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oriole_scott
Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Articles: 1 Comments: 0 Location: the cornfields |
Posted: 1/17/2005, 9:19 pm |
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I'll be honest: I didn't finish this book. After Fleischner bored me to tears with his exhaustive history of the Taylor Grazing Act, I didn't have the temerity to read the last chapter. But I did read enough to know that I didn't enjoy this book, and I'd suggest you stay away.
The book describes the geological, natural, and human history the Escalante canyons region of southern Utah. If you've been there, then you know this is an amazing place filled with sinuous canyons and otherworldly slickrock formations. The book goes into great detail about certain subjects, leaving out others altogether. For instance, you'll learn all you'd ever want to know about the delineation between the Fremont and Anasazi cultures. But almost nothing is said about the role of flash floods in shaping the canyons. And there's an entire chapter on the history of cattle grazing in the region, with detailed treatments of congressional debates over grazing legislation. The author's point, that grazing is bad, could have been made with 90% fewer words. Fleischner is a good writer, but I think he did a poor job of choosing what to emphasize. There are some interesting sections in the book, but there is a lot that I could have lived without, and I didn't learn very much.
If you are interested in this region, I'd suggest any of Edward Abbey's nonfiction books, which usually include quite a bit of natural history and geology. Beyond the Wall is quite good. |
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RedRoxx44 Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Articles: 35 Comments: 1
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Posted: 1/18/2005, 6:36 pm Post subject: Singing Stone |
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I have this book and agree with you, had to read it in sections to be able to finish it. |
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RedRoxx44 Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Articles: 35 Comments: 1
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Posted: 1/18/2005, 6:36 pm Post subject: Singing Stone |
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I have this book and agree with you, had to read it in sections to be able to finish it. |
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