Seeing things whole : the essential John Wesley Powell

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Powell, John Wesley, Author.

Contributor:

DeBuys, William, 1949- Contributor.

Series:

Pioneers of Conservation

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902.

Powell, John Wesley.

Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902--Philosophy.

Arid regions--West (U.S.)--Biography.

Arid regions.

Explorers--United States--Biography.

Explorers.

Geologists--United States--Biography.

Geologists.

Conservationists--United States.

Conservationists.

Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Description and travel.

Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico).

West (U.S.)--Description and travel.

West (U.S.).

Grand Canyon (Ariz.)--Description and travel.

Grand Canyon (Ariz.).

West (U.S.)--Environmental conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (416 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] Island Press/Shearwater Books 2001

Language Note:

English

Summary:

John Wesley Powell was an American original. He was the last of the nation's great continental explorers and the first of a new breed of public servant: part scientist, part social reformer, part institution builder. His work and life reveal an enduringly valuable way of thinking about land, water, and society as parts of an interconnected whole; he was America's first great bioregional thinker. "Seeing Things Whole" presents John Wesley Powell in the full diversity of his achievements and interests, bringing together in a single volume writings ranging from his gripping account of exploring the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to his views on the evolution of civilization, along with the seminal writings in which he sets forth his ideas on western settlement and the allocation and management of western resources. The centerpiece of "Seeing Things Whole" is a series of selections from the famous 1878 Report on the Lands of the Arid Region and related magazine articles in which Powell further develops the themes of the report. In those, he recommends organizing the Arid Lands into watershed commonwealths governed by resident citizens whose interlocking interests create the checks and balances essential to wise stewardship of the land. This was the central focus of John Wesley Powell's bioregional vision, and it remains a model for governance that many westerners see as a viable solution to the resource management conflicts that continue to bedevil the region. Throughout the collection, award-winning writer and historian William deBuys brilliantly sets the historical context for Powell's work. Section introductions and extensive descriptive notes take the reader through the evolution of John Wesley Powell's interests and ideas from his role as an officer in the Civil War through his critique of Social Darwinism and landmark categorization of Indian languages, to the climatic yet ultimately futile battles he fought to win adoption of his land-use proposals. "Seeing Things Whole" presents the essence of the extraordinary legacy that John Wesley Powell has left to the American people, and to people everywhere who strive to reconcile the demands of society with the imperatives of the land.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Maps and Photographs

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Seeing Things Whole

Biographical Chronology

Part I Down the Colorado: Letters from the Wilderness Post

Selection 1: The Party Has Reached This Point in Safety

Selection 2: The Wreck of the No-Name

Part II Voyage into the Great Unknown

Selection 3: Through the Grand Canyon from the Little Colorado to the Virgin River

Part III Among the Natives of the Colorado Plateau

Selection 4: Camped with the Shivwits and the Fate of the Separated Three

Selection 5: The Ancient Province of Tusayan

Part IV Report on the Lands of the Arid Region

Selection 6: Preface and Table of Contents

Selection 7: Physical Characteristics of the Arid Region

Selection 8: The Land System Needed for the Arid Region

Part V The Nation's Expert

Selection 9: Trees on Arid Lands

Selection 10: The Lesson of Conemaugh

Selection 11: Address to the Montana Constitutional Convention

Part VI Advice for the Century

Selection 12: The Irrigable Lands of the Arid Region

Selection 13: The Non-Irrigable Lands of the Arid Region

Selection 14: Institutions for the Arid Lands

Part VII A Philosopher for Humankind

Selection 15: From Barbarism to Civilization

Selection 16: Competition as a Factor in Human Evolution

Works by John Wesley Powell

Seconday Works Cited

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781610913249

1610913248

OCLC:

1244626865