Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism (Pioneers of Conservation) - Softcover

Miller, Char

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559638230 ISBN 13: 9781559638234

Publisher: Island Press, 2004

Synopsis

"...an absorbing, well-researched, and illuminating life of an American leader who now receives the full attention he deserves." -MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, EDITOR OF AMERICAN HERITAGE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE PRESIDENTS
"Char Miller's lively, insightful account of the life and world of American forester Gifford Pinchot fills a vitally important gap in environmental and conservation history. Anyone captivated by the issues and controversies surrounding the preservation and development of the nation's natural heritage should read this engaging, carefully researched biography." -CAROLYN MERCHANT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, AUTHOR OF THE DEATH OF NATURE
Gifford Pinchot is known primarily for his work as first chief of the U. S. Forest Service and for his argument that resources should be used to provide the "greatest good for the greatest number of people." But Pinchot was a more complicated figure than has generally been recognized, and more than half a century after his death, he continues to provoke controversy.
Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, the first new biography in more than three decades, offers a fresh interpretation of the life and work of the famed conservationist and Progressive politician. In addition to considering Gifford Pinchot's role in the environmental movement, historian Char Miller sets forth an engaging description and analysis of the man -- his character, passions, and personality -- and the larger world through which he moved.
Char Miller begins by describing Pinchot's early years and the often overlooked influence of his family and their aspirations for him. He examines Gifford Pinchot's post-graduate education in France and his ensuing efforts in promoting the profession of forestry in the United States and in establishing and running the Forest Service. While Pinchot's twelve years as chief forester (1898-1910) are the ones most historians and biographers focus on, Char Miller also offers an extensive examination of Pinchot's post-federal career as head of The National Conservation Association and as two-term governor of Pennsylvania. In addition, he looks at Pinchot's marriage to feminist Cornelia Bryce and discusses her role in Pinchot's political radicalization throughout the 1920s and 1930s. An epilogue explores Gifford Pinchot's final years and writings.
Char Miller offers a provocative reconsideration of key events in Pinchot's life, including his relationship with friend and mentor John Muir and their famous disagreement over damming Hetch Hetchy Valley. The author brings together insights from cultural and social history and recently discovered primary sources to support a new interpretation of Pinchot -- whose activism not only helped define environmental politics in early twentieth century America but remains strikingly relevant today.

About this title

About the Author:

Char Miller is professor and chair of the history department at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He is co-author of The Greatest Good: 100 Years of Forestry in America (Society of American Foresters, 1999), and editor of Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict (University of Arizona Press, 2001).

From Library Journal:

Miller (history, Trinity Univ. of San Antonio) examines the life of Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, remembered for a very public disagreement with Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger and President William Howard Taft. Pinchot emerges as a complicated person driven by a passion for public service and an abiding love for the outdoors. A Yale graduate, he utilized family connections to foster his political career. As a like-minded progressive, President Theodore Roosevelt teamed with Pinchot to advocate multiple use of the nation's forested lands and to identify and then set aside thousands of acres for preservation. This biography examines Pinchot's personality by presenting an extensive discussion of his career as head of the National Conservation Association, two-term governor of Pennsylvania, the author of a forestry training manual and an autobiography, and the husband of feminist Cornelia Bryce. Pinchot's life and work are as relevant today as they were during the early 20th century. A previous biography, Harold Pinkett's Gifford Pinchot: Public and Private Forester, is out of print. Recommended for all libraries, especially those with environmental collections. Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley Coll., Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1559638230
• ISBN 13: 9781559638234
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464