This book, The Golden Spruce, is written by John Vaillant. I'm about half-way through, and I'm dying to know if anybody else out there has read this...it about the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest, beginning in the 1800's, and just so much more... This is a quote from the cover: "A true story of myth, madness and greed". The protaganist was once an engineer for clear-cutting off of the mountains, and how he "saw the light", and the err of his ways - this is where I'm at now. However, it should be noted that we chose to destroy our own forests...nobody "made" anybody do that. Sadly enough, money (or the things it buys) is enough motivation and incentive to make many, many ppl clear-cut hundreds and hundreds of acres of trees that had lived for a millenia, or close to it. But that surely isn't all....we will also hunt an animal to extinction for the right amount of money. sorry...didn't mean to get off on all that, although it is included in the book as to how the sea otter was basically hunted to extinction - because of it's unique hair, that was "the pelt" to get and each skin was worth a lot. Until I began reading this, I did not realize there is an archipeligo in the Pacific Northwest that is very comparable to the Galapogas Islands. As anyone can tell, I'm finding this to be a very facinating (but sad) read.
I'm needing to rectify my definition of "protagonist" to read nut-job that cut down this certuries-old golden spruce (one of a kind) and it's profound effect on everybody...whites, Haida Indians (in particular), and basically everybody that had ever seen or been around this tree. This old saying of you can't see the forest for the trees, could have aptly applied here, only it was one tree - and this (well-trained survivalist) went crazy (imo), and tried to "show people & Big Business, read logging companies, how the de-forestation is affecting everybody..."...so again, imo, this psycho decided that to make his point he would single-handedly (at night, no less) go about the felling of and inevitable killing of this tree. This would have taken a significant amount of expertise and physical strength. It is unbelieveable to me on so many levels - but then, on the other hand, I guess I've always known that there are some really, really smart people that when they have ephanies or spiritual revalations (which this dude claimed) they simply cannot handle it with any logic or common sense.
