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Rating: 
Summary: one of the best nature essay offerings this year
Review: Biases first: I'm a rabid "drain the lake"er. Still, one's arguments can only benefit from an effective challenge, and Farmer provides this in spades. An impassioned environmentalist, Farmer nonetheless points out that artificial environments are pretty much what we live in, and that if we look only to "untrammeled wilderness" as the source of our connection with nature, we're likely to run out of that wilderness in short order. This book is an effective history of Glen Canyon, but it's also a critical analysis of wilderness tourism in the whole of Southern Utah, and a cogent deconstruction of our attitudes toward built versus natural landscapes. And unlike many such tomes (Stephen Pyne's valuable if turgid How the Canyon Became Grand comes to mind) Farmer writes his critique in a personable, approachable voice. It's rare to see a capable writer approach such a multifaceted subject without fear of using the first person singular pronoun. Eminently readable.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best nature essay offerings this year
Review: Biases first: I'm a rabid "drain the lake"er. Still, one's arguments can only benefit from an effective challenge, and Farmer provides this in spades. An impassioned environmentalist, Farmer nonetheless points out that artificial environments are pretty much what we live in, and that if we look only to "untrammeled wilderness" as the source of our connection with nature, we're likely to run out of that wilderness in short order. This book is an effective history of Glen Canyon, but it's also a critical analysis of wilderness tourism in the whole of Southern Utah, and a cogent deconstruction of our attitudes toward built versus natural landscapes. And unlike many such tomes (Stephen Pyne's valuable if turgid How the Canyon Became Grand comes to mind) Farmer writes his critique in a personable, approachable voice. It's rare to see a capable writer approach such a multifaceted subject without fear of using the first person singular pronoun. Eminently readable.
Rating: 
Summary: Two sides to every story
Review: This book is well written and enjoyable. It presents the case from those that wish to drain Lake Powell but is does so quite fairly and does give decent coverage to the pros of Lake Powell and and the access and beauty created by the massive Glen Canyon Dam. Perhaps Mr Farmer angered more than he pleased but that usually shows that he is not completely one one side or the other. A worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Two sides to every story
Review: This book is well written and enjoyable. It presents the case from those that wish to drain Lake Powell but is does so quite fairly and does give decent coverage to the pros of Lake Powell and and the access and beauty created by the massive Glen Canyon Dam. Perhaps Mr Farmer angered more than he pleased but that usually shows that he is not completely one one side or the other. A worthwhile read.
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