Editorial reviews of The Fate of Nature
Wohlforth has an immersive prose style that’s engaging from the first page, and his obvious emotional investment in the natural beauty of Alaska, as well as his shame at the damage wrought to its environment, keeps the book anchored. (He was the lead reporter for the Anchorage Daily News during the Exxon Valdez crisis, and some early chapters about connections between everything in Prince William Sound, from the health of its fish to the culture of the native Chugach people, are particularly compelling.)
Leonard Pierce, The Onion's AV Club, June 17, 2010
Inclusive, complex, and resolute, Wohlforth's environmental history is rich in newly mined facts, galvanizing interpretations, and shocking disclosures. By analyzing competition and evolution, culture and economics, habits of living and of mind, science and suffering, Wohlforth brings a truly ecological perspective to the global debate over how to protect the biosphere.
Donna Seaman, Booklist, starred review, June 2010
A heart-wrenching journey through the tumultuous history of the state and its fragile land and seascape, from the complex, mysterious culture of killer whales through the clash of Native worldview and Hobbesian self-interest with the arrival of Europeans, the origins of the conservation movement and its ongoing battle with development, and the devastating Valdez oil spill. Wohlforth concludes, optimistically, provocatively, but convincingly, that “stepping off the material treadmill isn't denial, it's freedom.”
Bloggers weigh in on The Fate of Nature
The book comes out, after six years work, exactly when its lessons and observations on human society, selfishness, cooperation, and nature’s future have a premier news event unfolding to rivet its theme to your bones. … It quickly gets its hooks in deep. You’ll meet unforgettable people, learn things about the roots of conservationism and environmentalism you may not like, and wind up with something on which to loop a thread of hope. From Alaska, a planetary tome.
Charlie Petit, Knight Science Journalism Tracker, June 13, 2010
Intellectual, philosophical and packed with feeling, Wohlforth’s hopeful arguments for preserving our natural world are also practical and ring true as a bell, a gentle pause in the noise that often takes the place of civilized debate on the topic.
Deanna Larson, Bookpage.com, June 2010
I found myself entirely entranced by the book, reluctant to put it down each night so that I could sleep. This is a fascinating book blending science and history, full of detailed, very personal, stories about the individuals who have made a difference, both positive and negative, in Alaska over the years.
The Musings of a Life-Long Scholar, May 17, 2010
The Fate of Nature is both fun and enlightening. This has got to be the only book ever that combines discussions of the behavior of killer whales and ravens with examinations of the 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, Teddy Roosevelt, and Aleut baseball. It mixes the lyrical and the wonkish, the pragmatic and the mystical, and it also throws in some nice turns of writing
Cliff Groh, Alaska Political Corruption, Aprill 22, 2010
Those of us who love wilderness should pick up the book and learn what ordinary people are doing to look at our world in a new way. Specifically, Charles examines the deep, unwritten connections between the environment and each one of us. After reading the book, I’m beginning to look at the ocean, the wilderness–and my fellow human beings–in a new way.
Scott McMurren, Alaska Travelgram, March 26, 2010
Advance praise for The Fate of Nature
Alaska – vast, yet vulnerable – is the roiling stage for an immense book that confronts the biggest question we’ll ever face: Do we humans have it in us to square with nature before it’s too late? In an extraordinary swirl of ecology, psychology, history, searing reportage, and unabashed love for his own species despite all the pain we’ve wreaked, Charles Wohlforth leaves us chastened but hopeful that just maybe we can.
Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us
The Fate of Nature is an important and compelling read. Wohlforth develops critical, unexamined issues about our relationship to nature through the vivid characters and magnificent landscapes of coastal Alaska. You’ll be intrigued, and you may be changed.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr
An ambitious and big-hearted book, The Fate of Nature contains lessons we all need to learn. It should be read by everyone who cares about the oceans and the many lives -- human or otherwise -- that depend on them.
Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe
The hidden truths in The Fate of Nature gradually come into focus through the adventures, stories, and exhilarating experiences conveyed with masterful grace and deep understanding of ancient wisdom and modern realities by Charles Wohlforth. A must-read for all who care about securing an enduring future for humankind within the natural systems that sustain us.
Sylvia A. Earle, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic
No one does a better job of bringing the real Alaska to life than Charles Wohlforth. In The Fate of Nature, he has combined compelling story-telling with a provocative contribution to our national environmental debate. I don’t agree with everything Charles has to say, but his eye-opening book is an invaluable read for anyone who cares about my state and our planet and wants to leave it better than we found it.
U.S. Senator Mark Begich, D-Alaska
The great question--to be settled in the next few decades--is whether 'human nature' will force us to wreck our planet, or whether it will turn out to be the saving grace. Charles Wohlforth doesn't make assumptions--he makes sense. And hopeful sense at that!”
Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy
