Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Spring 2002
Abstract
A book of quotations is always suspect, and one on Leopold doubly so. The form suggests hagiography, which Leopold scholarship does not need, or the desire to make accessible an important but obscure body of thought, which is not the case with Leopold. Even more alarming, the editors have arranged Leopold's ideas into categories, although one of his great strengths was his willingness to think across intellectual boundaries. Dipping into the collection, however, allays all fears. This volume gives the general reader a good, well-organized look at Leopold's ideas. Scholars get a lot more: a wealth of quotations for lectures and papers, an arrangement that allows a quick look at changes in Leopold's thought, and a whole that provides a helpful guide to his developing ideas.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Research 12:1 (Spring 2001). Copyright © 2002 Center for Great Plains Studies.