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Utah's acceptance of the 2002 winter games seemed to prove the soundness of Colorado's decision to reject the games decades earlier. As has now been well documented, the award touched off a cascade of corruption, from outright bribery of the International Olympic Committee to various land swindles. It was a seismic event in the rural West, creating a shock doctrine all its own. Here at long last was the perfect excuse for wholesale development at nearly any cost. Honorable state and national legislators morphed into eager enablers.
Steve Trimble wisely opted out of trying to thoroughly assay the political scheming and environmental consequences played out in a spectacular crucible. But he has done something far better. He tracks one emblematic deal -- the transfer of a great swath of prime public land to a driven man who was already one of the largest landholders in the country. Bargaining For Eden is not just another depressing illustration of the corrupting influence of power, but a vibrant montage of unusual suspects expressing quirky aspects of individualism, camaraderie, and Western ethos. The author himself does not stand aside in judgment, but, in going the extra mile for the truth, explicitly implicates himself -- almost shamefacedly detailing his own micro-land development.
I'm grateful that Steve Trimble volunteered to guide us through this minefield of desires and improbable outcomes. His softspoken integrity puts the reader at ease. His own contemplative adventures are mingled deftly with the big doings of "operator" Earl Holding -- a man who, despite the author's careful rendering, seems more bulldozer than flesh and blood. This, above all, makes the book compelling. It is surprisingly easy to read, in spite of the messy wrangling for wilderness and luxury it reveals. In the end, I could not escape the feeling that the author's essential honesty and kindness overshadow even his larger-than-life subjects. He would never concede the point, however. He maintains that we are all Earl Holding, to some degree. That perspective is, at least, instructive and useful for bridge-building. Steve Trimble is harder on himself than on anyone else in this book, and that's saying something. It is therefore the one book about the changing West that every American should read.
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Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America by Stephen Trimble
Kevin McCarthy, August 21, 2008
Utah's acceptance of the 2002 winter games seemed to prove the soundness of Colorado's decision to reject the games decades earlier. As has now been well documented, the award touched off a cascade of corruption, from outright bribery of the International Olympic Committee to various land swindles. It was a seismic event in the rural West, creating a shock doctrine all its own. Here at long last was the perfect excuse for wholesale development at nearly any cost. Honorable state and national legislators morphed into eager enablers.Steve Trimble wisely opted out of trying to thoroughly assay the political scheming and environmental consequences played out in a spectacular crucible. But he has done something far better. He tracks one emblematic deal -- the transfer of a great swath of prime public land to a driven man who was already one of the largest landholders in the country. Bargaining For Eden is not just another depressing illustration of the corrupting influence of power, but a vibrant montage of unusual suspects expressing quirky aspects of individualism, camaraderie, and Western ethos. The author himself does not stand aside in judgment, but, in going the extra mile for the truth, explicitly implicates himself -- almost shamefacedly detailing his own micro-land development.
I'm grateful that Steve Trimble volunteered to guide us through this minefield of desires and improbable outcomes. His softspoken integrity puts the reader at ease. His own contemplative adventures are mingled deftly with the big doings of "operator" Earl Holding -- a man who, despite the author's careful rendering, seems more bulldozer than flesh and blood. This, above all, makes the book compelling. It is surprisingly easy to read, in spite of the messy wrangling for wilderness and luxury it reveals. In the end, I could not escape the feeling that the author's essential honesty and kindness overshadow even his larger-than-life subjects. He would never concede the point, however. He maintains that we are all Earl Holding, to some degree. That perspective is, at least, instructive and useful for bridge-building. Steve Trimble is harder on himself than on anyone else in this book, and that's saying something. It is therefore the one book about the changing West that every American should read.
(4 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)