This America of ours :

Select an Action

Title :

This America of ours : Bernard and Avis Devoto and the forgotten fight to save the wild / Nate Schweber.

Title:

This America of ours :

Author:

Schweber, Nate

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

xviii, 334 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780358438816

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Mariner Books, [2022].

Summary:

In late-1940s America, few writers commanded attention like Bernard DeVoto. Alongside his brilliant wife and editor, Avis, DeVoto was a firebrand of American liberty, free speech, and perhaps our greatest national treasure: public lands. But when a corrupt band of lawmakers, led by Senator Pat McCarran, sought to quietly cede millions of acres of national parks and other western lands to logging, mining, and private industry, the DeVotos entered the fight of their lives. Bernard and Avis built a broad grassroots coalition to sound the alarm--from Julia and Paul Child to Ansel Adams, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Alfred Knopf, Adlai Stevenson, and Wallace Stegner--while the very pillars of American democracy, embodied in free and public access to Western lands, hung in the balance. Their dramatic crusade would earn them censorship and blacklisting by Joe McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover, and Roy Cohn, and it even cost Bernard his life.

Bibliography note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-322) and index.

Language:

Undetermined

Genre:

Biographies.

Personal Subject:

De Voto, Bernard, 1897-1955.

DeVoto, Avis.

Subject Term:

Natural areas -- United States.

Public land sales -- United States.

Public lands -- United States.

Nature conservation -- United States.

Natural resources conservation areas -- United States.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	333.78 SCH	31330009218391	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	333.78/SCHW 2022	33934004552668	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	333.78 SCH	32117002132250	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	333.78 SCH	32118001080987	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	333.78/SCHWEBER N	31479007554354	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	338.78 SCH 2022	32124002075182	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT / SCH	32132003332510	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Winner of the High Plains Book Award | Best Book of the Year - Outdoor Writers Association of America

"A brilliant rendering of what 'the open space of democracy' must be if we are to survive its present state of erosion." -Terry Tempest Williams

The untold and "energetic" history of the extraordinary couple who rescued national parks from McCarthyism--and inspired a future of conservation (Wall Street Journal)

In This America of Ours, award-winning journalist Nate Schweber uncovers the forgotten story of a progressive alliance that altered the course of twentieth-century history and saved American wilderness--and our country's most fundamental ideals--from ruin.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Journalist Schweber (Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park) delivers a sharp chronicle of the collaboration between conservationist Bernard DeVoto (1897--1955) and his wife and editor, Avis (1904--1989). A prolific writer, Bernard fought to save federal lands during the McCarthy era, publishing an exposé in Harper's that "exposed and thwarted a secret plot... to force the sell-off of as much as 230 million acres of America's public lands, including national parks, monuments, forests, and grasslands." Schweber depicts Bernard's wife, Avis, as a partner in every way--often among his first readers, she "edited, fact-checked, researched, indexed, answered correspondence, and proofread until her eyes gave out," (as well, she championed the work of her friend Julia Child, finding her a publisher in 1961 for Mastering the Art of French Cooking). Schweber offers a comprehensive account of the DeVotos' fight to protect public lands, plus some scathing portrayals of their adversaries, including Nevada senator Patrick McCarran, who withheld appropriations from faltering National Park services and whose "largesse flowed disproportionately to his friends," and the FBI, who paid visits to the DeVotos' house due to claims of communism. The result is a fascinating biography, worthy of two remarkable lives. Agent: Farley Chase, Chase Literary. (July)

Kirkus Review

A stirring story of a husband and wife and their passionate devotion to the land--and great food. Journalist Schweber makes his book debut with a vigorous dual biography of Pulitzer Prize--winning writer, historian, and crusading conservationist Bernard DeVoto (1897-1955) and his wife, Avis (1904-1989), who was closely involved with his work and, after his death, devoted herself to the rising career of her friend Julia Child. Drawing on abundant archival sources, Schweber argues persuasively that because of the DeVotos' efforts, millions of acres of public lands were saved from destruction and preserved as national treasures. Bernard started his career teaching English at Northwestern, where, in 1922, he met a captivating student: Helen Avis MacVicar. They married in 1923, after her first year. Soon disillusioned with academia, Bernard quit to become a writer. "To express himself and rise in stature, Bernard DeVoto wrote novels, essays, and criticism," writes the author. "To make good money, John August wrote 'tripe' stories for the big slicks." Although his novels were mediocre at best, his nonfiction--focused on the West--earned critical acclaim. Offered a monthly column in Harper's, he turned his attention to the vulnerability of Western land. Growing up in Utah, Bernard saw land "late in the stages of having its vegetative skin grafted off. To boost lumber, beef, and wool production in World War I, logging and grazing regulations were lifted in national forests but then never reinstated in peacetime." Bernard's hard-hitting essays against the land grab by greedy ranchers and politicians ignited sparks. Schweber recounts the virulent political climate created by Nevada Sen. Pat McCarran, a strident anti-conservationist, abetted by Joseph McCarthy. Bernard was one of many caught in their crosshairs, and he was blacklisted by two magazines, investigated by the FBI, and feared imprisonment--yet never stopped lecturing and writing about conservation. After Bernard died, Avis worked as a scout for Knopf, to whom she brought Child's cookbook, a high point in their long, close friendship. An exuberant celebration of an astounding couple. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Prologue: March 3-July 8, 1948	p. xiii
Part I
Chapter 1 "Deep as the Roots of the Earth"	p. 3
Chapter 2 The Sagebrush Caesar	p. 16
Chapter 3 "The Blueprint Plans of Creation"	p. 25
Chapter 4 A World on Fire	p. 34
Chapter 5 Years of Decision	p. 47
Part II
Chapter 6 The Landgrab	p. 61
Chapter 7 A New Word for "Rustler"	p. 87
Chapter 8 "Due Notice to the FBI"	p. 101
Chapter 9 "Shall We Let Them Ruin Our National Parks?"	p. 118
Chapter 10 New Friends	p. 135
Chapter 11 Potent Mixtures	p. 141
Chapter 12 Richard DeVoto's Ordeal	p. 154
Chapter 13 "To Avis and Bernard"	p. 163
Chapter 14 Black Macs and Banned Books	p. 169
Chapter 15 Green River Canyons National Park	p. 178
Chapter 16 His True Name Is Legion	p. 195
Chapter 17 The Western Paradox	p. 205
Chapter 18 "On Any Grounds Whatever"	p. 217
Chapter 19 "The West Has Done It Once"	p. 229
Part III
Chapter 20 Descent to Earth	p. 245
Chapter 21 Master Avis	p. 261
Epilogue: Remembering	p. 272
Acknowledgments	p. 278
A Note on Sources	p. 283
Notes	p. 285
Bibliography	p. 320
Index	p. 323

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Table of Contents