Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee is, essentially, a profile on David Brower, longtime Sierra Club leader who fundamentally changed conservationism in America. The book chronicles trips between McPhee, Brower, and people who’ve been on the other side of Brower- those who support mining, development, and dams.
Brower is credited with stopping dams which would have flooded places like Dinosaur National Monument, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. McPhee brings Brower on long, hard, outdoors trips with people he’s had significant conflict with and shows the different perspectives on land conservation.
Miscellaneous Quotes:
On the Black Hills, there was “spruce so dark, dark green that the Sioux called the hills black,” (p56)
On Mount Rushmore and then the Crazy Horse monument: “The Sioux need no monuments. Their monuments are seven thousand feet high and have been there since Pre-Cambrian time,” (p58).
On the origin of this title: “Ancient druids used to sacrifice human beings under oak trees…modern druids worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those trees. They want to save things they like, all for themselves,” (p78), a quote from Charles Fraser, developer of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Overall, this book was fair minded and nostalgic. It glorified the nature most people will never see, untouched by man, and nature that probably does not really exist anymore. It begged the questions: “what is responsible use? What does conservation really look like?”
Thanks to my brother, Jeremy, and the Colorado Sun for the recommendation.