A pioneer in international conservation and wildlife ecology, Raymond Dasmann published his first book, the influential text Environmental Conservation, when the term "environment" was little known and "conservation" to most people simply meant keeping or storing. Ranging from Dasmann's travels to ecological hotspots around the world to his development of concepts such as bioregionalism and ecotourism, this is both a memoir and an account of how Dasmann's thinking developed around issues that are vitally important today.
Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Beginnings: The Lure of the Wild Country 2. School, the Woods, and War 3. Red Arrows Never Glance 4. Live Coward or Dead Hero? 5. Elizabeth's Story 6. Reunion 7. Transition 8. Deer 9. Arcata 10. Conservation by Slaughter 11. Return to the United States 12. Influences and Efforts 13. Too Many, Too Much 14. Uniting Nations 15. Return to Africa 16. Ecosystem and Biosphere People 17. The Edges of the Sea 18. The Incident in Kinshasha 19. Return to the South Pacific 20. Back to the Land 21. Damming Paradise 22. Other Ways of Life 23. Biosphere Reserves 24. Finale Bibliography Index
Raymond F. Dasmann is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Among his many books and publications are Environmental Conservation (fifth edition 1984), Wildlife Biology (second edition 1981), California's Changing Environment (1981), and The Destruction of California (1965).
This graceful and readable book is the first-hand account of one who contributed in important ways to the ecological revolution that followed World War II, an encourager whose respect for nature and humanity shines through every page.... Inspired by others, he in turn gave inspiration to a generation that may have helped us to turn back towards collective sanity in our relationship with the Earth.-Peter H. Raven, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; "How the environmental movement came to be and the role he played in its emergence is the core of Ray Dasmann's story. Environmentalism did not just happen: people forged it from their passionate grief at the threat to our living world. Understanding that passion and that grief is the gift this volume has to offer."-Carl Pope, President of the Sierra Club