Thursday, April 11, 7 PM: Book Release Celebration for Ruby McConnell, of South Eugene, Author of "Wilderness and the American Spirit," with Writer Bronwynn Dean, featuring Music by John Bauman. Chandra LeGue, author of “Oregon’s Ancient Forests: A Hiking Guide” will act as MC.
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Publisher Marketing:
The idea of the American spirit has always been rooted in expansion and abundance-- at great cost to the environment. Americans now find themselves at the edge of consequence: entering an age of scarcity, less ready to thrive than ever before, and in need of a new relationship with the natural world. Wilderness and the American Spirit retells the story of the American West putting our national mythology in context with our current environmental crisis. Ruby McConnell is a geologist who uses the Applegate Trail-- the lesser known southern alternative to the Oregon Trail-- as a vehicle to tell stories in the same way that Rachel Carson used birds and Edward Abbey used Arches. The trail begins in the deserts of Nevada, home of today's Burning Man Festival. She follows the route westward through time and place exploring map-making, land use policies, the establishment of utopian communities (both faith-based and not), and the creation of resource based economies, connecting the dots and showing how we got to now. Blending history, science, and storytelling Wilderness and the American Spirit traces one route leading to our current moment and suggests new routes to move us forward.
Biographical Note:
Ruby McConnell is a writer, geologist, and environmental activist whose award-winning work has been featured in Ms. Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Mother Earth News. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed outdoor series A Woman's Guide to the Wild and A Girl's Guide to the Wild and its companion activity book for young adventurers, and Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a Life, which was a finalist for the 2020 Oregon Book Awards. She lives and writes in the heart of Oregon country. You can almost always find her in the woods - and online
Table of Contents: A Humble Fence, 1492- 1800 Trail Story: North to Trees, South to Gold The Soil and the Face of the Country, 1800- 1840 Trail Story: Seeing the Elephant " Westward I Go Free," 1840- 1849 Trail Story: God, Gold, and That Damnable Applegate Road Feeding the B(east), 1850- 1891 Trail Story: Grubstake The Marriage of War and Prosperity, 1891- 1945 Trail Story: The General Plastic Fantastic, 1945- 1967 Trail Story: Life of a Mouseketeer Tuned In, Turned On, Dropped Out, 1968- 1980 Trail Story: The Field Trip Save the ____, 1980- 2000 Trail Story: Occupy Bald Mountain After the Towers Fell, 2001- 2015 Trail Story: Burn The Man Trump Cards, 2015- 2020 Trail Story: Death of a Mouseketeer The Way Forward Trail Story: The Quieting Gratitude About the Author Critical Sources
Bronwynn Dean is a collector of places and experiences. She lives in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range with her husband and dog and is currently building her own Baba Yaga’s hut. She believes the land has memories and stories to share and enjoys relaying them to those who will listen.