Sierra's March/April 2007 Let's Talk selection: Return to Wild America
A book by Scott Weidensaul Review by Jennifer Hattam
What it's about
Half a century after two naturalists explored North America and wrote about their 30,000-mile trek in the book Wild America, what has changed? Scott Weidensaul follows his predecessors' route from Newfoundland to Mexico, and all around the United States, to see if Americans are still "worthy of their land." His carefully observed travelogue reminds us of the great strides made to protect our environment--and of how far we have left to go.
Where to get it Return to Wild America is widely available at libraries and bookstores.
About the author Scott Weidensaul is a field researcher specializing in birds of prey and hummingbirds and is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere With Migratory Birds (a 2000 Pulitzer Prize finalist), The Ghost With Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking, and the Search for Lost Species, and Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians, the region he calls home.
Discussion questions
Have you been to any of the places Weidensaul visited? Were your experiences there similar or different from his?
Which of his findings most surprised you? Why?
What historic journey would you most like to re-create?
What do you think about Weidensaul's belief that "hope, when paired with the ferocious love Americans feel for their land, becomes action"? Is this enough, or do people need something more to motivate them?
Weidensaul posits that his predecessors, naturalists Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher, "may have sensed that the tables were starting to turn in conservation's favor" as they set off on their 1953 journey. How does the future of conservation look today?
In a review of Return to Wild America, author Bruce Stutz criticizes Weidensaul for promoting "a myth that prompted us to deplete the cod stocks of the north Atlantic, a myth that spurred us to build big dams that killed off the salmon, a myth that keeps many believing that we can drill for oil in the Arctic without harm to the nature of the place, the wildlife, or the people who live there." Do you see the concept of a "wild America" as an inspirational idea or a dangerous one?
Do you agree with Weidensaul's conclusions that the United States "is still, at its core, a wild country" and that Americans have been, on balance, good stewards of their land? Why or why not?
Links
Learn more about Roger Tory Peterson's life, work, and legacy.
