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Book Review
| The Battle for Alabama's Wilderness: Saving the Great Gymnasiums of Nature. By John N. Randolph. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2005. xi + 263 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, index. $26.95.
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| The work described in John N. Randolph's The Battle for Alabama's Wilderness: Saving the Great Gymnasiums of Nature is rooted in fundamental questions familiar to those who contemplate the value of wilderness: What is wilderness? An idea? A place? How is wilderness defined, and by whom? What may be less well known to some—especially to those who associate wilderness with western landscapes—is how these questions have been answered throughout the history of the wilderness preservation movement in the eastern United States. Randolph's book offers one such account, detailing the events that led to the establishment of three wilderness areas in Alabama. Specifically, he chronicles the creation and later expansion of the Sipsey Wilderness Area in the Bankhead National Forest and the designation of the Cheaha and Dugger Mountain Wilderness areas in the Talledega National Forest. Randolph played a prominent role in the grassroots campaigns that resulted in the designation of these wilderness areas. |
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As a retired lawyer and a wilderness activist and conservationist for more than three decades, Randolph has experienced the personal, political, and legal dimensions of wilderness advocacy. According to Randolph, the most important aspect of wilderness activism must be a willingness to participate in the political processes that accompany these campaigns. Wilderness advocates, he contends, must learn to speak the language of compromise with politicians and other stakeholders. Randolph aptly illustrates his point through the use of local and state newspaper articles, interviews, state and federal congressional testimonies, and personal recollections. Indeed, the book's primary focus is the role of grassroots activism in achieving wilderness designation. The Battle for Alabama's Wilderness is thus provocative in its discussion of the evolution of wilderness preservation in a particular geographical region and valuable for its explication of grassroots environmental activism. |
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Although the writing is occasionally tedious—for example, readers may feel distanced from the situation because of the lack of a dynamic, unifying narrative—the author's careful attention to the chronology of events and the voices of key stakeholders heard throughout allow readers to appreciate the long and arduous struggles that have accompanied the creation of wilderness areas in Alabama. This book is written primarily to serve as a guide and an inspiration for wilderness advocates and local community activists. Selections, such as parts One and Three on the Sipsey Wilderness, would be useful for undergraduate classes in environmental studies or studies in the rhetoric of environmental discourse. |
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Ultimately, wilderness is both an idea and a place for Randolph; "wilderness is freedom," he contends (p. ix). His work ends with a plea for wilderness advocates to learn from his experiences and to continue working to preserve wild places in Alabama and elsewhere. The Battle for Alabama's Wilderness certainly demonstrates that achieving the freedom of which Randolph writes results from the passion and dedication of a life's work. |
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Jennifer Hughes Westerman is a PhD student in the literature and environment program at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is working on her dissertation, a study of environmental and social justice in American literature. |
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