold and divide the West. He further states, "The West has always been a place in motion, culturally and biologically." It is this motion that paces the great debates that have evolved, from native tribes, to mountain men, to settlers, to real-estate developers and the people they encompass. In "The Smell of a Forest Healing," Rocky Barker addresses the use of fire as a management tool to maintain ecosystem integrity. The essays reflect the environmental mission of High Country News and the opinions of a growing population, both within and beyond the New West. Recommended for public libraries and all libraries in the West.DSue Samson, Univ. of Montana Lib., Missoula
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (August 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555910483
• ISBN-13: 978-1555910488
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,851,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection of short essays on the West, December 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Living in the Runaway West: Partisan Views from Writers on the Range (Paperback)

High Country News is a biweekly newspaper about live and issues of the Western United States. The short pieces in "Living in the Runaway West" are from its syndicated column "Writers on the Range." The book is a great collection of those essays, most of which are between two and three pages long -- the perfect length for browsing and getting your "West fix." The essays cover plenty of topics, from environmental controversies like dams and mines to the social repercussions of picking out-of-the-way small towns in which to live. I'd recommend this collection to anyone interested in the West, contemporary environmental issues, and the outdoors in general.

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Living in the Runaway Mountain Time Zone., July 28, 2001

By 

Philip Carl "EcoAngler" (Half Moon Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living in the Runaway West: Partisan Views from Writers on the Range (Paperback)

Yes, "Living in the Runaway Mountain Time Zone" would be a much better suited title for this book. Apparently the editors of HCN were playing hooky when U.S. geography was being taught in their rural schools. The last time I checked "those wine drinking, cheese-eating" Californians watched the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean long after the rest of the country. But as a large part of the West, both geographically and politically, California is a no-show in the "Runaway West."

Otherwise, if you can fight through the tired sterotypes that are littered throughout most of the writings, then you might be rewarded.