The Fight to Save the Redwoods: A History of Environmental Reform, 1917-1978

by Susan R. Schrepfer

Traces the efforts of the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations to save the California redwood, and discusses the controversy that surrounded the national parks movement

338 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1983

Reviews

[Matt Gladue · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional book in that it pursues three intersecting trends to explain important shifts in environmental history and the environmental movement. The book is a thorough case study of a prolonged, high profile campaign for Redwoods National Park. It also expertly documents intellectual shifts in thinking about evolution in concert with growing middle class anxiety and opposition to technology, corporate power, and political authority. As such, it does more to explain the rise of the Sierra Club and the rise of postwar environmentalism more effectively than anything I’ve read to date.

[Virginia Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another one I call "foundational" for learning about the history of the environmental "movement" (sorry, I just choke when I type this word) in America. It's backed-up with footnotes and documentation. It is a fascinating look at how in the end, everything seems to come down to human personalities--that despite good intentions, we just cannot get over ourselves.

A must for anyone involved in the quest...