Synopses & Reviews
Gifford Pinchot is known primarily for his work as first chief of the U. S. Forest Service and for his argument that resources should be used to provide the "greatest good for the greatest number of people." But Pinchot was a more complicated figure than has generally been recognized, and more than half a century after his death, he continues to provoke controversy.
This new biography, the first in more than three decades, offers a fresh interpretation of the life and work of the famed conservationist and Progressive politician. In addition to considering Pinchot's role in the environmental movement, historian Char Miller sets forth an engaging description and analysis of the man - his character, passions, and personality - and the larger world through which he moved.
Miller begins by describing Pinchot's early years and the often overlooked influence of his family and their aspirations for him. He examines Pinchot's post-graduate education in France and his ensuing efforts in promoting the profession of forestry in the United States and in establishing and running the Forest Service. While Pinchot's twelve years as chief forester (1898 - 1910) are the ones most historians and biographers focus on, Miller also offers an extensive examination of Pinchot's post-federal career as head of The National Conservation Association and as two-term governor of Pennsylvania. In addition, he looks at Pinchot's marriage to feminist Cornelia Bryce and discusses her role in Pinchot's political radicalization throughout the 1920s and 1930s. An epilogue explores Pinchot's final years and writings.
Miller offers a provocative reconsideration of key events in Pinchot's life, including his relationship with friend and mentor John Muir and their famous disagreement over damming Hetch Hetchy Valley. The author brings together insights from cultural and social history and recently discovered primary sources to support a new interpretation of Pinchot - whose activism not only helped define environmental politics in early twentieth century America but remains strikingly relevant today.
Review
"Char Miller's lively, insightful account of the life and world of American forester Gifford Pinchot fills a vitally important gap in environmental and conservation history. Anyone captivated by the issues and controversies surrounding the preservation and development of the nation's natural heritage should read this engaging, carefully researched biography."
Review
"...an absorbing, well-researched, and illuminating life of an American leader who now receives the full attention he deserves."
About the Author
Char Miller is professor and chair of the history department at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He is co-author of The Greatest Good: 100 Years of Forestry in America (Society of American Foresters, 1999), and editor of Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict (University of Arizona Press, 2001).
Table of Contents
Prologue
PART I. Family Tree
Chapter 1. The World of His Father
Chapter 2. Relative Power
Chapter 3. Rising Son
PART II. A Young Stand
Chapter 4. An American in Nancy
Chapter 5. The Damaged Fabric
Chapter 6. A Political Two-Step
PART III. Mature Grounds
Chapter 7. Keeper of His Conscience?
Chapter 8. Family Affairs
Chapter 9. A Political Natural
PART IV. Old Growth
Chapter 10. Governing Ambitions
Chapter 11. Chiefly Politics
Chapter 12. The Widening View
Chapter 13. Crosscut
Chapter 14. Climax
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index