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| Book | Searching... Main Library | 333.7209 Hor | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Many of the men and women doing today's most consequential environmental work--restoring America's grasslands, wildlife, soil, rivers, wetlands, and oceans--would not call themselves environmentalists; they would be too uneasy with the connotations of that word. What drives them is their deep love of the land: the iconic terrain where explorers and cowboys, pioneers and riverboat captains forged the American identity. They feel a moral responsibility to preserve this heritage and natural wealth, to ensure that their families and communities will continue to thrive.
Unfolding as a journey down the Mississippi River, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman tells the stories of five representatives of this stewardship movement: a Montana rancher, a Kansas farmer, a Mississippi riverman, a Louisiana shrimper, and a Gulf fisherman. In exploring their work and family histories and the essential geographies they protect, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman challenges pervasive and powerful myths about American and environmental values.
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year.
Author Notes
Miriam Horn is the author of two previous books, including the New York Times best-selling Earth: The Sequel. She works at Environmental Defense Fund and lives in New York City.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Horn (Earth: The Sequel, cowritten with Fred Krupp), a former journalist now at the helm of the clean-energy program at Environmental Defense Fund, shines a light on "conservation heroes" who are leading ambitious environmental initiatives in their communities and beyond. Human activities, such as the overharvesting of fish and the overtilling of fertile soil, continue to compromise the biodiversity of landscapes around the world; to balance the scales, Horn offers redemptive portraits of five stewards of the American heartland whose daily work "has itself become the path to restoration." Unlike the policy makers who remain distant from the practical effects of their policies, these five-a Montana rancher, a Kansas farmer, a Mississippi riverman, a Louisiana shrimper, and a Gulf of Mexico fisherman-are "real Americans" whose "livelihoods and communities will live or die within these ecosystems." Motivated by deep allegiances to the places they live, as well as an understanding of the "irreducible interdependency" between humans and nature, these individuals are taking radical steps toward sustainability: one restores soils depleted through industrial-scale farming methods, and another advocates for fishing regulations that will support the long-term regrowth of threatened red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Horn's intimate profiles reveal undervalued environmental change makers while countering popular notions of what it means to be a conservationist. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In the midst of heated discussions about climate change and global warming, Horn (Earth, the Sequel, 2008) takes a straightforward approach to the topic of conservation by focusing on five different individuals from the American Heartland: a Montana rancher, Kansas farmer, Mississippi river man, Louisiana shrimper, and Gulf of Mexico fisherman. In long profiles, she provides detailed looks at how her subjects live and the interesting, even revolutionary ways in which they have chosen to approach conservation issues. Each lives and works closely with the land or water beneath his or her feet, and each is deeply committed to preserving the ecosystems near his or her home. Refreshingly, in what could have been an extremely political title, Horn and her subjects go out of their way to illustrate how it is only through taking an apolitical and far-reaching view of environmental issues that true success can be found. This broadens the book's appeal considerably as these Americans candidly discuss their positive work, moving past political differences to concrete solutions. Hopeful and educational, Horn's chronicle will educate many readers on how to work together in their hometowns, making this a great choice for nature-minded book groups.--Mondor, Colleen Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In this penetrating book, Horn (Earth: The Sequel) explores the lives and philosophies of five unlikely conservationists: a Montana rancher, a Kansas farmer, a Mississippi riverman, a Louisiana shrimper, and a Gulf fisherman. The Mississippi River watershed-the "immense funnel" that drains more than 40 percent of the continental United States-forms the backdrop of the volume, and readers will learn about the area firsthand from those for whom it's a "working landscape." Although their issues differ, the men and women portrayed share a deep knowledge about their places, a few having family connections going back generations. Horn takes a nuanced look at their environmentalism, noting how they eschew "ideological trenches"; how they strive toward a large, inclusive vision that balances long-term ecological values with immediate economic ones; and how they comprehend the interconnectedness of things, such as how the Kansas farmer's decisions about crop fertilization could impact the fisherman's harvest thousands of miles downstream. Horn's prose flows with the river north to south, neatly reinforcing a recurrent theme of working with nature, not against it. -VERDICT For those with a special interest in environmental issues, this is an essential read; for more general readers, the trip down Ol' Muddy promises a fascinating itinerary.-Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.