The Battle for Yellowstone: Morality and the Sacred Roots of Environmental Conflict

Description

Yellowstone holds a special place in America's heart. As the world's first national park, it is globally recognized as the crown jewel of modern environmental preservation. But the park and its surrounding regions have recently become a lightning rod for environmental conflict, plagued by intense and intractable political struggles among the federa

Justin Farrell is assistant professor of sociology in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University.

Winner of the 2016 Outstanding Published Book Award, Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Section of the American Sociological Association One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015 "The most original political book of early 2015 is not formally about politics at all. Instead The Battle for Yellowstone by Justin Farrell, a young scholar at Yale University, ponders venomous rows that have shaken Yellowstone National Park in recent decades, and why they are so intractable."--Economist "In a refreshingly honest and balanced treatment, Farrell (sociology, Yale Univ.) addresses the spiritual elephant in the environmental room: the most perplexing environmental questions, the answers to which 'are only possible and made meaningful in the context of larger moral orders and spiritual narratives that shared human cultures are built upon.' With great insight and careful analysis, he examines the various reasons deep moral and spiritual meanings are often ignored, muted, and misunderstood. His scholarly diagnosis is well documented and thoroughly researched."--Choice "Written in a highly accessiblemanner and will be of interest to many, including environmental sociologists, sociologists of culture and cognition, and sociologists of religion... This book offers a rich analysis of the irascible conflicts over the human/nature relationship in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the moral and cultural embeddedness of scientific and economic discourse."--Rebecca R. Scott, American Journal of Sociology "The book rests on awe-inspiring research... A deeply informed and balanced discussion emerges... An engaging narrative and insightful, provocative analysis. The book deserves and will reward a wide audience, but those interested in environmental, western, and twentieth-century U.S. topics will find it particularly useful."--Todd M. Kerstetter, Journal of American History