An Open Pit Visible from the Moon

Environmental historian and writer Adam M. Sowards is Professor of History at the University of Idaho. He is the author of The Environmental Justice: William O. Douglas and American Conservation and editor of Idaho's Place: A New History of the Gem State.

"An Open Pit Visible from the Moon is remarkably well organized, weaving many disparate elements into a cogent whole; it is written clearly in a relaxed and easy-to-read style. . . . [I]n our current times, such citizen action is of critical importance in protecting and preserving both specific landscapes and the public interest in public land."-- Pacific Northwest Quarterly "[W]e . . . have Sowards's illuminating and well-written book, which joins the recent work of James Morton Turner, Mark Harvey, and Paul Sutter to cast new light on the importance of wilderness in shaping American culture, society, and politics."--Journal of Arizona History "Dr. Sowards has produced an intriguing, well-researched and well-documented historical accounting of the fight--initiated at the most basic level of American society--to prevent development of an open-pit mine in a relatively unspoiled area. . . . Sowards has told an intriguing story that occurred at a time when public advocacy, at a considerably basic level when compared to that existing today, was a moving force."--California Fish and Wildlife "Sowards provides insight into the real on-the-ground struggle and immense obstacles and uncertainties faced by conservationists where the outcome was not preordained or predictable. He tells the story through the eyes of the conservationists involved. It goes beyond just the public and published records and digs deep into their personal files, recollections, newsletters and publications of the conservation groups so that the reader gets a complete picture of the grave challenges they face."--The Wild Cascades: The Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council "With a clear love for the wild place that caused this historical ruckus . . . Sowards spins a campfire-worthy tale about a controversial fight that has been largely relegated to "footnote" despite its critical role in America's conservation legacy." --Montana: The Magazine of Western History "Adam Sowards picks up where John McPhee left off in Encounters with the Archdruid.An Open Pit Visible from the Moon offers an equally engaging and carefully researched account of the Kennecott Copper mining controversy in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Rather than simplifying the story as a victory of environmental interests over corporate profits, Sowards explains the disparate and sometimes surprising factors that kept Kennecott Copper from mining its claim. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how wilderness politics and protection work."--James R. Skillen, author of Federal Ecosystem Management: Its Rise, Fall, and Afterlife