Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra
"Nature Noir is the story of Jordan Fisher Smith's fourteen years as a park ranger on forty-eight miles of Sierra Nevada river canyons." "The gorgeous government-owned land along the American River that Smith and his band of fellow rangers have pledged to protect is condemned to be inundated by a huge dam. As Smith learns from his first day on patrol, the pr ...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
May 3rd 2006
by Mariner Books
(first published February 8th 2005)
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I had a great time reading this book. The author, a former park ranger (I found out why he is no longer a ranger in the last chapter), writes about the 14 years he spent working in and around California's Auburn State Recreation Area. He illustrates with many examples how park rangers must function as law enforcement officers because of all the crimes committed on park land (poaching, destroying the environment, domestic violence, substance abuse issues of all kinds, fighting, killing, suicide ...more
The title and cover may be good marketing, but are misleading. Although crime (and murder) investigation enter into Smith's story, the book is not really about police and thieves. Although the cover picture is the high Sierra, the book does not really take place in remote wilderness.
Smith worked as a California park ranger for a decade plus in the foothills of the Sierras, at the Auburn State Recreation Area. During that time, from 1986 to 1998, this was a no man's land in the st ...more
Smith worked as a California park ranger for a decade plus in the foothills of the Sierras, at the Auburn State Recreation Area. During that time, from 1986 to 1998, this was a no man's land in the st ...more
I honestly can not recommend this book more. Non-fiction from hobby writers can be dry at times, but this was vivid and amazingly complex. The author does not give himself enough credit for the quality of his work! It is especially interesting for anyone who lives in or has lived in central eastern California, where the author spent the majority of his career.
Not only is "Nature Noir" full of interesting information and creative story telling, but I found the style particul ...more
Not only is "Nature Noir" full of interesting information and creative story telling, but I found the style particul ...more
Nature Noir – Jordan Fisher Smith
This is not what you’d expect from a book by a former park ranger about his years protecting our park land in Northern California. Smith’s beat was the region around the Sierra Nevada river canyons – the Auburn Damn area. A passionate nature lover and committed ranger, he finds himself in a land filled with squatters, drug users and seedy gun totting characters.
The book is both funny and dark and at times heart breaking. Smith is a beautiful w ...more
This is not what you’d expect from a book by a former park ranger about his years protecting our park land in Northern California. Smith’s beat was the region around the Sierra Nevada river canyons – the Auburn Damn area. A passionate nature lover and committed ranger, he finds himself in a land filled with squatters, drug users and seedy gun totting characters.
The book is both funny and dark and at times heart breaking. Smith is a beautiful w ...more
I received this book as an unexpected loan at work. It just showed up in my mailbox one day with a post-it note from a coworker, a bio tech in the natural resources division. The note said that it had been interesting to read what law enforcement rangers do and that he thought I might enjoy the book (and, if I wasn't interested, to pass it on to one of the other rangers).
I borrowed the book I hadn't asked to borrow, expecting to find lots of war stories. I wasn't disappointed in ...more
I borrowed the book I hadn't asked to borrow, expecting to find lots of war stories. I wasn't disappointed in ...more
Finally--the dark underbelly of state parks exposed!! Actually I did find this book quite fascinating. Although I hadn't really considered it before, it makes sense that there is a certain "lawlessness" that goes on inside state/national parks. Once in the interior, you can get the feeling that you're cut off from society-at-large and seemingly live by your own rules. I learned a lot about human nature from the incidents recorded by Ranger Smith (yes, for real) from his true-life exper ...more
His focus is on both nature and political issues. Details evoke people and place in the Sierra foothills. From Publishers Weekly:
"Slated to be drowned by a dam, the California state park patrolled by the author of this haunting memoir is a "condemned landscape" of gorgeous river canyons hemmed in by exurban sprawl and peopled by eccentric gold miners, squatting families, drug dealers and miscellaneous drunken, gun-waving rowdies, a place where "turkey vultures floated. ...more
"Slated to be drowned by a dam, the California state park patrolled by the author of this haunting memoir is a "condemned landscape" of gorgeous river canyons hemmed in by exurban sprawl and peopled by eccentric gold miners, squatting families, drug dealers and miscellaneous drunken, gun-waving rowdies, a place where "turkey vultures floated. ...more
Fascinating narrative for a number of reasons. A local (for me) park ranger describes the dark, threatening and apocalyptic aspects of an important watershed I know very well - the author creates a new genre of hardboiled nature crime non-fiction that made me wonder at times about the sanity of Mr. Smith. The last couple of pages addresses the curious style of madness that makes this book such an interesting read.
I enjoyed this book, but also found it a little all over the place. On one hand, the author provides a great portrait of a gritty area. On the other hand, he discusses the Auburn Dam, and how one interacts with a place whose fait is uncertain. I was unconvinced as to how the two were connected. It seems like he had a bunch of good ideas, but tried to smush too many ways of telling one story into a single book. That said, the prose was wonderful, and it evoked the canyons in the ways I remembered ...more
An unexpectedly well-written account of the author's experiences as a ranger on the American River in California. Lots of interesting asides on the geology of the region and on the history of national parks, as well as on the decades-long attempt to dam the American at Auburn. A good read.
I really enjoyed this one! Very well-written, with incredible descriptions. I grew up in the mountains (back east) and have spent considerable time hiking, snowshoeing and fishing in the mountains in California, so a lot of what the author was describing was familiar if not interesting.
Best quote, though, has to be this statement:
"It was popular belief among law enforcement working the valley that this particular individual was a few tacos short of a combo platter..." ...more
Best quote, though, has to be this statement:
"It was popular belief among law enforcement working the valley that this particular individual was a few tacos short of a combo platter..." ...more
There were a few minutes in my younger days when I considered living the life of a ranger. Then I looked at the qualification exam for becoming one and noticed that it was full of questions about law enforcement. Not for me. So, I enjoyed these essays which allowed me to vicariously experience the road not taken, and was pleasantly reminded of the Sierra scenery.
An interesting perspective on being a park ranger. The writing style was kind of...underdeveloped.
Nov 25, 2009
Greg Grossi
added it
Interesting take on the job of a park ranger.
This was written by a guy who worked as a park ranger at Auburn State Park just east of Sacramento. At the time that the guy was working, there was a big dam project and the part of the park that he was to “police” was supposed to be flooded when the dam was completed. The dam project was later shut down because of seismic activity at another site. If a dam broke, it would flood Sacramento. The ranger tells his stories about the park and who and what he finds there
I generally don't like reading memoirs because they too often ramble without purpose through a tangled life we can't possibly know. This one time, the format works for me. To steal a quote from the Seattle Times, it certainly is "...By turns funny, poignant, and surprising...an intimate memoir of the career of a park ranger."
This was a cool book. Being a park ranger seems like such a fun job. This gave a whole new perspective of what it is like. Away from Yellowstone or the other big parks, being a ranger means almost being like a city cop. Yet at the same time, showed off the rewards of being in nature for a job.
Just when you thought you'd seen every side of human nature displayed by californians in their native environment Smith describes some people, circumstances, and politics that prove we can always get a little crazier than we thought was possible.
I decided to re-read this as I am now intimately familiar with the area that the author patrolled. I remembered liking it before, but now had a clearer picture of the people and places, and I think I enjoyed it even more.
Very interesting book if you like local history. Written by an ex-forest ranger about his days on duty in the Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills (particularly Auburn). Talk about the wild west.
Not what I had hoped; the experiences were more depressing and caustic than I was expecting. And the language was foul. I actually only read half the book before quitting.
First book, but very readable, learned about the frustration of the Forest Service along with the rewards. At times some very good writing, other times kind of clunky.
it's a dark and mysterious world. We really owe a lot to these folks who give their lives to the parks and get very little thanks!
Not so much noir as day to day conservation woes. Interesting in parts, dull in others.
Sums up the crunk-ocity of the foothills and ties it with a bow. Yosemite Sam lives.
Entertaining but of little substance.
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