A Road Runs Through It: Reviving Wild Places [Paperback]

Thomas Reed Petersen (Editor), Annie Proulx (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2006

This collection of essays from Barry Lopez, Peter Matthiessen, Janisse Ray, and 25 more of our finest nature writers explores the devastation and loss of wildlands of 500,000 miles of roads built in federal forest lands. It also offers hope with restoring these damaged lands through road removal, and preserving some of our finest pristine public wild lands.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"..invites the reader to put on the brakes and rekindle the "close-to-ground wonder" that may save us from ourselves ... -- Rain Taxi Winter 2006/2007

"The most compelling essays within the book are those that seek to understand the public zeal for backcountry roads..." -- Orion January/February 2007

About the Author

Thomas R. Petersen, Development Director of Wildlands CPR, has worked as a fundraiser for not-for-profit environmental groups for eleven years. Tom is also a talented and published nature writer, with essays published in ISLE, Orion Afield, Northern Lights, and Camas: An Environmental Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Johnson Books (July 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555663710
• ISBN-13: 978-1555663711
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,084,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new and provocative nature read . . ., September 27, 2006

By 

R. Kiffin Hope (Montana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Road Runs Through It: Reviving Wild Places (Paperback)

A Road Runs Through It: Reviving Wild Places is a powerful set of essays revolving around the unfortunate overabundance of roads on America's public lands -- many of which are unnecessary and ecologically damaging: fouling streams, dirtying our drinking water, fragmenting habitat, posing safety hazards, and eroding the wild character of some of our most precious landscapes.

Roads, while they have their place in servicing our towns and cities and in providing entryways to beautiful and soul-rejuvenating places, are also a bane. As we learn from the text only 6% of our National Forest lands (not to mention other agency lands) are paved and maintained, leaving 94% as "roads to nowhere". With the U.S. Forest Service reporting a $10 billion backlog in road maintenance, it's high time to remove these unneeded, costly, and damaging roads . . . for the good of local communities, the U.S. economy, and, of course, for wildlife and overall ecological integrity.

With a lineup of authors including Annie Proulx ("Brokeback Mountain"), Barry Lopez (Arctic Dreams), and the late polemicist Edward Abbey among others, this is a sure fire winner of a nature book. Brilliantly edited and with an introduction by environmental writer Thomas Reed Petersen, this book will educate, motivate, and move the reader to action.

A highly recommend read for anyone who loves and wants to protect America's wild places.

Kiffin Hope, Missoula, Montana

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag but generally a good one, September 4, 2007

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Road Runs Through It: Reviving Wild Places (Paperback)

Like many others, I'm increasingly disgusted by roads and the way they grow like weeds around our country. This book was collected by Thomas Reed Petersen on behalf of Wildlands CPR, a group that seeks wildlife restoration and road removal. All royalties go to Wildlands CPR, if that influences your buying decision.

The book collects about two dozen essays, of average to high quality, on the subject of roads on public lands. The styles and purposes are varied indeed, including polemics, public policy papers, meditations, and journalism. There are several classic authors such as Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, Peter Matthiessen - - and an introduction by Annie Proulx.

Many essays discuss the problems of roads on national forest lands, which were built to serve a clearcut and then abandoned. However, the more striking group of essays discusses the problems of off-highway vehicles (mostly all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles), which have become a bane for those who love nature.

Not everything in here is a winner. Depending on your interests, however, you'll likely to find a half-dozen or more essays that you particularly enjoy.