Kirjahaku

Social commentator and preeminent western historian Bernard DeVoto vigorously defended public lands in the West against commercial interests. By the time of his death in 1955, DeVoto had published criticism, history, and fiction. He had won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes. But his most passionate writing—at once incisive and eloquent—advocated conservation of America's prairies, rangeland, forests, mountains, canyons, and deserts. DeVoto's West: History, Conservation, and the Public Good showcases the complexity, depth, and breadth of DeVoto's thinking. Edward K. Muller introduces these essays (many of which originally appeared in the renowned Harper's column The Easy Chair) that persuasively advocate stewardship of public land. DeVoto addressed the plundering of resources by absentee eastern corporations, westerners' conflicted relationship with the forces of exploitation, and the degradation of the national parks. DeVoto's West collects for the first time the best of DeVoto's conservation pieces. It will introduce to a new generation prose that has retained its relevance and remains a remarkably current and timely argument for protecting public lands.

Social commentator and preeminent western historian Bernard DeVoto vigorously defended public lands in the West against commercial interests. By the time of his death in 1955, DeVoto had published criticism, history, and fiction. He had won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes. But his most passionate writing—at once incisive and eloquent—advocated conservation of America's prairies, rangeland, forests, mountains, canyons, and deserts. DeVoto's West: History, Conservation, and the Public Good showcases the complexity, depth, and breadth of DeVoto's thinking. Edward K. Muller introduces these essays (many of which originally appeared in the renowned Harper's column The Easy Chair) that persuasively advocate stewardship of public land. DeVoto addressed the plundering of resources by absentee eastern corporations, westerners' conflicted relationship with the forces of exploitation, and the degradation of the national parks. DeVoto's West collects for the first time the best of DeVoto's conservation pieces. It will introduce to a new generation prose that has retained its relevance and remains a remarkably current and timely argument for protecting public lands.

“This book is the fascinating record of DeVoto’s crusade to save the West from itself. . . . His arguments, insights, and passion are as relevant and urgent today as they were when he first put them on paper.”—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., from the Foreword Bernard DeVoto (1897-1955) was, according to the novelist Wallace Stegner, “a fighter for public causes, for conservation of our natural resources, for freedom of the press and freedom of thought.” A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, DeVoto is best remembered for his trilogy, The Year of Decision: 1846, Across the Wide Missouri, and The Course of Empire. He also wrote a column for Harper’s Magazine, in which he fulminated about his many concerns, particularly the exploitation and destruction of the American West. This volume brings together ten of DeVoto’s acerbic and still timely essays on Western conservation issues, along with his unfinished conservationist manifesto, Western Paradox, which has never before been published. The book also includes a foreword by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., who was a student of DeVoto’s at Harvard University, and a substantial introduction by Douglas Brinkley and Patricia Limerick, both of which shed light on DeVoto’s work and legacy.

"Year of Decision 1846" tells many fascinating stories of the U.S. explorers who began the western march from the Mississippi to the Pacific, from Canada to the annexation of Texas, California, and the southwest lands from Mexico. It is the penultimate book of a trilogy which includes "Across the Wide Missouri "(for which DeVoto won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes) and "The Course of Empire." DeVoto's narrative covers the expanding Western frontier, the Mormons, the Donner party, Fremont's exploration, the Army of the West, and takes readers into Native American tribal life.

DeVoto calls his work an essay in the correction of ideas. After the official biography of Mark Twain had been written by Albert Paine, DeVoto believed there was still more to be said about the works of the great American writer and humorist. He dedicates himself here to a study of the works of Twain, not the man or his life, but to how and why these works arose from American life.

An in-depth look at Lewis and Clark's historic expedition through the explorers' journals—America's "first report on the West" (Bernard DeVoto, Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar-historian of the American West). In 1803, the great expanse of the Louisiana Purchase was an empty canvas. Keenly aware that the course of the nation's destiny lay westward—and that a “Voyage of Discovery” would be necessary to determine the nature of the frontier—President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition from the Missouri River to the northern Pacific coast and back. From 1804 to 1806, accompanied by co-captain William Clark, the Shoshone guide Sacajawea, and thirty-two men, Lewis mapped rivers, traced the principal waterways to the sea, and established the American claim to the territories of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Together the captains kept this journal: a richly detailed record of the flora and fauna they sighted, the native tribes they encountered, and the awe-inspiring landscape they traversed, from their base camp near present-day St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River, which has become an incomparable contribution to the literature of exploration and the writing of natural history.

Winner of the Bancroft Prize De Voto weaves a compelling story of the Rocky mountain fur trade during the 1830s, vividly showing how this frontier enterprise shaped the American West. (A Mariner Reissue)

The Year Of Decision, 1846 is a historical non-fiction book written by Bernard DeVoto. The book revolves around the events that took place in the United States in the year 1846, which was a crucial year in the country's history. The book covers a wide range of topics, including the Mexican-American War, the Oregon boundary dispute, the California Gold Rush, and the presidential election of 1846. DeVoto provides a detailed account of the political, social, and economic factors that led to these events and their impact on the country. He also delves into the lives of key figures of the time, including President James K. Polk, General Zachary Taylor, and explorer John C. Fremont. The author's writing style is engaging and informative, and he presents the facts in a way that is easy to understand. The book is well-researched and provides a comprehensive view of the events of 1846. It is an excellent read for anyone interested in American history, politics, or the Westward expansion of the United States. Overall, The Year Of Decision, 1846 is a fascinating and informative book that sheds light on a pivotal year in American history. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the events that shaped the United States in the mid-19th century.This is a new release of the original 1943 edition.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Over forty years after the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's expedition, this year marks the point at which men and women from the east began to travel westward and populate the land near the Pacific.Bernardo DeVoto's fascinating study of this movement fully captures this moment when Western frontier was first truly settled by adventurers and explorers. Immigrant trains spread across the breadth of the country and men and women aspired to make new lives for themselves in the west. Some of these made in through the treacherous passes, but others like the Donner Party ended in tragedy. DeVoto uncovers the famous adventurers and explorers who were instrumental in forging new paths westwards like Jim Bridger, Frances Parkman and Jim Clyman.This brilliant book uncovers how through the course of the year and through a variety of different reasons the United States greatly expanded as areas that would become known as Texas, new Mexico, California, Oregon and Utah came under its sway.Bernard DeVoto was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian of the American West. He was a lifelong champion of American Public lands and the conservation of public resources as well as an outspoken defender of civil liberties. His book The Year of Decision, 1846 was first published in 1942 and he passed away in 1955.