This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild

Journalist Schweber (Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park) delivers a sharp chronicle of the collaboration between conservationist Bernard DeVoto (1897–1955) and his wife and editor, Avis (1904–1989). A prolific writer, Bernard fought to save federal lands during the McCarthy era, publishing an exposé in Harper’s that “exposed and thwarted a secret plot... to force the sell-off of as much as 230 million acres of America’s public lands, including national parks, monuments, forests, and grasslands.” Schweber depicts Bernard’s wife, Avis, as a partner in every way—often among his first readers, she “edited, fact-checked, researched, indexed, answered correspondence, and proofread until her eyes gave out,” (as well, she championed the work of her friend Julia Child, finding her a publisher in 1961 for Mastering the Art of French Cooking). Schweber offers a comprehensive account of the DeVotos’ fight to protect public lands, plus some scathing portrayals of their adversaries, including Nevada senator Patrick McCarran, who withheld appropriations from faltering National Park services and whose “largesse flowed disproportionately to his friends,” and the FBI, who paid visits to the DeVotos’ house due to claims of communism. The result is a fascinating biography, worthy of two remarkable lives. Agent: Farley Chase, Chase Literary. (July)