Synopses & Reviews
Robert Leo Heilman has punched many time clocks. In his first book, Overstory: Zero, Heilman reveals the hard life of the working class: loggers, miners, roofers, mill workers, and tree planters. He tells the truth, not afraid to address both brutality and controversy, especially concerning old-growth forest management. His essays examine the complex relationships between work, nature, and family. In honest, gritty prose that eloquently transcends issues and labels, Heilman gives us rare insight into the threatened timber communities of the Pacific Northwest.
Review
"Overstory: Zero richly and energetically tells the tales that have too long been locked away in the land of logging. From brush-apes to logging-show bosses, from aging vigilantes to strong rural women, the 3-D people of Oregon's tree country come alive in Heilman's wonderfully ambivalent love song to the logged-over land. In the unlikely setting of the clear-cut and the turned-down timber towns, Heilman plumbs and situates the stuttering, vibrant heart of community." -- Robert Michael Pyle, author of Wintergreen and Thunder Tree