The title of this memoir is somewhat misleading: despite early chapters on Bass's journey from his childhood home, in Texas, and his years as an oil geologist in Mississippi, much of the book is a lament over the relentless development of the wild spaces of Montana—specifically, the Yaak Valley, where the author has lived for twenty-one years. Bass describes the forests of this Edenic valley (literally—it's a place where no native species has gone extinct) and argues for its preservation, laying out detailed plans for creating economically viable tracts of wilderness. Bass's passion has an unfortunate tendency to slide toward petulance—he bemoans the boorishness of his neighbors—but his loving evocation of the landscapes is stirring, as is his common-sense approach to conservation.
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译文:
评：《我之所以到西部》【纽约客】
dd这本回忆录的名字多少会让人产生误解。尽管作者在前几章描述了Bass在德克萨斯的童年生活以及他在密西西比当石油地质学家时候的日子。然而本书的大部分篇章都在描述被过度开发的蒙大拿荒地。作者尤其对亚克谷——作者生活了二十一年的地方——荒地的减少寄予了无限的哀悼。
Bass把这个伊甸园式的山谷(实际上，这是个连当地人都没去过的且不存在的地方)描述为一个森林，并坚持捍卫这片土地应该被保护，并从经济上可行的角度，列出了在荒地开发大片树林的详细的计划。Bass满腔热情，可不幸的是这却使他近乎急躁---他哀叹邻人的愚蠢笨拙---但他对美丽景色由衷的召唤和对自然保护的看法却是激动人心的。
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红色部分为simbalost改译!感谢simbalost的建议!