Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Encounters w/David Brower, the #1 environmentalist
Review: I can't remember being so sad the last time I finished a book. The writing of John McPhee is so flavorful that it is a shame his style is so economic and effective. In Encounters with the Archdruid, published in 1971, McPhee presents 4 arguments splendidly: the miner, the developer, the dam builder and the environmentalist. The book is about 3 over-achieving men who compellingly convince us to spend our resources now, and one great (and particularly militant) man who wants to protect and manage our natural inheritance forever. The topic could be covered in a dry and tasteless text book, but in the hands of McPhee reads like a great novel. The stories of each man's life and their sound reasons for defending their trade are beautiful and thoughtful. Throughout the narrative are lovely descriptions of the terrain and natural history of the North Cascades, The Grand Canyon of the Colorado and coastal islands off Georgia. Although each "character" is particularly biased in his view, from beginning to end, McPhee is fair and even handed in his presentation. This short piece is flawless and McPhee is as much a visionary as the men he writes about. Although pulished 30 years ago, the writing feels timeless. As soon as I was finished reading it I ran out to buy Coming into the Country, perhaps the author's greatest achievement.
Rating: 
Summary: Encounters with the Archdruid
Review: In an AP Environmental Science Class, we were assigned to read an environmental book and do a book report. Six of us chose Encounters with the Archdruid. The main consensus was while being a very informative and descriptive book, it was boring. Being 17 and 18 year old seniors in High School, this book was not our forte due to the slow moving nature of it. This book presented 4 viewpoints of people in the enviromental world: the dam builder, hardcore enviromentalist, developer, and the miner. The dialouge between the characters is somewhat interesting, but this book is definatly not a "Joe-Jim" read. For an excellent environmental book I highly suggest Ishmael.
Rating:
Summary: Catalyst for conservation
Review: In chemistry, a catalyst is used to mix two substances unlikely to join in nature. John McPhee here acts as a catalyst in stimulating reactions between the Archdruid, David Brower, and three of his antagonists. As a catalyst, McPhee deals with each pairing in the most detached way possible. Even so long after its original publication, the attitudes expressed by the mineral engineer, the dam builder and resort developer through McPhee's superb journalism remain with us. He succeeds admirably at that in relating these confrontations, while his writing skills keep you aware of him at all times. Brower, a towering figure in several senses, is portrayed in an almost subdued manner. The strength of his message, however, so appropriate today, is conveyed by McPhee as a muffled riptide. Join McPhee as he struggles over copper-bearing mountains with Brower and geologist Charles Park. Park "would move the White House if there was copper under it." To Park, mineral extraction is mandated by the need of Americans to maintain the lifestyle they've achieved in the 20th Century. Brower argues that lifestyle growth must slow its pace to retain the remaining natural resources. Park counters Brower's desire to protect the wilderness with assertions that "managed mining" will achieve both aims. Park argues that mining need not destroy wilderness and that Glacier Peak's hiking trails will not be lost because copper is removed from its innards. Does this sound familiar? The Archdruid's second encounter is with the rather more flamboyant Charles Fraser. Fraser has a winning track record in development, particularly golf courses. He wants to "open" an island off the Carolina coast. The island, "a third larger than Manhattan, has a population of eleven people." Fraser sees that condition as disproportionate. When Brower disagrees, Fraser dubs him the Archdruid - contending that 'conservationists' are 'preservationists.' "Modern druids worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those trees," Fraser contends. The humans being sacrificed are golfers and others who can afford to visit the offshore island Fraser wants to "develop." Fraser, like Park, understands the need of Americans to return to a remembered uncongested frontier condition, if only temporarily. The western frontier becomes the site of McPhee's concluding essay. In the West, more than anywhere else in North America, water is life's blood. Whether water is better used in a free flowing or captive condition is the subject of Brower's dispute with Floyd E. Dominy, dam builder. McPhee follows the pair over reservoirs, deep into dams, along river courses, in his account of the "water wars." McPhee describes Dominy as "a child of the hundredth meridian," that boundary between wet and dry Mid-America. Dominy spent years capturing water for ranchers and farmers, later adding cities, casinos and boaters to his clientele. Along the Colorado River, deep in the Grand Canyon, McPhee records Brower and Dominy debating the impact of damming western rivers. We have lost David Brower. If there's a finer memorial than McPhee's account, point it out. The issues related here aren't resolved today, giving this book an unexpected endurance. John McPhee has performed an incomparable feat in aligning the attitudes and expressions of the "developer" and the "environmentalist." Clear choices are made apparent, but as McPhee reminds us, neither Brower nor his contenders are the ones who will make the decisions - it is you, the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Catalyst for conservation
Review: In chemistry, a catalyst is used to mix two substances unlikely to join in nature. John McPhee here acts as a catalyst in stimulating reactions between the Archdruid, David Brower, and three of his antagonists. As a catalyst, McPhee deals with each pairing in the most detached way possible. Even so long after its original publication, the attitudes expressed by the mineral engineer, the dam builder and resort developer through McPhee's superb journalism remain with us. He succeeds admirably at that in relating these confrontations, while his writing skills keep you aware of him at all times. Brower, a towering figure in several senses, is portrayed in an almost subdued manner. The strength of his message, however, so appropriate today, is conveyed by McPhee as a muffled riptide. Join McPhee as he struggles over copper-bearing mountains with Brower and geologist Charles Park. Park "would move the White House if there was copper under it." To Park, mineral extraction is mandated by the need of Americans to maintain the lifestyle they've achieved in the 20th Century. Brower argues that lifestyle growth must slow its pace to retain the remaining natural resources. Park counters Brower's desire to protect the wilderness with assertions that "managed mining" will achieve both aims. Park argues that mining need not destroy wilderness and that Glacier Peak's hiking trails will not be lost because copper is removed from its innards. Does this sound familiar? The Archdruid's second encounter is with the rather more flamboyant Charles Fraser. Fraser has a winning track record in development, particularly golf courses. He wants to "open" an island off the Carolina coast. The island, "a third larger than Manhattan, has a population of eleven people." Fraser sees that condition as disproportionate. When Brower disagrees, Fraser dubs him the Archdruid - contending that 'conservationists' are 'preservationists.' "Modern druids worship trees and sacrifice human beings to those trees," Fraser contends. The humans being sacrificed are golfers and others who can afford to visit the offshore island Fraser wants to "develop." Fraser, like Park, understands the need of Americans to return to a remembered uncongested frontier condition, if only temporarily. The western frontier becomes the site of McPhee's concluding essay. In the West, more than anywhere else in North America, water is life's blood. Whether water is better used in a free flowing or captive condition is the subject of Brower's dispute with Floyd E. Dominy, dam builder. McPhee follows the pair over reservoirs, deep into dams, along river courses, in his account of the "water wars." McPhee describes Dominy as "a child of the hundredth meridian," that boundary between wet and dry Mid-America. Dominy spent years capturing water for ranchers and farmers, later adding cities, casinos and boaters to his clientele. Along the Colorado River, deep in the Grand Canyon, McPhee records Brower and Dominy debating the impact of damming western rivers. We have lost David Brower. If there's a finer memorial than McPhee's account, point it out. The issues related here aren't resolved today, giving this book an unexpected endurance. John McPhee has performed an incomparable feat in aligning the attitudes and expressions of the "developer" and the "environmentalist." Clear choices are made apparent, but as McPhee reminds us, neither Brower nor his contenders are the ones who will make the decisions - it is you, the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Environmental Opinions
Review: IN the book, encounters with the archdruid, by John Mcphee there were many different views on environmental issues. Mcphee demonstrates these views through his characters that are conservationists and preservationists. THe novel is divided into three parts, each dealing with a different issue: Mining in a mountain range, development of islands, and the damming of rivers. Within each section, the characters argued, convaying the conservatgionists because, although the arguments were heavy. THe characters had good explanations behind their opinions. THe arguments made you, the reader question your thoughts on the topic. Both the con's and pres. Had good ideas backing their opinions, Therefore it kept the reader into the book. However, the book jumps from topic to topic and was difficult to follow at times. There was also an extensive above of facts about the setting that didn't need to be there. The book would have still had the same effect withouth the added info. Overall, the book was enjoyable and made you think of how you would act if faced with the option to build a damn, resort, or mine.
Rating:
Summary: clash between hard-core environmentalism & development
Review: In this collection of three of his New Yorker pieces, McPhee offers a unique perspective on the clash between hard-core environmentalism & the forces of development. He describes encounters between David Bower, executive director of the Sierra Club & then founder of Friends of the Earth, and: (1) Charles Park, a mineral engineer, looking for copper in Glacier Peak Wilderness in the Cascades. Park believes that, "Minerals are where you find them. The quantities are finite." So you go & get them wherever they are located. McPhee goes with them as they hike through the mountains. (2) Charles Fraser, developer of Hilton Head Island's Sea Pines Plantation, who has obtained 3000 acres on undeveloped Cumberland Island. Fraser has bent over backwards in previous developments to preserve as much of the original landscape as he could, but he considers all environmentalists to be "druids" who will sacrifice people to save trees. & (3) Floyd Dominy, United States Commissioner of Reclamation and devoted dam builder. McPhee brings them together to walk the Glen Canyon Dam. As McPhee says, dams cause a visceral reaction among environmentalists because, "Humiliating nature, a dam is evil..." . By bringing these men of starkly different viewpoint together & letting them speak for themselves, McPhee presents us with a dialogue that is pretty balanced. It is a significant contribution to our understanding of how the two sides in the preservation vs. development debate came to be so absolutist. As Brower says at one point: "Objectivity is the greatest threat to the United States today." But one finishes the book wondering if making totally subjective judgments and arguments has really helped the environment or cause of environmentalism. GRADE: B+
Rating: 
Summary: too many dam dams
Review: It made me want to hike the Sierra Nevada mountains. The cover of the book enticed me to read this book. The book was very informational about David Brower's life. It was good how the book was divided into three parts to makea it more interesting. John McPhee did a good job of describing how the mountains looked. It helped show how nature is affected by humans and how we shouldn't interfere with it. It was very interesting to see the differemt views of a conservationist verses a copper miner or a developer. Overall, this story has enlightened all of its readers to the effects of human growth and industrialization in the wilderness.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of nature writing
Review: McPhee somehow combines a rigid structure of journalism with some beautiful poetry that flows from each word to the next, like the river he describes at the end of this work. I thought this was an amazing piece of writing; he makes what might seem boring into something provocative and truly meaningful. McPhee cleverly separates himself from taking sides with any of the well-developed, real characters. You can also learn from this book, as McPhee simply presents the material and makes you think the issues over. I recommend this book to all, preservationalists and conservationalists alike. It's such a good book because it seems like anyone can write this at first glance, because it's so fluid, but upon further inspection, you realize that he has perfected an art of journalism blended with poetry ... something I really haven't seen in my lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: McPhee's skill is in presenting a human drama, with nature as a backdrop. Here, he follows environmental leader David Brower as he interacts with a miner, a developer, and a dam-builder. McPhee tells these stories in an even-handed way, playing up the dialog and letting the conversations and actions tell the story, rather than focus on the issues themselves. It's reasonable to assume that McPhee sympathizes with the environmental perspective beacause of the choice of topics he covers, but he never presents one side more than another. A particular treat is for readers of Reisner's Cadillac Desert, who learned about an entertainingly bold dam-builder, Floyd Dominy. Here, McPhee places him and David Brower at the scene of Brower's greatest disappointment - a dam that he "allowed" to be built. The results, and the tone of the conversation between them, may be suprising. For readers who want an introduction to McPhee without the focus of this book, Table of Contents (the title of another book) is a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: One of McPhee's Very Best
Review: The archdruid of the title is confrontational conservationist David Brower, a man who did much to increase the influence of the Sierra Club-but proved so militant that the organization eventually ousted him. McPhee convinces Brower to take three trips with him, and on each trip a Brower adversary also comes along. First it's up a mountain in the Sierra Nevadas where a mining company wants to rip out copper; the companion is Charles Park, a mountain-loving mineral engineer. Next it's off to Cumberland Island off the Georgia coast, recently bought by developer Charles Fraser, who has done his best to preserve nature on previous projects. Finally it's a raft trip down the Colorado with Floyd Dominy, a government official who is proudest of the dams he's built. In each case, Brower's adversary is sensitive to the environment-but never sensitive enough for the gently combative Brower. The conflicts, and the human connections underneath, make for a great read. McPhee really accomplished something special and original here, in one of his very best books.
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