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Encounters with the Archdruid
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Encounters with the Archdruid discussion
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Becky
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Dec 30, 2018 09:53AM
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I have just begun rereading this after several years. What I notice in the first part of section one is two protagonists, each with a unique appreciation of nature and with competing views of how that appreciation should impact our actions.
McPhee discusses this book and the process of writing it extensively in Draft no. 4, his book on the writing process. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...I happily read the book since he is rated by many as the top living nonfiction author in the English language.
I have finished the first section. The contrast between Brower and Park is interesting. Both love the outdoors. They reveal the diversity of what that can mean within an industrialized society.
I read this book maybe 30 years ago and while I enjoyed it, I don’t remember too much of it. I looked to take it out of the library, but there is a waiting list. I heard McPhee read from his book “Rising From The Plains” also about 30 years ago at Stony Brook University. It was very interesting.
I will read it again the Archdruid book again when it becomes available, and try and add something to the discussion.
In the middle section, we encounter a real estate developer named Fraser. He an Brower find surprising point of agreement.
Was a bit late in reading this selection -- Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee is an interesting narrative of differing views on environmentalism and the ongoing conundrum of conservation versus preservation.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

