Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy

by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Book Overview

Crimes against Nature reveals the hidden history behind three of the nation's first parklands: the Adirondacks, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. Focusing on conservation's impact on local inhabitants, Karl Jacoby traces the effect of criminalizing such traditional practices as hunting, fishing, foraging, and timber cutting in the newly created parks. Jacoby reassesses the nature of these crimes and provides a rich portrait of rural people and their...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060746882
• ISBN13: 9780060746889
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A must-read for everyone

This book is a must-read for all Americans. A real eye-opener on what you wish you had always known was going on behind the doors of the Bush Administration. Well-researched, and told from a somewhat unbiased point of view. This book doesn't hate on republicans or democrats, and should appeal to both because it gives not only environmental arguments against ridiculous policies, but economic and social ones as well. Buy this book, and pass it on to all your friends.

ADULTS SHOULD READ THIS ONE NOW!!!

Sometimes the truth can hit you like "A TON OF BRICKS"! I was very astounded and fascinated by the horrific details of environmental destruction that has been encouraged by the REPUBLICAN government leaders during the past twenty five years. If you care about clean AIR & WATER in America, then this book will make an impression upon you. I am so glad that Mr. Kennedy took the time to write such an informative book. His words have led me to believe that there is no acceptable reason for Americans to continue further support for President Bush. He has shown that he couldn't care less about the damage his administration has caused to the environment. A Good and Just leader would NEVER take deliberate actions that would cause further DAMAGE to the American lands or its environmental welfare. It is TIME to change our ways, so that our children will have a better and safer country to live in tomorrow. My sincere thanks to RFK JR. for a great book.

Non-Fiction Horror-Can We Write a New Ending?

When I was a kid there was trash on every roadside and tires floating in detergent foam damns on the Potomac River. In Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River actually caught fire. Young people might not appreciate what thirty years of environmental regulation has done to save our country. Unfortunately, many of these young Americans may soon experience a far worse scenario for themselves as Bush and his corporate polluters ransack our country for fun and profit while distracting us with irrelevant talk about swiftboats and flip flops. As this book concisely explains, George W. Bush hasn't flip flopped at all on environmental issues. He has done his best since inauguration day so treat our country like a toilet while his backers bask in tax breaks, subsidies and de-regulation. This is not a fun read. Turning the pages of this book will reveal horrors in the halls of power that many will find unimaginable. It will also stir the souls of many sleeping patriots who care about our democracy and want to re-establish the rights of our grandchildren to lead healthy lives in this country. It's time for good Americans to rise up and reclaim our government. I've lived inside the Beltway all of my life (but have traveled to all 48 of the lower states) and I've never seen such a diabolical and destructive regime. As a Washingtonian, I read about these horrific government actions on a daily basis but fear that much of the information contained in this book has been ignored or overlooked by many of my countrymen. Surrounding us with invisible poisons for the singular purpose of maximizing profit is a central component of neo-conservative theory. So is keeping it very quiet. This book will give you a glimpse into the dark world view of Dick Cheney and the other compassionate conservative who have no compassion and are entirely uninterested in conserving anything, especially trees, money and human lives. If you don't read a lot and want to know how this administration works behind the scenes to trash our country at our expense, this is the book for you. Please read it before the election. God Bless America!

A Very Important Book

This is one of the most important books I have ever read. I believe this work has the potential to be the modern equivalent of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". It captivated, educated and alarmed me. From beginning to end, the book meticulously documents the devastating U.S environmental policies proposed and executed between January 2001 and May 2004. Though the book focuses primarily on the current administration, its message absolutely transcends party politics. Most books criticizing the George W. Bush administration are long on conjecture and rhetoric, but short on solid facts. I found the opposite with "Crimes Against Nature". RFK Jr. does not resort to weak hyperbolic invectives, but substantiates each charge with specific compelling evidence. Mr. Kennedy documents [in detail] the Bush administration's history of staffing government agencies with lobbyists and shills from the nations most egregious industrial polluters. He chronicles how these polluters have subsequently become the authors of the Bush administration's environmental and energy policies; not only driving, but actually writing policy (verbatim in some cases) to protect themselves, rather than the health and safety of the public or environment. Tracing the extensive unprecedented power large corporations have gained through political cronyism, Kennedy asserts that our very constitutional democracy is perilously close to becoming [in effect] a facade for an oligarchy of self-serving multinational corporations. Kennedy says the top environmental issue confronting America today is campaign finance reform. Political cronyism underpinned by corporate money is destroying our democratic process, and consequently our environment. Polluters currently avoid internalizing their true cost of doing business through government subsidies, and by shifting their environmental destruction costs onto the backs of tax payers. He proposes genuine "free trade" as the solution to our environmental issues, "Show me a polluter, and I'll show you a subsidy." Kennedy has been criticized for quoting Hermann Goehring to describe the Bush administration's tactics. Do not be deterred by such criticism. This book consists of solid research. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Robert Kennedy's opinion of President Bush's motivations, he documents concisely his administration's public record of corruption, environmental destruction, and willful disregard for law. "Crimes Against Nature" reads easily with a natural flow, despite approximately half or more of the text being comprised of quotes and references. The last 39 of the 244 total pages are dedicated to footnotes alone.

Solidly researched and well argued

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. carries on the passionate yet caring politics of his father, who was a one time Attorney General. The son, an environmental lawyer, makes a compelling case for the ways in which corporate interests have sought to deconstruct environmental protections over the last twenty five years. James Watt, Christine Todd Whitman, and Gale Norton--among others--all recieve deservedly harsh criticism, as these supposed stewards of nature continue to manipulate laws, rhetoric, and the truth in order to enrich corporate interests at the expense of the U.S. environment, the health of the American people, and the future of all of us. Many things in Kennedy's book were news to me (who's really behind the deceptively named "wise use" movement, for example). Although Kennedy mostly eschews partisan rhetoric, he compellingly demonstrates what a disaster the Bush administration's policy of "self-policing" has been, and how it has withheld funding in order to strip regulatory agencies of any effective power. Even more frightening, although frighteningly consistent with its policies, is the manner in which the Bush administration has pressured empolyees and scientists, and promoted bogus science in order to distort public debate so that its destructive policies can continue. If you have any concern at all for the environment, for your children, or for truth, you ought to read this book.