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A review by emilypoche
The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West by Amy Gamerman
4.0
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Crazies by Amy Gamerman is a nonfiction look into the modern Wild West—property rights and energy production in the relatively isolated wilds of Montana. Interspersed between the properties of some of the richest people in America are the small ranches and family owned farmers worked by the hardscrabble Montana natives.
The best elements of this book are the beautifully written vignettes that are careful and detailed. The author clearly takes great care to craft detailed pictures of all the involved parties, from the renegade wind farm investors to the geriatric cattle ranchers and their families. It’s frankly a little surprising that some of the actors involved in this lawsuit and story were willing to open up to an outside writer, and yet, the author was able to somehow capture very nuanced and somewhat kind portraits of so many.
This book is long. While the title does give a sort of “Yellowstone” meets the green revolution vibe, it’s actually much more mundane. This is a book about a property rights lawsuit framed around sustainable energy, and a lengthy one at that. At times, despite the lovely tableaus of the scenery the lengthy description of local zoning laws, Montana statutes, and descriptions of the minutiae of wind energy production can become a slog. There are hundreds of pages of exposition before the actual court case coverage begins, and at times, without the scaffolding of the prosecutor-defense dynamic all of the information can be muddled. For a reader without a background in property and land usage dispute or energy production rights, this can get somewhat dense. Additionally, there were sections about a local Crow activist, that while valuable, didn’t fully seem to tie into the narrative in a way that didn’t make them seem like detours.
Overall, it is a very vivid and evocative story of a small and yet so coveted section of the American landscape. It’s a long, albeit very compelling David and Goliath-esque story. 4/5 stars.
The Crazies by Amy Gamerman is a nonfiction look into the modern Wild West—property rights and energy production in the relatively isolated wilds of Montana. Interspersed between the properties of some of the richest people in America are the small ranches and family owned farmers worked by the hardscrabble Montana natives.
The best elements of this book are the beautifully written vignettes that are careful and detailed. The author clearly takes great care to craft detailed pictures of all the involved parties, from the renegade wind farm investors to the geriatric cattle ranchers and their families. It’s frankly a little surprising that some of the actors involved in this lawsuit and story were willing to open up to an outside writer, and yet, the author was able to somehow capture very nuanced and somewhat kind portraits of so many.
This book is long. While the title does give a sort of “Yellowstone” meets the green revolution vibe, it’s actually much more mundane. This is a book about a property rights lawsuit framed around sustainable energy, and a lengthy one at that. At times, despite the lovely tableaus of the scenery the lengthy description of local zoning laws, Montana statutes, and descriptions of the minutiae of wind energy production can become a slog. There are hundreds of pages of exposition before the actual court case coverage begins, and at times, without the scaffolding of the prosecutor-defense dynamic all of the information can be muddled. For a reader without a background in property and land usage dispute or energy production rights, this can get somewhat dense. Additionally, there were sections about a local Crow activist, that while valuable, didn’t fully seem to tie into the narrative in a way that didn’t make them seem like detours.
Overall, it is a very vivid and evocative story of a small and yet so coveted section of the American landscape. It’s a long, albeit very compelling David and Goliath-esque story. 4/5 stars.