Tom's comments (member since Jan 27, 2008)

Tom's comments from the Nature Calls group.

Debra: Thanks for the "World Without Us" tip. I've added it to my reading list.

I'm writing a much longer review of "Something's Fishy" for my fly fishing Web site right now.

Bottlemania has been read, and frankly, the review won't be wholly positive.

I found the book interesting but scattered; an indecisiveness on the part of the author marred the experience for me, and while she has done her research, she waffles on drawing much in the way of conclusions, and definitely soft-pedals some of Nestle's more egregious behaviors.

Then again, I'm embroiled in the battle against Nestle out here in California, so I've seen some of those tactics firsthand.

More as it gets written.

I finished my review of Someting's Fishy by Ted Williams, and while it fired up my blood pressure in a couple places, it was well worth the read.

Knowing the background on what I'll call enviroscandals is useful, at least inasmuch as I'm willing to act on that knowledge.

Plus, there is some comfort to be found in the knowledge that somebody like Williams is out there exposing corruption and greed.

As a marketing writer for the past 23 years, I'm turning at least part of my attention to cause-based marketing, and at the very least, Williams serves as a model for what the committed - yet ethical - writer can accomplish.

In my review, I'm giving it two thumbs up.

Rebecca: I liked the short piece you published in Narrative. I've poked around the site quite a bit. It's an interesting online site, though requiring .pdf downloads for some of the stories seems a little antiquated.

I write several blogs, including the #1 fly fishing blog. It's a great deal of work, but I can't help but notice it provides a stunning platform for launching a self-published book.

Given the largely dismal sales numbers for new fly fishing essay books (a small market), traditional publishing simply won't pay off. Self-publishing to my readership could provide a decent return for my effort.

So while I didn't fire up my TroutUnderground.com blog with a book in mind, it has become a consideration.

Do you consider blogs online publishing?

I'm in the midst of Ted Williams' Something's Fishy, and next up is Elizabeth Royte's Botottlemania.

Both are the work of crusaders; writers exposing environmental problems and those behind them.

Williams -- long known to readers of Fly Rod & Reel magazine -- is especially uncompromising. His well-researched articles hit hard, exposing not just those behind environmental depredation, but their motives and money sources.

His essays often unfold like noir crime novels, and while I enjoy reading them, I also find that one per day is enough.

Protecting the environment from those who would profit from its destruction is rarely pleasant work (for writer or reader).

And I suspect that books like Williams' won't see a fraction of the sales they should, in large part because they're not exactly relaxing reading.

Does anyone seek out "crusader" books, or do you shun them?

When I was young, I stumbled across some leftover "pulp" outdoor fiction. It was laughable stuff, but it interested me in the outdoors.

My first real "nature" literature found me in high school, where I read Thoreau and then immediately stumbled across Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang.

I probably couldn't ask for a more lethal combination as far as nature writing was concerned, and it started me down the road to where I am now (no, I don't know precisely where that is).