The Hudson River a Natural and Unnatural History Book Review
The Hudson River
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Feb 15, 1970
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By nature a fisherman, by profession a author and editor, by soul a poet, Robert Boyle of Croton, N. Y., has sum moned all of his talents to the producing of a magnificent volume almost that "Great River of the Mountains," the Hudson.
A Natural and Unnatural History. Past Robert H. Boyle. 304 pp. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. $6.95.
Information technology can safely be said that Mr. Boyle knows more than most his subject — the broad stream by which he and his family unit live — than any other living man. He has packed into his book more enchanting infor mation than has ever been written near it, and there is no passage in its entire length that is non truthful and de lightful.
The Boyles waken to the iri descent alternations of dragon fly wings outside their win dows, and every bit the day wears on they await the exact mo ment when the call of the eve ning grosbeak will sally from the blue shadows of star‐crowned mountain peaks rising above the river's westward ern banks. The whole Boyle family unit (father, mother, two boys and a girl) go a thrill out of beholding the white whistling swans settling for a few hours' visit before resum ing their migrant flights in the high blue channels of the sky.
This action qualifies the Boyles for membership in a group which the Consolidated Edison Visitor — apparent ly eager to destroy the beauty of Storm King Mountain and its environs with an united nations sightly hydro‐electric plant — has dubbed "misinformed bird watchers, nature fakers, land grabbers and militant adver saries of progress."
This supposition of superior caste on the function of a rich and powerful American corpo ration has given Mr. Boyle and his neighbors along the wide river plentiful ammunition in the war against Con Ed'due south out worn applesauce. Not without the traditional impatience of his Celtic forebears the angry author of this book has had.
Mr. Canner observes the river from a vantage signal at Irvington ‐ on ‐ Hudson. Among his books on the region is "The Hudson" in the Rivers of America series. the common sense to build a basis for his assault. He has looked upon and tested the waters that ebb and flow out side his front door, he has ex amined the life‐patterns of all living beings that dwell in them and above them — the striped bass that begin their existence in the brackish tides below the great Storm King Mountain, the carp, the large mouth bass, the sturgeon, the shad, the oysters, the damsel flies.
If the incoming decade were not manifestly destined to suf fer continuing conflict between greedy, coin‐grubbing corpo rations and far‐seeing Ameri cans who would relieve the American landscape from pol lution, this comprehensive, beautifully organized book nearly one of our greatest riv ers would nevertheless exist welcome. The book is not merely an ef fective weapon confronting the river's enemies, but as a natu ral history it deserves to live long in our memories and in hearts.
It is a pity that in that location volition be readers who will regard information technology as a tract, forgetting that many English language classics have been argumentative. While this reviewer would not merits for Robert Boyle the style of a Swift or a Thoreau, he would suggest to those who, having heard of its content, decline to read it, that they re consider their determination. They are the possible readers to whom the volume is peculiarly directed.
The style is familiar, clear, direct—information technology will brand an ad mirable reference book. And amend than all this is his re definition of the clichd‐give-and-take "progress," so oftentimes used by the river'southward enemies to mean the steady growth of the Hud son's communities toward in clusion in the vast urban com plex termed "The City of Greater New York." Cheers to Mr. Boyle and other residents at present living in the areas abreast the flowing river‐waters the discussion has come up to mean rather "advancement toward doing abroad with pollution of air, political leader lution of water, pollution of mill noise, pollution of waste, pollution of the minds of our over‐greedy fellow‐citi zens." Mr. Boyle'due south volume would have this fact remem bered. ■
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/15/archives/the-hudson-river.html
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