War on the West: Government Tyranny on America's Great Frontier [Hardcover]

William Perry Pendley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his through-the-looking-glass assessment of the environmental state of the western U.S., Pendley, lawyer and former assistant to Interior Secretary James Watt, gets just about everything completely backwards. His absurd contention is that environmentalists, whom he consistently calls ``environmental extremists,'' and government officials (including those in the Bush administration) have banded together in a conspiracy to depopulate the West, keep visitors from our national parks and ``put an end to modern civilization.'' Chapters focus on logging, grazing, mining, water rights, tourism and the Endangered Species Act and abound with assertions that are either unsubstantiated or just plain incorrect. Cattle and sheep grazing on federal land has not improved habitat quality, and insufficient logging has not been responsible for large forest fires, regardless of how many times Pendley claims otherwise. The massive federal subsidies provided to ranchers, loggers and miners are treated as entitlements with no meaningful comment on their significance. The final chapter is a paean to the Wise Use movement, which conveniently omits any discussion of the well-documented violence it has encouraged against environmentalists.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As a lawyer and ex-Reagan administration official, Pendley (It Takes a Hero: The Grassroots Battle Against Enviromental Oppression, Free Enterprise Pr., 1994) comes out swinging in this attack on "environmental extremists" and the federal government. He is a strong proponent of property rights and includes chapters on "wise use" issues such as timber, mining, water, and ranching. But by making such preposterous claims as only those forests that are being logged are thriving, Pendley quickly dashes any semblance of scientific credibility. Written with a legal slant but geared to the layperson, the author's inflammatory arguments often suffer from faulty reasoning and tunnel vision. Recommended only where strong demand is expected. [See also William Kittredge's Who Owns the West?, reviewed on p. 139.?Ed.]?Tim Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, Wash.
-?Tim Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, Wash.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089526482X
• ISBN-13: 978-0895264824
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,217,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, well balanced read. A must read for both sides, September 30, 1999

By 

Cathi Unruh [e-mail] (Beautiful, Brown Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War on the West: Government Tyranny on America's Great Frontier (Hardcover)

Pendley has very fairly presented both sides of the environmental impact of the U.S. Government's impact on takeovers of private lands. Most people that want to keep their private land PRIVATE are exceptionally good stewards of their land. Please read this if you are a private land owner or a total Eco person. A very fair presentation! Eye opening!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really makes one think of what the real plan is., January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: War on the West: Government Tyranny on America's Great Frontier (Hardcover)

This book should be required reading for everyone that thinks the government is to be trusted with all the resources that belong to ALL OF US. The plan is MUCH bigger than we realize. Read this and take note!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some flaws, but persuasive evidence over-all, June 8, 2004

By 

Geoff Pietsch (Gainesville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War on the West: Government Tyranny on America's Great Frontier (Hardcover)

I came across this 1995 book at our library's semi-annual sale and figured I should read how the "other side" (yeah, I'm a Sierra Club member) supports its case. On the whole, Pendley builds a persuasive case about the over-reaching and arrogance of some gov't bureaucrats and environmentalists. His data was, as I said, convincing, but he hurt his own case at times with his unending use of "environmental extremists" to characterize his opposition. He should have let the facts speak for themselves - as they generally did. An analogy: If one were to expose all the dirty dealing of the ENRON folks and the other corporate criminals of recent times and continually call them "capitalist pigs" the reader would likely be put off by the terminology - even though the facts support that conclusion. Pendley must have used "environmental extremists" over 100 times (I got tired of counting) and it detracted from his evidence.
Also, he occasionally cited "facts" that are very hard to believe - and thus cast doubt on his seemingly solid evidence. Example: He says that 94% of visitors to Glacier National Park simply drive through without stopping. Please! If you've been there you know that would be impossible - not to stop at overlooks to take in the incredible views. 94%? Almost 19 of every 20? No way. And his reasoned argument about wolves roaming beyond Yellowstone, where they have been re-established, is hurt by his twice-repeated suggestion that they could rove as far as Denver. Again, Please!
Nevertheless, this is a book that environmentalists need to read. Yes, wilderness and old growth forests need protection, and the polluters need to be stopped, but the people of the West need to be considered and protected too.