Book Description
Naipaul's controversial account of his travels through the Islamic world was hailed by The New Republic as "the most notable work on contemporary Islam to have appeared in a very long time."
Customer Reviews:
Incisive and Brilliant.......2007-09-02
Notwithstanding hysterical criticisms leveled in negative reviews here, Naipaul does a great job pointing out the basic emptiness of religious fundamentalism. Of course, it focuses on Islam, but blame that on the times: in the early eighties, where was Naipaul supposed to find--say--Catholic fundamentalism?
Naipaul presents his commentary as a travelogue--very creative! By letting his characters speak for themselves, he avoids overt and heavy-handed commentary. But the points he makes are very clear, very true, and--if your sympathies lie with the other side--fatal to fundamentalism.
The central insight--to me, anyway--was that Islamic fundamentalism is all about controlling women. In this respect, of course, it is similar to all fundamentalism, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Shinto, whatever. But it does reveal the moral and intellectual bankruptcy at the heart of all fundamentalism.
Great book!
Still The Best Portrait of Modern Islam.......2007-08-05
A masterful view of modern Islam from the bottom up by one of the most perceptive observers of modern culture we have. This book is especially interesting because it was written on the cusp of the emergence of public awareness of the importance of conflicts between Islam and the Judeo-Christian west, and thus the narrative is not encumbered by a need to look at things through a political lens. These are wonderful human portraits, and thus engaging and useful.
Better than Naipaul's Fiction.......2007-05-24
I was reading this book on September 11th, 2001 in preparation for a trip to Cairo, Egypt that I subsequently cancelled. I literally had the book open as the first plane hit the World Trade Center - I know because I was exercising on a stair master in a gym on the Jersey side of the Hudson, with a clear view of the towers.
The attack on the towers was so stunningly awful (in part because I had 2 friends with an office on the 95th floor) that I left after I saw the huge fireball and forgot to retrieve the book. The next day someone had put it in the trash. I didn't bother to take it out because I had almost finished reading.
For some reason, I don't like Naipaul's fiction, but am not sure why. However, I found "Among the Believers" much more engaging: particularly with regard to its insights into the contradictions of life in Iran as well as the discussion of strict Islam in northern Pakistan.
If you find such topics interesting, and enjoy fiction, you might try a recently published novel, SAUDI MATCH POINT from Blacksmith Books. It's a thriller, set entirely in Saudi Arabia - the strictest of all Islamic societies. The writing is clear, concise, and suspenseful. Plus it gives insights into the cultural side of Islam and how the nation's interpretation of the religion affects different classes of people who happen to live there - from the underclass and women, to the privileged elite and Shi'ite minority, as well as to foreigners working in separate enclaves.
Concise, observant and still incredibly relevant........2007-04-25
Belief is a peculiar thing. It can promote optimism, unite people, provide social cohesion and stabilize governments, economies and cultures. Conversely it can fragment social systems, promote suspicion, stagnate progress and entrench a worldview so bound by its own circular logic, it begins to consume itself.
V.S. Naipaul writes convincingly, critically and often with a detached sadness of his journeys in the Muslim nations of Iran, Pakistan and Malaysia. Of intense interest to Westerners hoping to better understand these three non-Arab Muslim nations are a few key themes Naipaul hammers away at: How do these Muslim nations, with populaces often aggravated with the West, reconcile their use of Western technology, Western medicine, Western business theory and Western pop culture? How do Muslim emigrants and exchange students from the aforementioned countries reconcile their orthodox beliefs with the freedom and egalitarianism they encounter in the West? How do Western-educated Muslims reconcile their exploitation of Western openness, with their desire to suppress the very same freedoms in the countries they return to? How does Islam syncretize the cultural practices and regional religions that predated the introduction of Islam? What are the ramifications when an institutionalized faith supplants logic, ethics and the self-critique needed for national growth?
The answers to these questions are fascinating, illuminating, frightening and often humorous. Instead of broad anthropological observations, Naipaul actually finds the answers to these questions by spending an enormous amount of time with individuals at all levels of the social strata. He asks questions, interviewing incessantly, probing, prodding, finding out what makes the people in these societies tick. The results of his exhausting character profiles are fascinating.
Of intense relevance are the conclusions that Naipaul wasn't able to draw in 1981 when Among the Believers was published. We could expound upon Naipaul's observations then and hypothesize that as the exhausting attempts to create a romanticized, modern day "pure" Islamic state (complete with archaic Islamic law, Koranic-inspired science, usury-free banking, orthodox social customs, education, etc.) fail over and over again in places like Pakistan, Iran and Malaysia; extremism increasingly takes hold. The West with its obsession with modernity and radical free thinking becomes enemy number one. The "faith" must increasingly find outward enemies when attempts to succeed from within fail.
A fascinating, gripping journey into a world most of us will never know but increasingly need to understand.
Brilliant PsychoAnalysis.......2007-04-07
Naiapul has a keen sense of observation and the most astute mind to have a look at things that are not easily discernible to most of social scientists. In this seminal work, Naipaul shows how Muslims in Non Arab regions are twice colonized people. Naipaul covers the history , geography and culture of varied Moslems in this book. The books finds out how an Arab faith imposed on local peoples has destroyed their individuality and capability to think freely. Books like these have made Naipaul a NObel prize winner. This book is a must read for all who wish to understand the devastating effects of Islam
Customer Reviews:
Indispensible.......2007-09-17
I'm surprised there are not more reviews of this book. Since September 11th, I've been engaged in trying to understand Islam and western Asia, both doctrinally and historically, like so many other people. My intent is not to confirm a political agenda but simply to understand and form a reasonable perspective from which to judge the near future, or at least to be able to exclude as more or less unlikely judgments prevailing in the public discourse. Generally my method is simple: I seek out books written in times of political quiescence with respect to a given region, religious debate, historical argument, or what have you. I think it is the best way to approach a remote subject about which one simply seeks an honest picture.
To that end, I regard VS Naipual's Among the Believers as invaluable. Written as a memoir of a journey undertaken simply for its interest and in rather complete ignorance of what he might find - a perspective mirroring most Western readers, and certainly this reader - the book records Naipaul's interaction with specific people in specific positions in specific milieu in specific countries: Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia. The trip occurred over several months (it's actually difficult to tell how long he spent there, exactly) during 1981, beginning in Iran, a couple years after the Revolution and during a period in which the Islamic aspect was completing its dominance of a movement that had been accomplished with the significant support of liberals and Communists.
The value primarily consists in Naipaul's naive mentality. He meets people, he describes the food, the manner of the waiters, the dreams of the youth he meets, the attitudes and philosophies of journalists, mullahs, revolutionaries, students, petit bourgeoisie, peasants, pilgrims - whoever. He comes to them as a foreigner and imparts the mundane experiences of what, one feels, any literate foreigner is also likely to experience. It is this perspective that a non-Iranian, -Pakistani, -Sunni, -whatever is unlikely to acquire without himself visiting. Moreover the trip occurred during a period the significance of which is very prominent in the minds of those he meets, but unappreciated - at least by me.
Carried along by Naipaul's enviably effortless and unadorned prose style, the result is a travelogue and walkabout through the non-Arab Muslim world that illuminates those countries in ways no person considering the present geopolitical conflict can afford to be without. I predict this book will do more than any other to impart a sense of what the people in these countries themselves think about what has occurred and is occurring there, about the then-contemporary direction of the Muslim world, and about the greater world outside. If there is a better book for this kind of necessary thing, I haven't yet found it.
5 stars.
General assumptions will lead to wrong conclusions........2006-10-11
V.S Naipaul should have stuck with writing fiction because his transition to non-fiction based on selected observations of Islamic practices based on some "Muslim countries" is appauling.
He states (being an Indian-born author) that Pakistan was founded on a religious basis (which is true). However he then attributes its economic and democratic failures to its founding religious doctrine.
This logic is as absurd considering India was founded on secular democracy but it had an incompetent economy similar to Pakistan for the past 55 years. Indeed relative GDP per capita of both India and Pakistan are almost equal.
Then what ideology would Naipaul claim to explain the far lower standard of living for Hindu Nepal and Buddhist Bhutan, another two South Asian states?
Thus though his observations are compelling to a reader unfamiliar with the basic comprehension of South Asain politics, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism; his arguments doesn't hold water with anyone cursory familiar with the former topics.
An Observer's Travelogue for Seekers.......2006-06-07
This book was part of my set of books I read while on a quest to understand Islam and Islamic peoples. The set includes Karen Armstrong's Islam, the Barron's Islam, Huston Smith's The World's Religions, The Essential Koran, and the Koran itself (translated, of course). Armed with a topical understanding of Islam, I began reading V. S. Naipal's Among the Believers. Wow. This is the book to understand some of the religious and political attitudes of people in Islamic countries. There are surprises and there are cases where Naipal establishes just what are the "balances".
Naipal is a world class writer (Nobel prize winner) so the writing is excelent. However, more importantly, his observations are compelling. For example he suggestmhow "not having to earn a living" in Iran because of the huge oil revenues has skewed politics and religion. He explores how Islamic institutions in Pakistan, a country founded so it could be totally Islamic, have failed but no one will blame Islam - rather they blame the weak faith of the people or Western ideas. He also presents a spectrum of attitudes toward Islam even within these strong Islamic societies.
BTW, there is another edition of this book that has many customer reviews to view also.
Average customer rating:
|
Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey
V. S. Naipaul
Manufacturer: Penguin Putnam~trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Social History
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Islamic
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0140056173 |
Book Description
Naipaul’s controversial account of his travels through the Islamic world, hailed by The New Republic as “the most notable work on contemporary Islam to have appeared in a very long time.”
Product Description
This book is divided into five parts "Iran : The Twin Revolutions", "Pakistan : The Salt Hills of a Dream", "Conversations in Malaysia : The Primitive Faith", "Indonesia : Usurpations", "Reprise : The Society of Believers"
Customer Reviews:
Order of Indian Wars of the United States Book Review.......2006-05-15
For decades to come this will be the standard reference work on this topic. Superbly researched utilizing not only the usual American sources, but the previously untapped archives of Spain and Great Britain. Owsley has integrated the Creek War into the larger framework of the War of 1812 causing the reader at some point to pronounce "Eureka" as you begin to acquire a whole new perspective on Andrew Jackson and the conflict with Great Britain.
This may easily be the best history on the Creek War of 1813-1814. What could have been a completely altered history of the United States - if Andrew Jackson had not been in command, if he would have hesitated only weeks from the crucible campaign concluding at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, if the British would have landed the state-of-the-art muskets, artillery, military advisors/trainers, and cavalry accoutrements several weeks earlier than they did, if the Spanish had been more pro-active than they were for the Creeks, etc. - would have prevented us from our Manifest Destiny! I never before have read all of this with such fervor, explanation, and detail. Owsley makes the point that too many of our historians have belittled our accomplishments in these two interrelated wars and downplayed their significance. Often we have been led to believe that the War of 1812 was a "draw." He makes the point that it was on balance a resounding victory.
Jackson's being in the right place at the right time for the Battle of New Orleans would not have occurred but for his role in the Creek War and the overwhelming victory achieved. We would not have had the experienced and trained troops in place under his command but for the Creek War. And, inasmuch as the British did not recognize the validity of the Louisiana Purchase, if they had won the Battle of New Orleans then the Treaty of Ghent signed in December 1814 would not have applied to any claims that they would have asserted over New Orleans, Louisiana, and their planned buffer states under the Creek Indians and their allies. The frontier would have been inflamed and we would have had strong buffer Indian states with which to contend and two mutually supportive European powers. All of this was prevented by Andrew Jackson and his juggernaut victory at Horseshoe Bend. The sheer quantum of international intrigue taking place at Pensacola and throughout the Gulf area is enlightening.
This book is highly recommended by this reviewer. You will receive a whole new perspective on Andrew Jackson and his brave Tennessee and Georgia troops in the Creek War.
The War of 1812 in the South.......2002-01-11
Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands is the best single book on the often-overlooked Gulf Coast Theater of the War of 1812. Well written and researched, Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands brings to light several little understood aspects of the War of 1812. First, it illustrates the previously overlooked interrelation of the Creek War and the bearing it had on the outcome of the War of 1812.
Secondly, it details all military and political actions on the Gulf Coast leading up to the Battle of New Orleans. Most books focus only on the events of the battle, ignoring the many actions that had a direct influence on how the Battle of New Orleans was fought. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands describes these events so one can understand thier impact on the outcome of the battle itself.
Lastly, Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands brings to light the divergent Southern opinion that the War of 1812 was a great military victory. From the Southern perspective, victory was nearly complete; the Creeks had been destroyed (opening more land for settlement); the Mobile territory had been annexed; and a major British invasion had been decisively stopped. The book contrasts this Southern perspective to the typical Northern view that the War of 1812 was at best a draw, which is the general view put forward by the majority of books on this subject.
Overall, the book is readable and informative. It is important for the new ideas and information it brings to the history of an area and a period. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in either the Creek War or the War of 1812.
Amazon.com
Archer Daniels Midland--popularly known as ADM, the "Supermarket to the World"--spends millions on ads during Sunday morning TV talk shows and on public radio to burnish its popular image. But behind the façade lies a vicious business eager to fix prices with its competitors and employ prostitutes in corporate espionage, according to James B. Lieber's muckraking account, Rats in the Grain. Lieber tells the story of why the FBI raided ADM's Illinois headquarters in 1995, as well as the events leading up to the raid and the trial that resulted. ADM was not an easy target--it's extremely well connected in Washington (an appendix listing politicians who have received financial contributions from ADM reads like a who's who of Beltway power brokers), and it was a leading recipient of federal largesse. In the end, ADM paid a criminal antitrust fine of $100 million, and two top executives were sent to prison for collaborating with competitors. But the case was messy. The FBI's informant, Mark Whitacre--once believed to be in line to succeed the company president--twice tried to commit suicide following the FBI raid, and was eventually sentenced to nine years for fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
But Lieber tells the story of ADM's crisis well, and with a strong anti-ADM slant. He's no master of prose style, but his writing is clear and to the point. His book simply crackles with detail--at times, it's difficult to keep up with all the characters (there's another appendix identifying them for easy reference). Throughout the text, readers will feel as if they're in the middle of a 60 Minutes exposé of dirty business practices--a sense augmented by several pages of photos taken from hidden surveillance cameras spying on backroom deals. After reading Rats in the Grain, it will be impossible to look at one of those feel-good ADM ads the same way again. --John J. Miller
Book Description
Beneath the wholesome image of Archer Daniels Midland lie some of the dirtiest practices in American business: price-fixing, bribery, and cover-ups. Unfolding like a legal thriller, Rats in the Grain portrays the crime and punishment of ADM during the largest white-collar criminal trial of the 1990s. James Lieber profiles the witnesses, the defense lawyers and federal prosecutors, the inner workings of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, and the unpredictable mole Lieber had access to. “A detailed account of how an influential corporation can go rotten.” — The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Customer Reviews:
Well done with an important "Afterword".......2005-04-02
Lieber possesses a unique blend of talents to investigate the price fixing trial of the century.
The book chronicles ADM kingmaker Dwayne Andreas's rise to business and political power, charts the evolution of US antitrust law, and dissect's the testimony of key witnesses in the trial.
The chapters on the trial delve into ADM's chief defense: its executives were white-hatted American heroes intent on destroying an "Asian" cartel. You will find the race baiting and "we-are-heroes" defense surreal, especially since audio and video tape caught the conspirators red-handed and potty-mouthed.
Lieber presents shocking evidence to build a solid case that the US Justice Department often subjugated itself to ADM's political power and well-connected attorneys in the prosecution of informant Mark Whitacre for fraud and tax evasion. For example, Whitacre still maintains the nearly $10 million of ADM money he stashed in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands was "off-the-books" bonuses given to him by Michael Andreas with the approval of ADM president James Randall. Lieber provides multi-layered facts that endorse Whitacre's story.
The book's final chapters contain even more revelations: alleged document shredding by ADM chairman Andreas after the June 1995 FBI raid; ADM's hiring prostitutes to help steal competitors' technology; the never investigated role of ADM president James Randall--or Chairman Andreas--in price fixing conspiracies; the Justice Department's refusal to release public documents, and other sordid facts of sex, lies and videotape.
As you will discover in reading this book, justice was plea bargined away and the wishes of the Andreas crime family boss Dwayne were granted, one of which was sending Whitacre to jail for 10 years.
Lieber is to be commended for this historical document which will explain to generations to come how corporate crime destoyed our country.
This story has been told.......2004-06-05
I have not read this book, but it seems that the publisher's statement here at Amazon should include some mention of what this book can tell us that Kurt Eichenwald's exhaustive, prizewinning book, _The Informant_, does not. Eichenwald's book covers exactly the same material, and Eichenwald (the _New York Times_ reporter who covered the case) had the same access to Whitacre and other sources that Lieber had.
For obvious reasons, I would prefer not to give a "number-of-stars" rating to a book I haven't read. But Amazon demands it, so I've chosen a neutral "three."
ADM, ... enterprise, punishes whistleblower.......2002-02-20
Attorney Lieber deserves high praise for his objective, informative presentation of the antitrust criminal case vs. Archer Daniels Midland, the agribusiness giant, that ADM, its powerful lawyers and Clinton's Justice Department did not want published. To his credit, he continued to pursue this case after most reporters backed off and swallowed the dizzying spin and disinformation that ADM's CEO Dwayne Andreas and his aggressive lawyers gave the media, crying crocodile tears as the "victim" of an allegedly deranged ADM executive, Mark Whitacre, who became the FBI's mole, and made hundreds of tapes incriminating ADM executives fixing prices in world markets with their competitors. Lieber correctly smelled the stench of a cover-up and adroitly guides readers to make their own
conclusions after compiling evidence, omissions from court records, and other factors that allow readers to infer that the judicial process was compromised by ADM's widespread political
influence before the trial even began. Although Dwayne Andreas,
the infamous political fixer and king of corporate welfare, got immunity in a highly secretive plea bargain to Justice in 1996,
after ADM agreed to pay a record fine of $100 million, his son
Michael was convicted and imprisoned with Terry Wilson for a
mere 3 years, and Dwayne (thanks to outraged and courageous ADM
shareholders) finally resigned. Tragically, Whitacre was
convicted, fined and sentenced to a harsh term of 9 years
because of ADM's swift retaliation against him as whistleblower, for exposing to the FBI the ... corporate culture of
ADM...(anything goes-but don't get caught-and here's your big
bonus (not reported on books)to keep silent, the unspoken words
being that an employee would be fired and crucified if they
blew the whistle.
Lieber's chilling comment (p. 322)should concern every citizen
or future whistleblower who believes in due process and our rule of law: "It was expected that ADM's attorneys would savage the
snitch. What was highly bizarre in the world of criminal law was the way the Justice Department joined in the frenzy to destroy Whitacre. This was an aberration...the perpetrator was a
politically wired corporation whose law firm- the president's law firm- had unbridled entree and influence at Justice. The
mole's lawyer had none."
Lieber makes a strong case that this American corporate history- "one of the most important antitrust cases of the century"- should be closely examined. Rightly so. Why was the court record sealed, why were key witnesses (e.g., Wayne Brasser) not deposed, who could have validated Whitacre's claims that the hidden bonuses were a quid pro quo for engaging in illegal price-fixing? The author's appendices are very helpful. ADM and Dwayne Andreas not only have lobbied for years to emasculate our antitrust laws (the "Magna Carta" of free enterprise) but know that the massive soft money donations to key politicians can grease not only the wheels of justice, but also ensure that ADM continues to get huge subsidies for ethanol and other favors from Agriculture Dept. (high fructose corn syrup,peanuts) that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Rats in the Grain is highly recommended, and was a difficult book to write because of the case's complexity. James Lieber should be considered for a Pulitzer Prize.
Let The Truth Be Known To All.......2002-02-06
Jim Liebert gets to the truth. Dwayne Andreas and others at ADM are not kind folks. Their ties with murderer/dictator Fidel Castro are real. Their contemptuous involvement with the illegal extraction of Elian Gonzalez from freedom and his subsequent delivery to slavery in Castro's communist prison is also very real. All in the name of appeasment to Castro. These people are stench and deserve to be imprisoned, if not worse. Thank you Mr. Liebert for telling the truth.
A Tale of Two Conspiracies.......2001-05-20
Rats in the Grain is a tale of corporate criminals from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. whose price fixing conspiracy was finally exposed by a government witness working undercover for the FBI for over two and half years. The FBI tapes and documents sow ADM was involved in fixing prices, technology theft, prostitution, systematic campaign voilations and the transfer of corporate funds without the proper signatures to senior executives' overseas bank accounts to avoid taxes. ADM paid a $100 million fine and was allowed to keep the USDA business worth $85 million, which was unprecededented for a corporation who pled guilty to a criminal felony. THe second conspiracy involved ADM, the Department of Justice and ADM's lawyers working together with the media to paint a picture of Mark Whitacre, the government witness, as the real criminal. Whitacre who worked undercover for the FBI was also receiving illegal bonuses. Records show ADM was aware of this, yet the government and ADM claimed that no one except those around Whitacre were involved. The FBI agents with whom Whitacre worked while recording the crimes at ADM turned their backs on him. All the departments of government in place to administer justice for the people were administering the wishes of ADM's chairman Dwayne Andreas. ADM and the Andreases have spent millions in donations over the years. Adding that to the millions spent on lawyers clearly showed that justice was for sale. Part IV of the book the cover-up is a real eye-opener. It tells of people who sold their souls aiding and abetting in the obstruction of justice which included sending the government witness to jail at the request of ADM. Lieber's book serves notice that all is not well in the heartland and conditions are even worse in Washington.
Book Description
The Lost Grizzlies chronicles the ongoing search for proof that a small number of grizzly bears still lives in the isolated mountain wilds of southern Colorado. Rick Bass turns his considerable talents to an evocation of wilderness beauty and the history of human encroachment that may, or may not, have wiped out the last of these massive, solitary bears from their southern range.
Customer Reviews:
Bass paints a vivid picture.......2007-03-08
This book is a beautiful exploration of sense of place, married with a urgent discussion of the disappearance of wild places in the West. Bass' characters are vibrant and humorous. This is one of the best nonfiction 'green' books I have ever read.
Still an open question........2006-04-17
Rick Bass challenges us to reconsider the question of whether there are grizzlies left in the wilderness of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. It is a question that is not easy to answer with a "yes" or "no". So what if he or someone else finds evidence as in traces of grizzly hair in scat, or sizes of footprints in the mud, or claw marks on the trunks of aspen trees, or better yet, has a brief encounter with what looks or sounds like a grizzly bear? This may well be the last survivor(s) of a population that is doomed for extinction, which many people have prepared themselves to accept or acknowledge. Besides, documenting their existence may bring more intruders (hunters, outfitters, biologists included) to this fragile wilderness, thus accelerating the demise of this once-mighty population. The real issue here is not whether they are still there, but whether knowing that they may still be there is enough for us to respect their right to be left alone, to leave their domain untrammeled, and lessen our own ruination by ensuring a greater natural legacy to future generations.
Bass embarked on two separate off-trail adventures into the wilds of the San Juans with the hunch that the great bear might still exist. On the first trip, which was early fall, he seemed to idolize Doug Peacock, who was schooled in the wilderness philosophy of the late Edward Abbey from both friendship and experience traveling together. On the second trip, which was early summer, Bass, although traveling with a larger group, pushed further into the wilds by himself at one point and experienced an epiphany. In both trips, Bass shares with his readers his deep appreciation of the wilderness, recalling the insights of nature writers as Aldo Leopold, Barry Lopez, and Wallace Stegner. The temptation to go willy-nilly in personal introspection, however, recalls the negative aspects of Jon Krakauer. His occasional rambling about ions and mutations makes him a scientific dilettante that can mar the reading experience. He mistakenly refers to "Adirondack National Park" (Adirondack Park) in comparing the San Juans to other wilderness areas. Influenced by Peacock, Bass detests the conventional methods wildlife biologists use to study the distribution of wildlife populations and recommends a more sensitive methodology that does not rely on direct documentation or technological gadgets.
What good is a wilderness--and why call it as such--if the elements that have beheld mankind and have captured our imagination and instilled dread for so long, such as its fiercest predators, are gone? When people like Bass and Peacock tread quietly in wilderness and finds evidence of a remaining wildness in places like the San Juan Mountains, there is reason for optimism. The natural world is all the more interesting when we find, in addition to scenery and natural splendors, an enduring ecosystem that should be left alone for others to see, wonder, and experience.
Needed less pomposity.......2004-11-04
Author Rick Bass recounts three years of annual efforts to find evidence of grizzly bears in Colorado's San Juan mountains. Each time, he heads into the woods with a colorful cast of characters, most notably Grizzly Years author Doug Peacock. Their goal is to document the presence of the endangered grizzly; success will presumably spark a reaction in the government and conservation agencies to take efforts to protect both the grizzly and its environment. Bass finds what appears to be plenty of evidence, culminating in a terrifying encounter with a large male grizzly from 30 feet away. The centerpiece of the book is on the way that Bass and his companions interact with the environment around them, be it the woods, or the towns and ranches that they visit for one reason or another.
The Good and the Bad:
As much as I liked isolated sections of this book, the drawbacks left me colder than a group of activists on a mountain peak at dusk. The good things included a worship-inspired look at Peacock, who is shown to be a modern day Johnny Appleseed in that he is far more comfortable in the wilds than among the people. Peacock charges off into the brush cursing when agitated; and he is liable to charge into the brush cursing when he is happy and excited, too. At a meeting with a fundraiser, he turns down money because he has been asked to have contact with a donor in exchange for the funds. He is motivated by unexplained feelings, mysteries of the woods, and mystic natural signs whose meanings he comes up with unaided. The fact that Bass seems to worship Peacock only becomes annoying when Bass attempts to insert himself into the relationship by intimating that he understands Peacock better than others in the group (I'm not even saying he doesn't, just that it detracts from the narrative). In most cases, the hero-worship merely serves to enhance the story, as we get behind a mythologizing of a man that even critics would call strongly individualistic.
We also fail to get a good idea of how the larger movement to document and thereby save the grizzlies is progressing. We don't know exactly what proof will produce what effect, and so the real-life impact of the mission is de-emphasized to the extreme.
I have three other main complaints; the first is that the large majority of the conservation ethic articulated by the characters is extremely basic. There's a lot of quoting of Leopold, and a repeated return to the idea that we are all a part of the forest, that every unit is dependent on related parts, etc. He not only presents these ideas with the pride of their creator, but he goes over them again and again, with minor variation. Better was when he talks about specific issues, such as the ethical considerations of radio-collaring a bear (although we never get the pro side of that statement). Another interesting set of information is given by a character named Tolisanti, who gives a discussion on how many creatures are needed to preserve a species, and what roles different species play in terms of conserving an environment.
The second main complaint is Bass's annoying tendency to read spiritual overtones into almost everything. The quality of light, the sighting of a bear skull, the accidental discovery of a hunter's camp; everything has a meaning. And Bass doesn't think that he's coming up with the meaning, he clearly reads that the forces of nature are communicating with him, directly and on purpose. A meadow is happy that he's leaving, although it didn't mind his presence while he was there, for example. And there is a constant return to the idea that the existence of grizzlies is a function of the spirit of those who seek them rather than their own mechanizations. This might be ok for another reader, but I want more hard facts and far less spiritual rhapsody about how Rick Bass is a receptacle that nature chooses to fill with portent.
Finally, I have a big problem with Bass's attitude that his own conservation ethic, which has a heavy basis in a Native American-like basis of respect for each creature, is the only proper one. He repeatedly refers to academics and bureaucrats in wildlife management in a demeaning manner, drawing a deep division between himself and paper-pushers. While I personally share many qualities and sympathize entirely with many aspects of the hippie movement, my sympathies fall short of condoning some of the bizarre attitudes. The way to save the woods might include a frontiersman-like effort to catalogue what's out there, but it also includes involvement by the government, as well as a lot of the hard scientific work conducted in the laboratory. Just because everyone's not a Davey Crockett doesn't mean that everyone doesn't care about preserving wildlife.
What I learned:
The Hundred Years rule of thumb asks what population size is needed to give itself a 99% chance of survival for 100 years. There is a new idea in conservation that preserving wildness might be better sized by establishing a series of concentrated rings, with more human activity allowed in the outer rings, but little to no activity allowed in the central rings. This allows for less chafing on both sides of the fence, for both civilization and the wild. Different types of species as far as conservation goes include keystone species, which anchor a set of inter-special relationships; indicator species, which give early warning when something bad is happening to an environment; flagship species, which are the sexy animals that might motivate the public to devote energies to conserving an ecosystem; and recovery species, which indicate that an ecosystem that has been damaged might be coming back to life.
Also, and most interestingly, when hunters shoot bears who have just recently emerged from hibernation, they may find live ants scurrying around in their stomachs, which have not yet begun to produce stomach acid.
Defining.......2003-02-06
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of the trail, but as science it dosen't bother to include any. Only the fact that standard conservation biology principles are ridiculed. Unfortunately this population of Ursus arctos horribilus is all but gone. They are at California Condor levels if present at all. They see one bear, but what of the DNA analysis? Bass does not tell us here. Bass's bear is more a vision than a reality.
The crowd of Earth First!ers from Tuscon and points north represented by the volatile-tempered Doug Peacock, that has allowed Rick Bass to join is a select band of outlaw literary types, that worship the wild and lament its demise. I share this sadness and want to prevent it myself, but my twelve years working as a fish and wildlife biologist did little to encourage me that this is possible. By aligning himself only with outlaw radicals whose personal behavior screams "left-wing enviro-nut" these noble ideas will be hard to sell by these messengers. Only with mainstream acceptance will change occur.
In Bass's home territory of Yaak, Montana this will be a hard sell. Libby is a devastated lumber town where I once worked for the U.S. Forest Service. I was so discouraged that I quit early and left town never to return. Bass runs with a select clique who live in Livingston, Montana a sort of "Hollywood North" of rich and famous actors and artists the likes of Peter Fonda, Tom McGuane, Dennis Quaid, the brothers Bridges, an endless list. But it's the outlaws like Dave Forman the founder of Earth First!that run the underground sects of the environmental movement, and they have a terrorist thesis; "Monkeywrenchers" as Ed Abby envisioned. Peacock is the model although he does not actually commit vandalism acts himself. They don't accept newcomers into their ranks easily; particularly impoverished writers from the "sticks."
I wrote Mr. Bass once of my efforts chronicled in my first book "Against A Strong Current," on these conservation matters and received no reply. Acceptance by this group is not my goal but credit is difficult to get, even if one has extensive credentials and a government work record that takes place on scene as part of the in house system working for the same change. It is easy to be upstaged by amateurs. Bass seeks to sell romance sans the "Guzzi" consumerish trappings. This work is a success at that, but it is not in any sense, biology.
I Believe It Was a Grizzly.......2002-01-20
This book is a unique combination of comedy, real-life adventure and a luminous testimony to one of America's most endangered and mythical beasts. Bass is at his best here, capturing the hearts of his readers through an alternately hilarious and spine tingling account of his journey into the Colorado mountains in search of grizzly bears.
The problem facing Bass and his two friends is that the grizzly bear is believed to be extinct in Colorado. However, several undocumented sightings and signs have convinced them that the bears exist in the remotest regions of the mountain range. Thus they are out to do all they can to locate bears and document their findings.
In the resulting adventures we find the three companions trapsing through woods, sliding down canyon walls, confronting bureaucrats and tracking down bear sign. Things are complicated, and given a distinctly uneasy quality, by the behavior of Doug Peacock. Peacock, himself a well-known author and champion of the grizzly bear, is plagued by frequent and dramatic mood swings. His alarmingly volatile temper, moments of intense introspection and frequent outbursts of graphic profanity have the reader feeling like he/she is walking on eggshells. Because Bass has done such a good job of describing his friend, and how he came to be the way he is, it's easy to forgive Peacock his peculiar behavior. However, it is not easy or pleasant to read.
As the story unfolds, and the three men get closer to their goal, the tension becomes almost unbearable. When Bass finally sees a bear, after months of exhausting effort and disappointment, the scene unfolds in classic Bass technicolor with heart racing clarity and insight. "When I am ten yards from that fallen tree - which I am all but ignoring, focusing on the deer - a creature leaps up from behind it, seemingly right in my face, a brown creature with great hunched shoulders. It's a bear with a big head, and for the smallest fraction of time our eyes meet. The bear's round brown eyes are wild in alarm, and mine the same or larger, I'm sure. The bear's rich chocolate color, like a moose and nearly as big, an animal of such immense size that indeed my first thought, the one right before fear, is: That bear's as big as a moose!"
I won't ruin the suspense by telling you what happens next. It should be enough to know that Bass neither disappoints nor fails to find deeper currents of truth running beneath his experience. This is another book that shouldn't be missed. Just don't expect it to reveal its gifts easily.
Books:
- As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl
- Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words
- Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture
- Bismarck and the German Empire
- Broken Music: A Memoir
- But He Was Good to His Mother : The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters
- Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment
- Collected Letters, 1944-1967
- Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
- Con Thien: The Hill of Angels
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat
- The Road
- The Book of Garnishes
- Sins of the Wolf
- Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving
- Photodiode Amplifiers: OP AMP Solutions
- Spymaster: My Life in the CIA
- David Blackwood: Master Printmaker
- Okavango: Africa's Last Eden
- Algal Biology: A Physiological Approach
Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples
India: A Wounded Civilization
An Area of Darkness
The Middle Passage
The Writer and the World: Essays
