[.uk] The Abstract Wild (ISBN 0816516995)

Amazon.com Review:
Much contemporary environmental literature names as enemies of the wild corporate agriculture, logging, mining, and ranching. For mountain guide/philosopher Jack Turner, these will not do. He dislikes even more the abstractions that divorce us from the natural world, which cause us to create pseudo-wild locales like Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon, places that resemble nothing so much as Disneyland. Wilderness advocates who do not make themselves at home in the wild, he believes, cannot hope to understand the object of their desires, for only from that "complete immersion in place over time" can there arise the "wisdom that cannot emerge from tourism in a relic wilderness." This sometimes blistering, provocative book is an eco-radical manifesto of a kind, and every reader concerned with wilderness issues should pay attention to it.

Must reading if you consider yourself an "environmentalist":
This book hits the nail on the head regarding what we think we believe and with how we really live and work in this world. Chapter 2, "the Abstract Wild: a Rant" and chapter 4, "Economic Nature" are particularly valuable, but then so is the rest. This is a book that makes the reader face the reality of our world and what we are making of it on no uncertian terms. If you think that we can reconcile the comfort of modern life with the real world you need to read this book. The world we are loosing is very different from the "abstract wild" we believe we are "saving". The book makes the strongest justification and argument for the spiritual reality of the world over the "economic reality" that we seem to think we must compromise with. The "Abstract Wild" belongs in every hand that hold such writings as Thoreau, Leopold and Abbey important. Much like Thoreau, it holds up a mirror that all of us, including the "mainstream" environmentalists should look on. It reveals an image that is difficult to rationalize away, showing some hard truths that we all must heed if we wish to truely change, both individually and as a culture. The "Wildness" that is the salvation of the world is more than a slogan, a momentary protest or a cause. It's Reality in the true meaning of the word.

grizzly therapy?:
I would have probably given this collection of essays 5 stars as the other reviewers did if not for the essay about Doug Peacock. Seeking to heal the psychic wounds of The Vietnam War, Peacock sought relief in the wild. An encounter at close range with a grizzly in which he seemed to come to an "understanding" with the bear brought such a catharsis that he began to actively seek them out. If Peacock was able to do this,good for him! But I am reminded of the gruesome fate of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend who tried to be friends with bears. It seems mistaken to advocate this kind of do-it-yourself therapy with ferocious predators as exemplifying a reason for preserving the wild. It also seems to contradict the desired goal of setting aside territory where Nature can manifest itself in its own way without human interference. This episode and references to shamanism give a cultic cast to the book which doesn't seem to me to further the message of preservation. The writing is quite good,charged with an emotional appeal. I thought the final essay was the best.It was a thoughtful presentation of scientific and philosophical reasons why humans need to protect a large portion of the earth from themselves,where Nature can operate on its own terms.

an exact and perfect plea:
consider this fact about the USA - 13 (now 14)have reviewed this book in this forum - and all have declared that this book, against almost all other books regarding the environment, and specifically, wildness, comes the closest to expressing their own hearts, if not before reading it, then because of reading it - yet we are force fed through the mass media that americans are gluttonous and rapacious - well as it turns out, no - just a handful are- and that handful has all of the money and all of the guns. the landlady, dear readers, IS strangling our cat.

Intense, passionate, provacative.:
This is a must read! A series of stimulating and well-written essays centering on a common theme: how wildness (once but no longer the essence of wilderness) has been mediated, micromanaged, and abstracted nearly out of existence. Turner's polemic focuses on the abstractions that divorce us from the natural world, which cause us to create pseudo-wild places like Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon, places that resemble nothing so much as a theme park. This book is radical (read: essential) environmentalism at its best and effectively reconnects the modern perspective to the passionate roots of Henry David Thoreau. Anyone concerned with preserving (much less revitalizing) the wild and wilderness, particularly in these dire times, should take Turner's ideas into account. By Kyle Gardner, author of Medicine Rock Reflections

A Compelling Read:
Jack Turner sheds light on issues most people care too little about, in this most philosophical of his books. This is food for deep thought. Definitely worth reading more than once.