Botkin, Daniel B. Our Natural History: The Lessons of Lewis and Clark. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York. 1995.
Summary:
This book covers a variety of ecological topics and natural history by comparing America as Lewis and Clark saw it to the status and management of the American West today. For each chapter the author selects a thematic element of Lewis and Clark's voyage to discuss in a global, 21st century perspective. For instance, the chapter called “Down the Columbia” uses the Pacific salmon to elucidate the problem of “single-factor thinking” about ecology. The author focuses mostly on the life cycle of Pacific salmon, natural fluctuations in their habitat and their numbers before and after exploration and exploitation by Europeans. However, explanatory notes within the chapter range from the crash of Peruvian anchovy fishing (due to El Niño) to the predicted vs. natural growth rate of the elephant seal (8%) and what this shows about the salmons' current management.
Critique:
Unfortunately, despite the title, this source does not focus on the natural history of the western United States. It does, however, have insightful and well argued analysis of the ideas, beliefs and institutions that lead from the early 1800's to the current condition of the American West. I enjoyed the author's conversational and detailed tone, but the tone is more conversational than strictly informative.
There are extensive notes and an index, but not footnotes or in text citations, which decreases the author's credibility despite his extensive experience. Botkin directed a study of the salmon of western Oregon and northern California in the early 1990s and he has written scholarly articles about forest ecology, management and ecological models. Just from their abstracts, any of these look to be fine resources; however, this work on natural history focuses more on historical and contemporary vignettes about nature, rather than the history of nature itself.
I highly recommend this work for anyone looking for an enjoyable read about either ecology or the Lewis and Clark expedition, but not at all as a scientific source.
(reviewed by Laura Johnson)
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
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