Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

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The man who invented the modern profession of book editing finally got his due, 31 years after his death, when this revelatory biography appeared. A. Scott Berg's detailed explication of Maxwell Perkins's work on the manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and a host of other important American writers shows how much the Scribner's editor contributed to their books, all the while maintaining that he only helped his authors find the best in themselves. This 1978 National Book Award winner is a thorough, carefully considered account of a seminal period in American publishing.

Book Description

Winner of the National Book Award
and a National Bestseller...

MAX PERKINS: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg took the literary world by storm upon its publication in 1978, garnering rave reviews and winning the National Book Award. A meticulously-researched and engaging portrait of the man who introduced the public to the greatest writers of this century, Berg's biography stands as one of the finest books on the publishing industry ever written. Unavailable for the last few years, MAX PERKINS is now being re-released (on the fiftieth anniversary of the great editor's death.

The driving force behind such literary superstars as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe, Max Evarts Perkins was the most admired book editor in the world. From the first major novel he edited(Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise(to the last(James Jones's bestselling From Here to Eternity(Perkins revolutionized American literature. Perkins was tirelessly committed to nurturing talent no matter how young or unproven the writer.

Filled with colorful anecdotes about everything from Perkins's struggles to convince the old guard at Scribners to publish his visionary (and often controversial) authors to his falling out with one of his most brilliant discoveries, Thomas Wolfe, MAX PERKINS reveals with insight and humor the professional and personal life of one of the most legendary figures in the history of American publishing. Given unprecedented access to the correspondence between Perkins and his writers, Berg has fashioned a compellingly thorough biography that is as entertaining as it is informative.

A vivid portrait of one man's life and a revealing behind-the-scenes look at the creation of literature, A. Scott Berg's MAX PERKINS: Editor of Genius is a masterful achievement in scholarship and writing.

Customer Reviews:

Glory Days of American Literature.......2007-09-19

Berg's work rallies all aspiring authors to the cause of sainthood for Max Perkins...maybe even deification. He tracks Perkins's career vis-a-vis the literary careers of important 20th century American authors. Gives a peek at the largely ignored man behind the curtain...and stands as a monument to his contributions to our literary heritage. A must read for anyone who enjoys books.

TOP LITERARY MIDWIFE.......2007-04-04

Scott Berg's biography of Max Perkins is a warm, sparkling account of America's greatest editor in the prewar period, the midwife for works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe in the twenties and thirties, when big-time publishing converged on New York. Berg's book is cunningly organized: the reader steps at once into the rough and tumble of editorial work at Scribner's, leaving Perkins' early life, marriage, and family to be described in concise digressions taken only after we get another satisfying dollop of publishing history. Unhappily, once Perkins has delivered his discoveries to the public, the rest is mostly about their boozy extravagance (Fitzgerald), bullying ego trips (Hemingway), and petulant indiscipline verging on insanity (Wolfe). So even if, for this reason, you stop two-thirds of the way through, your curiosity about this key figure in modern literary history will be very well satisfied.

A nostalgic journey.......2005-11-05

This is a wonderfully written book, very informative and inspiring for authors, editors, agents and anyone else involved or interested in publishing. Berg does a terrific and subtle job of painting these larger than life characters, allowing their own letters to speak for them. He shows remarkable restraint and good taste and yet has created a book that is enriching and very difficult to put down. Highly recommended!

Poor Max.......2005-02-23

Max Perkins was the great editor at Scribners who handled quite a few of the finest writers of the twentieth century, F. Scott Fitzgerad, Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe being especially noteworthy (and dealt with at length in this biography). One might envy such a man with such a job, but Berg makes it clear that having to deal with the likes of these authors was like walking around with a huge millstone around Max's poor neck. His job was endless and thankless (Wolfe actually betrayed him). You see from the many letters quoted that many of them are blatant pleas for money. Saying that Perkins had to coddle some of these authors like children would be putting it mildly. Berg does an admirable job relaying Perkins's life and hard times. Recommended.

great man/great bio.......2002-07-18

Scott Berg has written a wonderful biography on one of the most important men in American literature, Max Perkins. Berg's book is well-written and very entertaining. It is more than a biography of Perkins, it is also a biography of Hemingway, Scott Fiztgerald, and Thomas Wolfe, and a portrait of America during the first half of the 20th century. This is one of those books that I could go on and on about. It is a book that everyone should read.

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Max Perkins Editor of Genius
Scott A Berg
Manufacturer: Thomas Congdon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJTI78

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Max Perkins (Editor of Genius)

Manufacturer: Pan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000DZE7WE

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Max Perkins: Editor of Genius
A. Scott Berg
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NUNR3O

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Max Perkins: Editor of Genius
A. Scott Berg
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0671827197

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MAX PERKINS : EDITOR OF GENIUS.
A. Scott Berg
Manufacturer: Hamilton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0241101069

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Max Perkins Editor of Genius
A Scott Berg
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RTB490

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Max Perkins, Editor of Genius
A. Scott Berg
Manufacturer: Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5Q8PM

Book Description

Gen. U.S. Grant's order to cripple the ability of the Shenandoah Valley to supply the CSA with food and fodder affected the civilian population as did no other act of war, including Sherman's march through Georgia. Packed with the firsthand accounts of victims and perpetrators alike, this book brings history alive.

Customer Reviews:

Cut him some slack..........2007-07-27

The author and I come from the same Mennonite decendant, buried just outside Harrisonburg, Va. I don't know if he is still a practicing Mennonite or not; I am not. But one should take into account the pacifist back ground of the Annabaptists may explain the underlying tone of the narrative.
I grew up with a lot of anecdotes too. Like my great great grand mother protesting over the taking of her hogs by Union troopers to a grizzled veteran of Sheridan's army who replied, "You should be glad we aren't taking you too..." The implication being obvious. The Edinburg Mill my father's home town, still bears scorch marks from the attempt to burn it. I agree that there was a lot more death and violence in the event, than one would be led to believe, but back then secrets were kept and certain things were kept buried.

Valley residents' perspective of Sheridan's devastation.......2007-05-26

Note: Unfortunately, the author passed away the day before Thanksgiving, 2006 at the age of 58.

This is an unusual perspective and subject for a civil war study. Author John Heatwole extensively recounts the folk stories and family accounts (including his own) of Sheridan's burning of the Shenandoah resources. The author largely leaves it to the reader to determine what to accept and reject in the resulting mix of historical fact and tales. Overall, I think he did a reasonable job avoiding bias or partisanship and endeavored to put the burning in context. However, there are a number of places where his word choice gives an incorrect connotation.

For instance, removing consumables and goods of military value is several times referred to as looting. This is odd because the goods taken are listed afterwards and clearly are not loot. While taking silverware, women's/children's clothes, etc. would definitely constitute looting and did happen--particularly to the more ostentatious plantations/farms which suffered direct wrath--looting like this was not the norm as Heatwole's recounting shows. It is also interesting that Heatwole mentions extortion, but inappropriately in several instances. In fact, in reading the accounts presented, few show soldiers demanding payment to spare property. Instead, the most common thread is of property owners offering bribes. (Curiously, some rather sizeable bribes were refused.) Still, a reader should not let minor bias be of much concern, because the narrative is primarily from the residents' point of view, and a fascinating picture emerges.

In "The Burning" there are examples of deceit and treachery by both sides. There are also numerous examples of compassion and sympathy to be found. Many amusing tales emerge of people's ingenuity at preserving their property. One of the things I did not appreciate before is how systematic and organized the Burning was, and that orders were intended to regulate it rather than the unabashed plunder it is too often characterized as. This was not a matter of petty vengeance (for the most part) or inhumanity, but instead an organized effort to strip the Valley of military significance and the ability to support armies or guerrillas in the future. It was successful in that aim.

How was this accomplished? Homes were to be spared, as was the property of widows. These rules were not always obeyed or strictly observed. The biggest exception was the ordered retaliatory burning of homes in the vicinity where the popular Meigs was killed--yet even this turned out to be quite limited. Interestingly, for the whole campaign the county's own tallies, the number of homes burned was only about 1/15th that of the number of barns, and while some were intentional acts of arson, a number were the result of fire unintentionally spreading from nearby structures (as noted in the stories themselves.) Public and private property of value to the CSA war effort was systematically targeted and destroyed in total. This included food, cattle, grain, and forage of all kinds, plus the barns and warehouses in which they were stored. Industry was targeted wholesale, from flour mills, saw mills, cloth makers, coopers, blacksmiths, iron furnaces, to flat boat makers, and carriage makers. This of course created awful hardships and suffering for the Valley residents, but in theory it spared their homes and lives while accomplishing the strategic objective. The CSA lost this important source of sustenance and material.

The author also notes the activities as well as depredations of various Confederate guerrillas and Partisans as well. Al Lincoln, McNeil, Woodson, etc. are mentioned.

The author recounts many stories from those who rarely receive much attention: the many Unionists and conscientious objectors such as Dunkards and Mennonites who sought to avoid CSA service. In fact, Sheridan gave them transport out of the Valley as well as other refugees who could not subsist after the Burning. In some cases there property was spared, but for strategic considerations many Unionist and pacifist barns and mills also fell under the torch.

Excellent and simple maps illustrate the Valley counties and towns, as well as the progress of the destruction and movement of the forces responsible for it. A number of sketches and photographs of citizens, soldiers, and landscape are included. The forces involved in carrying out the order are detailed in an appendix at the end.

I recommend this work as a way to appreciate the importance of the Shenandoah, and to understand the horror that the residents felt at this destruction, as well as understanding the reasons for it. A quote at the end of the work by Confederate cavalryman and Valley resident Capt. John Opie summarizes the situation best with a question, "Which is the worst in war, to burn a barn, or kill a fellow-man?"

A People's History Extraordinaire.......2005-07-31

About 15 years ago I traveled to Shenandoah County to learn about my ancestors and what had happened to them during the Civil War. No lover of history or ancestor hunter could have had better fortune than I: I found friendly and helpful relatives and I found structures - including a pre-Civil War mill formerly owned by my ancestors - that helped me gain an understanding about who I am.

Ten years after my first sojourn, author John Heatwole published The Burning and I purchased a signed copy at an antique shop in Mt. Jackson. This book is a chronicle of the two weeks in the Fall of 1864 that thousands of Union soldiers carried out their orders to devastate the Shenandoah Valley, to rid it of its freshly harvested bounty, burning crops and killing or driving away livestock. It was a sad task that left people without food and often without shelter from the coming winter, but it was a strategy to win the war by finally breaking the spirit of the Confederacy. Thousands of barns were burned and, occasionally, fine homes. Some enterprising folks managed to hide their most prized livestock in the hills.

Heatwole conducted dozens of interviews to gather the oral history of Valley families to supplement the stories he found in published and unpublished sources and private collections. He has produced a well-organized chronicle that captures the drama and atmosphere of this period. This is a "people's history" extraordinaire that tells the story of the Union army's orders, the leaders involved, and the farming and milling families and townspeople who were terrified and devastated by the fires that filled the Valley with thick black smoke for days.

By the way, the mill my ancestors owned was saved in October 1864 when the owner, learning that the Union burners were on their way, climbed to the top of the mill and hung the United States flag from the roof.

Survey of destruction..........2003-03-21

Healtwole presents a county-by-county account of Sheridan's movements in the Valley. The "witness" to the destruction is the use of "facts", legends, interviews, family letters, etc. A flaw is the generalized sameness of each chapter - "these" troops, led by "this" guy did "that" to "those" peoples barn, house, etc. While there is certainly many interesting anecdotes and sidebars without, the format becomes repetitive. Indeed, if you read three or four chapters, you get the full gist. The abundance of maps helps.

Folk History.......2003-02-10

Heatwole is described as compiler of Shenandoah Valley folk tales and he uses them to try to describe the destruction of the supplies in the Valley by Sheridan's troops in September and October 1864. He is not interested in primary sources other than what he has learned in the Valley and what has been printed during the past 140 years. He makes no attempt to tell the full history of the Vallry's destruction, but rather to see it through remembered folk tales. He does not evaluate these tales, but includes them as he heard them. Among my favorites is the killing of a Union trooper by a woman who smashes a crock of apple butter on his head (surely a likely happening in the Shenandoah Valley apple-rich region) and then who manages to hide the sticky body in tall grass without the rest of the Union troops noticing, and, best of all, the farmer who shoots a Union lieutenant and dumps his body in the burning barn that the officer just lit. It seems the farmer had to get off his porch, go upstairs, grab his rifle, open the window and shoot the lieutenant, while the officer stood by the flaming barn allowing this to happen. Again, no Union troops were nearby to intervene and presumably the fire was so hot that the lieutenant's body was completely reduced to ashes and nobody in his regiment missed him enough to go looking for him.

The two week Burning was actually a lot more violent and deadly to both sides than even Heatwole makes out. Both sides murdered prisoners, but the Burning generally was confined to barns, mills and cribs, not houses. That the people of the Shenandoah Valley suffered is undeniable. So is Lee's surrender six months later. The grandsons of the victims also seem not to have many qualms about dropping fire on Germans and Japanese.

The Burning needs a better book than this, one that includes more sources that those from Virginia. Heatwole could have done much better, but, frankly, he has produced a book of only limited usefulness.

Amazon.com

A Vice President, by definition, will always receive less scrutiny than the fellow at the top of the ticket. Fortunately for Dick Cheney, that lower profile works out quite nicely since, according to author John Nichols, it affords him greater ease in secretly running the government. Nichols chronicles Cheney's many different incarnations: unsuccessful student flunking out of Yale twice, young political operative, Ford administration chief of staff, Wyoming congressman, Secretary of Defense, Halliburton CEO, and finally Vice President. What all these steps have in common, argues Nichols, is a nearly insatiable hunger for power satisfied by Cheney's knack for insinuating himself, Zelig-like, into important places in order to advance. The most compelling sections of Dick: The Man Who Is President deal with Cheney's heading of George W. Bush's vice-presidential search committee and declaring himself the best man for the job, a process Nichols claims was a complete sham from the start. Once in office, Cheney gained historically unprecedented access and power, Nichols claims, simply because no one could stop him. Though Cheney has a deeply conservative voting record and is credited with leading the "neoconservative" school of thought that guided the foreign policy of Bush's administration, Nichols points out that Cheney was known as a moderate in his time with Ford but with Ford's defeat and the rise of Ronald Reagan, shifting hard to the right was simply a more expedient path to power. Dick is more an examination of motives and methods than a strict biography. As such it doesn't move linearly through time, instead jumping around to demonstrate how past events inform current situations. And though Dick Cheney probably wouldn't appreciate Nichols' relentlessly critical approach, it's interesting to see a bright light shone on a man who does so much work in secret undisclosed locations. --John Moe

Book Description

A scathing and irreverent portrait of the man who directs the government, by The Nation's Washington correspondent. When a lone gunman started shooting outside the White House on a weekday morning two years ago, Secret Service agents rushed to secure the leaders of the free world. They found Dick Cheney in his office talking on a speakerphone, reviewing material on a computer screen, and directing aides who were gathered around his desk. President Bush? He was in the gym.

Dick Cheney, says John Nichols, runs the country. He sets energy policy. He guided the nation into war with Iraq, and, working closely with Karl Rove, he oversees the political infrastructure that allows corporate interests and the religious right to control lawmaking.

Dick: The Man Who Is President draws on groundbreaking reporting —including exclusive interviews with Cheney himself, as well as with Nelson Mandela, Gore Vidal, members of Congress, and others who have tangled with Cheney. Timed for the fall election campaign, the book will open debate on a key, unasked question: Do Americans really want Dick Cheney running their country?

Customer Reviews:

You gotta be kidding.......2007-08-21

Nichols did not intend for his book to be a humorous novel, but by gosh it is. It is so full of extremes. While reading the book, the image of Cheney in a black uniform and black helmet embracing the dark side of the force kept popping up. Yes, it is a good book. The trouble is, I don't think the author is being fair to Dick. That's not to say that the book is exaggerated, but the seams of truth are a bit stretched. All in all, it is an interesting and engaging book. It will keep you entertained.

This is proving out to be the exaggeration it is........2005-10-29

Cheney is a powerful VP, a very well respected man in Washington and obviously a sharp individual as his resume shows. Bush and Cheney won 2 elections. The people voted for them, this was not some appointment. But is has become more and more apparent that Bush himself is making most of the top decisions. Every president uses his staff to help with making decisions and policy and Bush is lucky to have someone like Cheney there. The book's author is using his personal bias against Cheney and Bush to skew public perceptions and to cash in on politics for himself.

Good on facts but not motivations.......2005-09-03

When I read a biography, I expect two main areas to be covered: what the person did, or has done, in their life, and *why*. I want to see the author's insight into their motivations. On that level, this book failed for me.

The focus in this book is on Dick Cheney's first term as Vice-President. Everything is related back to it. The author gives the details of Cheney's childhood and education and so forth. When it turns to his political education, it begins to refer ahead to the vice-presidency: he met this person he brought into the White House at this point, or he developed that tendency he would later display in the White House at that point. If you want the facts and figures of Cheney's life, what he did, where he did it, who he met, to an extent what they thought of him at the time, those details are here.

The analysis of why Cheney has done and is doing what he is, I think the book fails to deliver. According to the author, Cheney is obsessed with power, and everything he does is geared to that. Sure, that seems to be a justifiable viewpoint, but it's an element in the personality of almost any politician, and it certainly cannot be the one and only motivation the author claims it to be. In fact, that is my main problem, not that the only motivation the author gives Cheney is the lust for power, but that he doesn't even really prove that, more state it as being self-evidently true. It doesn't explain the ultra-right wing voting pattern the author reveals. It doesn't explain why Cheney went to such extremes to hide it, or so much else of his life. Why is Cheney so secretive? I would have appreciated some explanation of why as well as the simple fact of it. On a similar note, the author tries to define Cheney's real position in government. His usual estimate is that of a Prime Minister, but several times his own information backs up the one claim that Cheney is like the CEO of America. If the author had followed up that line of thought, rather than focusing almost exclusively on the purely political side of Cheney's power, I think this book could have told us a lot about his motivations.

This book is worth reading, given the position and specific power and influence of this particular neo-conservative, but with the understanding that it gives little more insight into his motivations than books on neo-conservatives in general. If you have to choose between this book, and ones like Chalmers Johnson's The Sorrows of Empire or James Mann's Rise of the Vulcans, both of which the author refers to many times, you really should choose them instead.

An unauthorized first biography.......2005-05-11

George Bush may officially hold the power, but Dick Cheney is the real man in office: that's the message of John Nichols' Dick: The Man Who Is President, an unauthorized first biography of the most powerful VP in American history. From his involvements in Reagan-era scandals to his promotion of the war in Iraq, John Nichols' close inspection of Dick Cheney is damning and eye-opening.

A Quick "Shock and Awe" raid on the VP.......2005-03-09

While I share many of the same critiques of teh Vice President as the author (although not all) this book really lacks some depth. It makes valid points about the vice president but thet are shallowly presented.

However, with that said, the book does ofer a good look at a very important figure who has managed to escape much scruitiny. Additionally, the book does give a national audience its first look at some of the lesser known problems with the VP.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: Hired to Kill Oswald and Prevent the Assassination of JFK Richard Case Nagell Is

Average customer rating:

"A" for Effort, But.....
Let's Rename FBI Hqs the Dick Russell Building
Brilliant book-The Best JFK Assassination Compilation
The best book on the JFK assassination.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: Hired to Kill Oswald and Prevent the Assassination of JFK Richard Case Nagell Is
Dick Russell
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

"A" for Effort, But............2006-10-06

This version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" has nothing to do with the classic Hitchcock movie(s). Rather it is the story of Richard Case Nagel, an obscure and very shadowy former C.I.A. agent, who may have worked for other spook agencies as well. MWKTM tries to make the case that Nagel was hired by the KGB to kill Lee Harvey Oswald before LHO could assassinate President Kennedy. If such a scenario appears implausible, it is fully in keeping with the tangled web of machinations and wire-pulling painted by author Russell. MKTM is prodigiously researched and documented, nearly 600 pages of information including 105 pages of appendices and notes. However, MWKTM contains far too much information, too many names, too copious acronyms and too numerous possibilities concerning who did-or did not- plan the Kennedy assassination. This reviewer is decently well read on the subject, but was left more confused at the end than at the start. The view from this source is that author Russell's painstaking research and detective work is mostly for naught. Previous reviewers are in disagreement! The bottom line here is that those interested in assassination should NOT start their research with MWKTM, but should turn to reliable standards like Jim Garrison's "On the Trail of the Assassins", Jim Marrs' "Crossfire" or even Matthew Smith's more challenging "The Second Plot". Once grounded, they could proceed to Mr. Russll's tome. MWKTM certainly warrants a 5 star rating for effort, but points must be reluctantly deducted for an uneven and highly verbose performance.

Let's Rename FBI Hqs the Dick Russell Building.......2002-09-14

Dick Russell has out-investigated the entire FBI in the JFK assassination case and provided his findings in his book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, so renaming FBI Hqs in his honor would be appropriate. If the FBI had expended a fraction of the effort that Dick Russell devoted to the case (not counting the FBI's effort that went into the coverup), the conspirators would have been wrapped up long ago. Russell is thorough (just look at the number of pages!), fair, and objective, clearly seeking the truth and not trying to force facts into a preconceived notion. He's attempted to follow the facts to wherever they lead. Undoubtedly, solutions to the mysteries surrounding JFK's death will involve some of what is provided to us in this book with regard to events that Richard Case Nagell witnessed. If you want to look into the JFK case, this book is indispensible.

Brilliant book-The Best JFK Assassination Compilation.......1998-11-07

This book is a true masterpiece! Even if you only have a fleeting interest in JFK conspiracy theories you will enjoy this read. If you like a great mystery novel or chilling spy drama 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'will have you under its spell the way few non-fiction books will. Dick Rusell seems to understand what few JFK assassination book writers do: theories need to be backed up by facts!....I'm sure the true elements of the plot to kill JFK are in this book...everyone gets a name check; from Hoover to Oswald, from the Mafia to secret far-right groups Russell illuminates the dark world of espionage and counter-espionage and centers on the tale of one-time double agent Richard C. Nagell. Nagell it seems sent word of the assassination plot two months BEFORE Nov. 22 to the FBI, who did nothing. In a moment of desperation he fired off a gun in an El Paso bank and got himself arrested......but Nagell is but one figure in the macabre house of cards that led to the death of perhaps our most popular President. Russell has not just written the most coherent analysis on the JFK conspiracy he's written a great book. Period.

The best book on the JFK assassination........1998-06-23

Richard Case Nagell was involved in the world of intelligence, sometimes working for the US, sometimes apparently, or possibly, working for the Soviets. His history parallels that of Lee Harvey Oswald and the many federal agencies and right-wing groups that haunt the edges of the assassination of President Kennedy. While never definitive as a whodunit, it is extraordinary in showing the vast covert world of which most Americans are totally unaware. This is clearly the best-researched book on this subject, and necessary if anyone hopes to begin to understand the killing of President Kennedy.

Customer Reviews:

Anti-Environmental PR Campaign Exposed.......2000-08-20

An unprecedented story - a comprehensive dissection of an anti-environmental PR campaign based on an almost complete set of leaked public relations files. The tactics exposed are in common use - especially in North America, but rarely see the light of day until many years have passed. Shandwick, one of the top 10 environmental "greenwashers" helped Shell manage bad publicity over it's role in Nigeria. They were hired in 1997 to build support for Timberlands, a state-owned logging company in New Zealand. For two years 5 full time employees ran a comprehensive campaign to discredit the environmentalists, who initially had majority support, and build a positive picture of their logging plans in the eyes of the public. The exposure of these plans, by the initial publication of this book in the fall of 1999 , led in part to the downfall of the NZ government and the cancellation of the Timberlands old growth logging plans.

The book makes use of the leaked documents to illustrate how environmental groups were infiltrated, and attempts made to neutralize them. Details of how sources of funding were targeted, and the use of legal threats or "SLAPP suits". It documents the people who actively assisted the company, as well as those who were unknowingly recruited in support. The setting up and methods of control of supposedly independent front groups is revealed in the leaked PR documents. In North America the "wise use" groups fit this model. The manipulation of the media is detailed. Friendly press were given all-expense paid tours of model logging areas, for which positive publicity was expected. Complaints were sent to the employers of journalists who wrote stories unfavorable to logging.

"Dirty tricks" are exposed. The planting of a fake bomb and the destruction of a tree-sitting platform with a log slung from a helicopter are exposed through subsequent cover ups and attempts to influence an investigation by aviation authorities.

I rate this book highly because of the unique portrait of an anti-environmental campaign, and it's relevance to campaigns in North America.

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