Author Event: Wilderness and the American Spirit by Ruby McConnell

Join author Ruby McConnell and philosopher Michael Nelson for a conversation in celebration of McConnell’s new book “Wilderness and the American Spirit.” 

The idea of the American spirit has always been rooted in expansion and abundance — at great cost to the environment. Americans now find themselves at the edge of consequence: entering an age of scarcity, less ready to thrive than ever before, and in need of a new relationship with the natural world. “Wilderness and the American Spirit” retells the story of the American West, putting our national mythology in context with our current environmental crisis. 

McConnell uses the Applegate Trail — the lesser known southern alternative to the Oregon Trail — as a vehicle to tell stories similar to how Rachel Carson used birds and Edward Abbey used Arches. She follows the route westward through time and place exploring map-making, land use policies, the establishment of utopian communities (both faith-based and not), and the creation of resource-based economies, connecting the dots and showing how we got to now. Blending history, science and storytelling, “Wilderness and the American Spirit” traces one route leading to our current moment and suggests new routes to move us forward.

Ruby McConnell is an award-winning writer, geologist, environmental activist and explorer whose work examines the relationship between the landscape and the human experience. Her work has appeared in many publications, including Alta Journal, Huffington Post, Mother Jones, High Country News, Mother Earth News, Oregon Humanities, and Atlas Obscura. She is the author of the critically acclaimed outdoor engagement series “A Woman’s Guide to the Wild.” Her collection of essays, “Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a Life,” was a finalist for the 2020 Oregon Book Awards and was listed as one of Ms. Magazine’s best books of the year.

Michael Paul Nelson is a Professor of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, the director of the Center for the Future of Forests and Society, and a Senior Fellow with the Spring Creek Project.

This event is co-sponsored by the Spring Creek Project, the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, and Grass Roots Books. Book signing to follow event.