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A. Thomas Cole

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Average rating: 4.6 · 5 ratings · 2 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Poetry and its Public in Ancient Greece: From Homer to the Fifth Century by Bruno Gentili, A. Thomas Cole (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.76 avg rating — 25 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch: How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch: How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land

by A. Thomas Cole (Goodreads Author)

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A. Thomas said: " Restoring The Pitchfork Ranch,
How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land
A Book Review by Harley Shaw

"When I opened Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch and read the opening two pages of praise, I was tempted to forego writing a revi Restoring The Pitchfork Ranch,
How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land
A Book Review by Harley Shaw

"When I opened Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch and read the opening two pages of praise, I was tempted to forego writing a review. I wondered what, if anything, I might add. If attracting readers was my goal, just quoting that list of esteemed scientists and environmental writers in the front of the book would do the job. But I had promised Bob Barnes I'd write a review, so continued reading and started writing. 'Tis a book about which one might write a book.
First, Restoring is clearly written and well organized. In that sense, it is easy to read. It intertwines current events, archaeology, local history, world history and classical literature, philosophy, natural history, and modern landscape ecology better than anything I've read as applied to our current environmental morass. However, in terms of its message and demands, the book isn't fun to read; it's painful. Author A. T. Cole is a retired trial lawyer, a profession built upon effective usage of words. Cole learned his trade well and uses the skills of research, synthesis, and argument to present the most important message all of us will face in our lifetime: if we don't get off our butts and act, our species, perhaps life itself on Earth, is doomed. And time is running out.
The title is misleading. Only chapter six deals in detail with the ranch restoration process that A. T. and Lucinda Cole have engaged themselves in for the past twenty years. The remainder of the book ranges widely to expose the current state of the planet and to outline what is needed to reverse the effects of one species, our own, on our very existence. Cole's recommendations are not derived from speculation. In applying time-tested concepts espoused by John Wesley Powell, Aldo Leopold, Wendell Berry, Wallace Stegner, Wesley Jackson, Courtney White, Bill Zeedyk... the list goes on, the Coles have spent their own money and their retirement years reversing over 100 years of abuse to a New Mexico ranch and an enclosed ciénaga. The depth to which Cole has explored multiple subjects is exemplified by his entertaining essay on the derivation and correct spelling of "ciénaga (cienega?, sienakey?, etc.)" In ranging wide to expose the dangers that our children, if not us, will face, Cole hasn't lost his sense of history or skill in telling tales.
He doesn't stop with defining the problem; he delineates his vision of the solution, and he speaks loudly, with courage and hope, that we can stop our destructive ways. In so doing, he doesn't let anyone off the hook. The ecological route to stopping the devastating effects of climate change must be found and implemented, NOW, by us. The demands for change must be taken to the streets, must happen to our lifestyles and in our lifetimes. We can't rely upon big business or big government; in grubbing for wealth and power, the so-called leaders in our society aren't even likely to acknowledge the problem. And we can't pass it off to the next generation. But Cole feels that we still have time, if we as individuals make necessary personal adjustments and demand the needed change in priorities by our purported leaders. The old models and systems of belief, political, commercial, religious, won't get us there.
In Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch, the ranch becomes a metaphor for the planet earth, and Cole ranges widely to develop his message. The big job will be getting it read by the people who need it most." ...more "

Sep 27, 2024 03:14PM · see review

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A. Thomas is now friends with Lia
Mar 31, 2025 08:35AM · like
A. Thomas started reading Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch: How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land by A. Thomas Cole (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 30, 2024 12:31PM · like
A. Thomas liked Lia's review of Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch: How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land: "It would be great if more retired lawyers decided buy ranches and devote the rest of their lives to habitat improvements and conservation."
Sep 17, 2024 05:23PM · see review
A. Thomas is currently reading Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch: How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land by A. Thomas Cole (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Restoring The Pitchfork Ranch, How Healing a Southwest Oasis Holds Promise for Our Endangered Land A Book Review by Harley Shaw "When I opened Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch and read the opening two pages of praise, I was tempted to forego writing a revi ...more
Sep 17, 2024 04:16PM · like · see review