Review by Choice Review
This is a book that was bound to be written. Since the first settlers moved into the Rocky Mountains, there have been charges, many well founded, of exploiting the land and creating havoc with the region's ecology. Farmers, sheep herders, cattle ranchers, and miners have all suffered criticism for their treatment of--some would say "crimes" against--the land. Childers (history, Northern Arizona Univ.) examines the impact that the skiing industry has had on the environment of Colorado, the region's most popular recreational destination. There is, of course, an irony at the heart of the book. Skiers, a generally hardy, nature-loving bunch, have through their love of the mountains and the sport given rise to an industry that has controlled much of the development and crucial land decisions of the region. And the result has seldom been for the best of the environment of the Rocky Mountains. Childers, himself a skier, raises important questions and offers insightful, and never glib, answers. Bringing to the discussion a broad range of issues--land development, tax policy, ecological protection, jet setters--he gives a splendid account of the players in the great debate. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; faculty; general readers. R. W. Roberts Purdue University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
