Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

In this Series readers will find the history, context, and background to help them make sense of the debate and sort out opinions and arguments surrounding issues that are making headlines or creating controversy.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up‘A well-balanced overview of how Americans view the land they occupy, from heedless exploitation of resources to valuing of wilderness for its own sake. To illustrate the complex problems of setting and enforcing environmental standards, Andryszewski scans some of the major laws, lawsuits, and controversies and points out that businesses sometimes find that the changes they are forced to make actually save them money. A chapter on radical environmental groups seems tacked on, without a great deal of relevance to the main message. The final chapter, on the debate over old-growth logging in the Pacific Northwest, is the only one that portrays the various viewpoints on an issue in any depth. Although the information is presented mostly chronologically, there is no introduction to provide an overall sense of the issues, and the conclusion is weak. The writing style is fairly colorful, conveying a sense of the passions involved, but there are very few quotations and no first-person accounts to attract readers' interest. In comparison, other books on the environmental movement focus more on activist groups and less on the economy, but contain much of the same information, often with writing that more effectively motivates young people to action, e.g. Sylvia Whitman's This Land Is Your Land (Lerner, 1994). Andryszewski's special strength is in depicting the development of ideas and their consequences, particularly of the ``wise use'' backlash. This makes her book a useful supplemental purchase, particularly for reports.‘Jonathan Betz-Zall, Sno-Isle Regional Library System, Edmonds, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 7^-12. "Save a Logger, Kill an Owl" a popular bumper sticker proclaims, reflecting the inherent conflict that sometimes arises between contemporary economic and environmental concerns. It wasn't always this way, of course. Historically, Americans have liberally exploited their abundant land and mineral wealth. Andryszewski traces the emergence of the environment-versus-economy question, offering a wide breadth of information and a strong sense of historical development without overwhelming the reader. Concepts such as sustainable development are clearly explained and presented in bias-free terms, though the black-and-white photos could be more eye-catching. Students needing information will find this a handy source, similar to Nathan Aaseng's Jobs vs. the Environment (1994), but with a more sophisticated text and more emphasis on historical development. Bibliography; source notes. --Anne O'Malley