The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960 (Paperback)
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Description
The Quiet World is an epic history of the grassroots activists and artists who, with the U.S. federal government, saved vast reaches of wild Alaska from 1879 to 1960. Beginning with naturalist John Muir, who explored the towering glaciers of the Inside Passage, and ending with President Dwight Eisenhower, who created the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Brinkley showcases how extraction industry bigwigs were outfoxed by a colorful gallery of “wilderness believers,” including Bull Moose presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt, indomitable U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, photographer Ansel Adams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Rachel Carson, and many others. Brinkley also details conservationists’ inspiration to protect Alaska’s natural resources for future generations and tells incredible stories of its wildlife.
The Quiet World is an ode to the great Alaskan outdoors, and as we grapple with the perils of global warming and oil spills, it is essential reading.
About the Author
Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. His most recent books are The Quiet World, The Wilderness Warrior, and The Great Deluge. Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He lives in Texas.
Praise for The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960…
“A poignant cautionary tale for policymakers considering quick get-rich fixes to long-term problems with ecological implications. . . . In Brinkley’s hands, the still-raging battle to save Alaska’s wild character is riveting.”
-The Christian Science Monitor
“Engrossing. . . . The Quiet World brims over with information and insight, passion and insistence. . . . A bit like Alaska itself: large, formidable, raw and ultimately unforgettable.”
-The Washington Post
“Brinkley carves well-known figures with the tools of a skilled biographer. . . . This volume is required reading for anyone even mildly interested in the antecedents to U.S. environmental policy in the 21st century.”
-The Los Angeles Times
“An important book.”
-The Houston Chronicle
“A richly detailed, passionate and partisan account. . . . In lush prose, [Brinkley] captures Alaska’s pristine beauty.”
-The Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A very readable history of the preservationist movement across the nation.”
-The Seattle Times