That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America's Public Lands

by Mark Kenyon

From prominent outdoorsman and nature writer Mark Kenyon comes an engrossing reflection on the past and future battles over our most revered landscapes—America’s public lands.

Every American is a public-land owner, inheritor to the largest public-land trust in the world. These vast expanses provide a home to wildlife populations, a vital source of clean air and water, and a haven for recreation.

Since its inception, however, America’s public land system has been embroiled in controversy—caught in the push and pull between the desire to develop the valuable resources the land holds or conserve them. Alarmed by rising tensions over the use of these lands, hunter, angler, and outdoor enthusiast Mark Kenyon set out to explore the spaces involved in this heated debate, and learn firsthand how they came to be and what their future might hold.

Part travelogue and part historical examination, That Wild Country invites readers on an intimate tour of the wondrous wild and public places that are a uniquely profound and endangered part of the American landscape.

• ISBN10: 1542043042
• ISBN13: 9781542043045
• Publish Date: 1 December 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Little A
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 300
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

One Sided Polemic Benefits From Reading The Audible. This is yet again one of those books that benefits from the fact that I read the Audible version and thus have no idea about the length of its bibliography. However, no citations were noted during his own reading of the Audible version, so one suspects the bibliography to be quite scant indeed.

 

Which is a shame, because otherwise... well, the one star reviews of this book more accurately capture my own feelings on it, specifically that this apparently at least upper middle income white kid Michigan State alum presents only his side of the debate and uses strawmen at best for those opposing him. But there was nothing truly *technically* wrong here, and because I read the Audible I don't even have the length of the bibliography to hang a star deduction on... meaning the book gets the full 5* rating.

 

But if you're looking for a good history of the US National Parks... this is a half-assed primer at best. If you're looking for an interesting travelogue of someone visiting several different national partks... Kenyon winds up having remarkable similar experiences in each of his visits. The one thing I can give Kenyon is that he is remarkably lyrical about describing his encounters... same-ish they may be.

 

Thus, if you happen to agree with Kenyon's views... you'll probably enjoy this book quite a bit. The more you disagree with his own views, the less you'll like this book. Given that it has been out for a little over 4 yrs at the time I finally read the book, it will be interesting to see how many reviews come in after this one. :)

 

Recommended.