Jennifer Price (2)

Not engaging, not provocative. I just didn't feel like I was reading anything illuminating. Some tidbits from her extensive research were interesting, but mostly it was stuff I already know and actually do understand.

And most aspects of her thesis do fall apart if one substitutes the word Wilderness for the word Nature. For example she argues that the crap people buy at the mall is made from Nature, the wood, paper, even petroleum products. Sure, but that doesn't mean we have to find a way to be comfortable connecting to Nature by buying products from The Nature Company.

But Wilderness - now *that* truly is Not-Artifice, and Real, and A Place Apart. Those of us who *don't* go to the mall or watch Dr. Quinn or crave an SUV do indeed draw the line firmly and know when we cross it. We don't need Price to help us feel less anxious and ambivalent about our place in modern America; we can navigate our own path.

If you're not sure how green you are, or if you want to redefine yourself in terms of how you treat Mother Earth, read the introduction and last two pages of this. If you're intrigued, read the rest. Otherwise, just keep on doing the best you can.… (más)

I picked this book up from the thrift store, no realizing that it was written in 2000. That isn't a bad thing - the writing is interesting, subject matter is important. But, its written for a baby boomer audience. The material, especially in later chapters, is generally an ode to why we like malls and fake nature. I get it - I really do. As a kid, I loved the nature store. It was amazing, full of cool stuff, but I outgrew it, and so did society. The stores seemed to go out of business a few years later, and malls have gone out of favor.

The first chapter about the passenger pigeon was extremely poignant - that people thought they could kill massive amounts of the bird and there not be consequences. The thought that the birds were just over the mountain, or in the country next door is mind boggling. In this day and age of the endangered species act, polar bears starving, and cute giant pandas, its hard to think of a time when species extinction wasn't part the collective conscious.

As a book, the author is knowledgeable, and its well researched. But, I think that book is put together for a different audience, in a different time. The topics covered are still valid, but the focus presented in this volume is outdated.… (más)