| 
The
cover photo by Northwest photographer Bob Herger shows a Sitka spruce
grove.
Author
John J. Berger
|
Reviews
of
Forests Forever:
Their Ecology, Restoration, and Protection
by
John J. Berger
forthcoming
in January 2008 from the Center for American Places and Forests
Forever Foundation
From Booklist:
Berger,
who has published several books on the environment, provides an
in-depth look at the history and present dangers facing American
forests. He makes a point of stating that “the nation has
neither Democratic nor Republican forests,” and is as likely
to cite the Clinton administration as that of George W. Bush for
supporting laws that are detrimental to healthy forests. Berger
reminds readers that forest conservation does not have its roots
in public policy as a “simple love of forests,” but
rather is based on “a modern, rational, and scientifically
oriented reaction to the unregulated and wasteful destruction of
forests and other natural resources so common in early America.”
From a definition of the word forest to discussion of the
spotted owl and clear cutting, Berger carefully considers the way
in which people misunderstand their dependence upon trees and woods.
An excellent treatise on a subject that is often discussed but rarely
studied, Forests Forever is the go-to guide for serious
readers seeking to understand the politics of forestry.
—Colleen Mondor
From Library Journal:
A revised and expanded version of environmental consultant Berger’s
1998 Understanding Forests, this is a short book that reads
long: a survey, with an emphasis on U.S. forestry issues, of forest
ecology, economics, and management; forest and conservation history;
forest laws and policies; timber practices; international forestry;
and forest restoration. This is not a book to enchant but one to
incite. Sure to get the reader’s attention is Berger’s
discussion of the current Bush administration’s baleful rollback
of fundamental environmental laws and regulations; likewise, Berger’s
examination of the behemoth that is the U.S. Forest Service. Berger’s
analysis of a complex topic brings a few key dichotomies into stark
relief, i.e., the political cycle of four to six years vs. the forest
tree cycle of hundreds to thousands of years; the value of wood
pulp vs. the value of standing trees; and clear-cut logging vs.
more sustainable harvesting methods. The final chapter on how to
plant trees may strike some readers as superfluous, though others
may consider this simple act the ultimate activist gesture. A recommended
purchase for any library where forest-policy wonks, concerned citizens,
activists, and students are among its patrons.
—Robert
Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont.
Reviews
of Understanding Forests (Sierra Club Books, 1998)
Author
Biography and Publisher Information
Back
to Forests Forever: Their Ecology, Restoration and Protection
Forests
Forever homepage
|
