“Badluck Way – A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West” by Bryce Andrews

April 17, 2014UncategorizedBryce Andrews, cattle ranching, conservation, creative nonfiction, environmental politics, hunting, land management, Montana, wolves, Yellowstone National Parkalicemg2013

This book is so good I don’t know where to begin. Andrews recounts his year (2006 – 2007) as a cowboy on a ranch next to Yellowstone National Park, where wolves were reintroduced in the 1990s. “Conservation ranching” was intended to permit the coexistence of wolves and cattle. Andrews got caught up in the harsh … Continue reading “Badluck Way – A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West” by Bryce Andrews →

“Down from the Mountain – The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear” by Bryce Andrews

October 27, 2020Uncategorizedagriculture, American culture, bears, Bryce Andrews, environment, environmental regulation, Montana, non-fiction, science and public policy, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife protectionalicemg2013

One reviewer described this book as “feral”. No. Far from it. It’s thoughtful and highly nuanced. Andrews describes his interactions with nature very carefully. His relationship to nature is based both on study and practical personal experience. Mission Valley, Montana, is a place where mountainous wilderness and farmland intersect. Andrews works for People and Carnivores, … Continue reading “Down from the Mountain – The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear” by Bryce Andrews →

“English Creek” by Ivan Doig

October 13, 2020Uncategorizedadolescence, American culture, American family life, American history, ecology, environment, environmental regulation, fiction, fire fighting, first person fiction, forestry, Great Depression, Ivan Doig, Montana, national forestalicemg2013

This is the novel I’ve been waiting for! I mean during this pandemic. I’ve wanted something to get lost in, something not too fraught, something to entertain and distract me. My Library had two of Doig’s many books, so I got this early work of fiction from 1984 and his final novel, Last Bus to … Continue reading “English Creek” by Ivan Doig →

“The Shepard’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape” by James Rebanks

October 31, 2015Uncategorizedagriculture., autobiography, Beatrix Potter, British National Trust, Bryce Andrews, common land, ecotourism, education, England, farming, James Rebanks, Lake District, land use, landscape, livestock, Oxford, sheep farming, Twitter, UNESCO, William Wordsworthalicemg2013

This autobiographical book is magical! Rebanks was born into a sheep farming family in England’s Lake District. Farmers and their livestock (mostly sheep) are tied to their land by intense historical and cultural bonds. The sheep are raised on land too steep and rough for other agriculture (and possibly for other human use). Most of … Continue reading “The Shepard’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape” by James Rebanks →

“The Log of a Cowboy – A Narrative of the Old Trail Days” by Andy Adams

April 28, 2014UncategorizedAmerican history, Andy Adams, autobiography, books, cattle drive, cow horses, cowboys, frontier, memoir, Montana, nonfiction, range cattle, Texas, the American Westalicemg2013

Reading “Badluck Way” (see April 17) reminded me of this wonderful memoir of cowboy life in 1882. Like Bryce Andrews, Andy Adams worked with cattle. Unlike Andrews, he didn’t get to stay in one place. Adams drove cattle from Texas to Montana as part of a crew of about a dozen men. The work was … Continue reading “The Log of a Cowboy – A Narrative of the Old Trail Days” by Andy Adams →

AMG Reading Journal

Excerpts from my Reading Journal

Search Results for: badluck