Groundbreaking ... King adds a crucial missing piece to this oft-told history ... He elides important shifts in paradigms, such as that from classic conservationism to biocentric preservation and ecological restoration ... The book is also markedly light on self-examination.
Passionate ... King’s engaging narrative exposes the maneuvering of lumber companies that plundered redwood forests for decades, with the collusion of powerful individuals in politics, academia, and civil service.
[King's] haunting, sometimes inspiring narrative is sure to move anyone interested in trees and nature. A disheartening yet wholly engrossing, urgent account of redwood preservation.
King’s dogged research turns up the closed-door deals and nefarious legal schemes that led to the destruction of 96% of redwood forests, providing a disturbing chronicle of how lumber companies flouted laws and came out on top. The result is a sobering accounting of the forces environmentalists are up against.
