CONSERVATION LIBRARY

Why we read " ...to nourish the human spirit"

The "Best Reads in the West," is a growing list of books of history and literature in part which emerged from my personal library. I add to this book list from time to time. I learned many years ago that my ability to communicate well with people who are seeking to settle in the West is often enhanced through engaging conversations about what we have recently read and enjoyed. I trust that you will also make suggestions of good writing to add to this list.

Wallace Stegner, who in my mind was the greatest writer about the West, suggests that we are sensuous creatures who developed emotional attachments to particular landscapes. He wrote a great deal about the West, and from his book WOLF WILLOW he leads us to reflect,

"I may not know who I am, but I know where I am from. I can say to myself that a good part of my private and social character, the kinds of scenery and weather and people and humor I respond to, the prejudices I wear like dishonorable scars, the affections that sometimes waken me from middle-aged sleep with a rush of undiminished love, the virtues I respect and the weaknesses I condemn, the code I try to live by, the special ways I fail at it and the kinds of shame I feel when I do, the models and heroes I follow, the colors and shapes that evoke my deepest pleasure, the way I adjudicate between personal desire and personal responsibility, have been in good part scored into me by that little womb-village and the lovely, lonely exposed prairie of the homestead. However anachronistic I may be, I am a product of the American earth, and in nothing quite so much as in the contrast between what I knew through the pores and what I was officially taught."
Wallace Stegner

Creating Value: Smart Development and Green Design

In this ground-breaking book, architect Vernon Swaback argues convincingly that financial success in real estate development will increasingly require design that is smarter, greener, and more sustainable. Using historical perspective, examples from visionaries, and case studies of diverse projects that range from custom homes to mixed use, government buildings to resort environments, Swaback makes the case that old, tired formulas and codes that encourage mediocrity will no longer produce results and that tomorrow's most successful developments will create new value for society. This will include building with the site to minimize environmental and energy costs, enhancing visual attributes, improving livability, the role of transit and also the government, recognizing the importance of socialization and community spirit, and considering the whole picture, formed of home and community. Stunningly illustrated with hundreds of photographs and examples. By Vernon D. Swaback - ULI-the Urban Land Institute

Creating Value (C77) is available from ULI's online bookstore or by calling 800-321-5011.

Best Reads in the West

A Reading List for the West
by Lane Coulston
American Conservation Real Estate | S. Fork Musselshell, Berg Ranch
S. Fork Musselshell,
Berg Ranch
"The life of a farmer is physical. It is concrete. As a part of nature and the unfathomable process of the plant kingdom, it is also both spiritual and mystical. It is a struggle with a purpose, where self and family have clear roles prescribed by the wisdom of the ages. As both Xenophon and Aristotle saw, there is little exploitation of one fellow man in agriculture, "the mother of us all," where the struggle against nature makes one bigger, not smaller. The larger the number of people engaged in that activity, the greater the brake on the rest of us. Agrarians need not be the majority of the population - although Aristotle felt their overwhelming presence alone created a stable citizenry - but they do need to be present in large enough numbers to be heard, to offer a shake of the head, when asked, that sends a tremble and a quiver to the majority to halt and desist."

Fields of Dreams, 1996
by Victor Davis Hanson
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