Earth First!: Environmental Apocalypse - Paperback

by Martha F. Lee (Author)

In the summer of 1980, Dave Foreman, along with four conservationist colleagues, founded the millenarian movement Earth First!. A provocative counterculture that ultimately hoped for the fall of industrial civilization, the movement emerged in response to rapid commercial development of the American wilderness. The earth should come first was a doctrine that championed both biocentrism (an emphasis on maintaining the earth's full complement of species) and biocentric equality (the belief that all species are equal).

Martha Lee was successful in gaining extraordinary access to information about the movement, as well as interviews with its members. While following Earth First's development and methods, she illustrates the inherent instability and the dangers associated with all millenarian movements. This book will be of interest to environmentalists and those interested in political science and sociology.

Back Jacket

The radical underground environmental movement, Earth First! emerged in response to rapid commercial development of the American wilderness. Martha F. Lee provides a profound inquiry into the movement's apocalyptic doctrine and into its beliefs and strategies, which include some spectacular, dangerous, and often illegal activities.

Author Biography

Martha F. Lee is assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor, Ontario. She is the author of The Nation of Islam: An American Millenarian Movement.