The Roadless Yaak

I picked up this book in preparation for my trip to Montana this summer, expecting that it would feed my excitement. I hoped for stories about the glory and terror of the trees and rivers and animals, about how overwhelming and real and beautiful it felt to be in this unique space. By chapter four I had read exactly one story that conjured the beauty and specialness of the Yaak Valley. Everything else, including the Introduction and the Prologue, were depressing chronicles of how the government has no intention of protecting this area from the corporations who destroy it.

My conclusion is that this book is aimed at consciousness-raising, although frankly that seems like preaching to the choir since anyone who needs to be told to protect the wilderness will not pick up this book in the first place.