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The Riverkeepers
by John Cronin (Creator: Robert Kennedy)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Scribner (1997-10-15)
ISBN: 0684839083
EAN: 9780684839080
Dewy Decimal #: 363.700973
Hardcover: 304 pages
SKU: BX002-060809026
Condition: Used: Very Good Firs
Comments: Clean and shiny. Minor wear, not pricecut. Pgs crisp, clean, tight, unmarked. Black mark on bottom edge (remainder mark).
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.com Review
In the 1960s the Hudson River, under threat from polluters and energy concerns but beloved by its shoreline residents and local fishermen, became one of the United States' first major environmental battlegrounds. Out of those early legal wrangles emerged some important environmental legislation, and also the Soundkeeper organization, with a mandate to fight for the health of this historic New York river. This book reveals something about the organization, and even more about the history of the Hudson and environmentalism in America, from John Winthrop to Newt Gingrich, and quite a bit, too, about the upbringings--glamorous (who'd have thought keeping a pet seal in your swimming pool would lead to activism?) and not-so-unusual--of its authors. Promising early chapters sketch out the exploitation of the river by industry and describe some of its colorful champions. (One of the most interesting here is Robert H. Boyle, the writer of a seminal account of the Hudson, The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural History, who comes off as a hero.) A terrific final section explains in accessible terms the basis for environmental law in the founding of our country. In between, this book sometimes falters under the weight of too much information. You can't fault these writers for the work they've done, or for the scattered gems of thoughtful information on the modern environmental movement, which make this book worth reading. Just be prepared to pick through some irrelevancies (did Bobby Shriver really bring a leopard tortoise home for Robert Kennedy Jr. from Kenya in a suitcase?) to get to the heart of this unusual book. --Maria Dolan
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Product Description
An account by the two leaders of the Hudson Riverkeeper organization describes their confrontations and eventual triumphs with the electric power industry, Exxon, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other environmental lawbreakers. 100,000 first printing."
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Customer Reviews
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A Monument to Environmental Activism, Struggles and Successes
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-06-17
3 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
"The Riverkeepers" is one of the most potent calls for environmental awareness and action I have ever read. It is an inspiration for all those interested in becoming serious advocates of a clean world. It stands right along side Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" with it's eye-opening accounts environmental havoc created by thoughtless, greedy, untreated sewage spewing municipalities, chemical companies, power generating plants and manufacturing facilities.
It is the story of how the Hudson River "Riverkeepers" came to be- spawned from a small group of sport and commercial fishermen, the Hudson River Fishermen's Association with their ardent yet eloquent spokesman, Robert H. Boyle, author of "The Hudson River: A natural and unnatural history" and a contributing writer to "Sports Illustrated", all of whom were fed-up with the river being used as toxic waste dump, poisoning the fish, fouling the drinking water and seriously endangering the health and lives of literally millions of people who live both in the Hudson Valley where the headwaters begin at Lake Tear in the Adirondack Mountains and runs South 315 miles down to New York City Harbor where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean and where most of the pollution is concentrated. A sad commentary on one of America's most productive bodies of water.
Significantly and appropriately, this is where the birth of America's first well organized environmental legal challenges to the desecration of America's waterways started. It is the personal stories of those who chose to take a stand and fight seemingly undefeatable corporate giants like General Electric, Con Ed, et al. By combining forces, such groups as the NRDC; Pete Seeger's group, Clearwater; Scenic Hudson, et al., have been able to rectify many wrongs to the environment.
The personal stories of author's John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are inspiring and heartwarming- their trials, tribulations and success' in fighting for environmental justice are a profound demonstration of courage and dedication.
The success of Riverkeepers has replicated itself all over America with separate, but associated groups under the umbrella of the National Alliance of River, Sound & Bay Keepers and most every major body of water in America now has a program.
This is a top choice manual for environmental activism. Highly recommended!
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The Reasons Behind Environmentalism
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-04-18
6 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
I spent most of my younger years in the Hudson Valley, and the work of the Riverkeepers has made a profound and positive impact on our local environment. The story of how they have stood up to the corporate and government polluters is outlined here and is inspiring.
The real story of The Riverkeepers is outlining why they do what they do - our right to clean air, water, and an unspoiled environment. These are not priviliges, they are rights.
For years, anti-environmental hacks have been trying to convince us that to be for the environment is to be anti-property rights, anti-growth, and, as Rush Limbaugh calls us, "wackos." The Riverkeepers points out that these people are motivated by at best a misunderstanding of the issues, and at worst motivated by pure profit.
To be an environmentalist, The Riverkeepers points out, is to be for the very essence of American democracy: the rights of the people to stand up and protect our children, property, livelihoods, and future. The Riverkeepers will not only inspire you, it will make you feel at home in your caring for the environment, by showing you your place in the traditions and philosophy behind the environmental movement.
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More than I bargained for
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-08-05
8 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
I bought this book thinking it would offer a profile of environmental activism that could be turned into action by others- I wanted to see how they did what they did. This I got, but also much more. This a most enlightening book, superbly written, difficult to put down. You get not only a history of environmental activism on the Hudson River, but a brief history of same in the U.S., complete with philosophical underpinnings. If you don't know how corporations act in the U.S., or how government complicity coddles them, read this book. If you THINK you know, read this book. If you are at all concerned about your rights as a citizen, and how they relate to the environment, read this book! An important, gripping work, at once hopeful and dismaying- and certainly inspiring.
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American Environmentalism
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-04-03
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Cronin and Kennedy offer a hopeful and reasonable approach to environmentalism by documenting the great strides that citizens have made along the Hudson River. One of the most common critisims of environmentalism is that it fails to take the livelihood of workers into account. The authors show that this doesn't have to be the case and that protecting our environment can actually ensure better job security.
Along with the specific example of the Hudson River, the authors go through the variety of federal laws that have been put in place to protect communities and show how they were able to use those laws to go up against some of the most powerful industries in the country.
Anyone doubtful of the power of regular citizens in this country would find "The Riverkeepers" a refreshing read.
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Great service, best yet
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-01-16
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'd order all my books from them if i could, plus it supports a charity. It got here quickly and in good condition. Completely satisfied
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