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Summary: Faking or Exaggeration?
Review: Ostensibly this book is about the controversy that erupted over the work of Ernest Thompson Seton and William J. Long, both well-respected and popular naturalists in their time (start of the 20th century), and both very successful writers. The general public, which had caught "nature fever," was entranced by their stories of wolves that fed their offspring poison so they wouldn't have to endure captivity, foxes that rode on the backs of sheep to escape hunters, porcupines that curled into balls and rolled down hills, and birds that tied knots in order make nests. Enter the grand old man of nature writing, John Burroughs and the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, both of whom had a hard time swallowing the tales of Seton and Long. In exasperation at what he saw as blatant untruths, Burroughs wrote a letter debunking many of the claims Seton and Long made. It was published in the Atlantic and immediately created a stir. Although Seton refused to react, and indeed went out of his way to discuss the matter with Burroughs, Long responded with outrage and accusations of his own. What resulted was an ongoing debate between the two camps, which has been well-documented and expertly told here by Lutts. The bigger picture has to do with the changing perception of wilderness (including animals) and its role in the lives of Americans at the start of the twentieth century. Lutts does a beautiful job of developng not only the nature faker debate, but explaining how the changing consciousness of the nation shaped and fueld it as well. Thus The Nature Fakers is about much more than the actual debates between Seton, Long, Burroughs and Roosevelt. My one problem was the length of the book. After 100 pages Lutts has made the issues clear, and it seems time to let us know what happened and sum things up with some concluding remarks. Instead, the arguments and debates go on, via excerpts from the actual texts of the times. Although the quotes are well chosen and helpful at the start, since they allow the reader to get a feel for the writers, they got to be a bit tiresome towards the end. The slow pace of the second half of the book aside, The Nature Fakers is a fascinating tale involving some of America's most colorful and historic personalities. It also raises concerns that are still very much with us today. You are left wondering what you really think about the role of nature in our lives. Should animals and natural resources be treated as commodities to be consumed, regarded as equals and protected, seen as fearsome and unapproachable, or merely the objects of biological study? Your answers may surprise you. Definitely recommended.
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