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Return Window | 30 days from delivery |
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Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West (Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology) Paperback – March 2, 2021
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A revealing look at the intersection of wealth, philanthropy, and conservation
Billionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today's richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth and a troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative, socially as well as financially.
- Print length392 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPrinceton University Press
- Publication dateMarch 2, 2021
- Dimensions5.25 x 1.25 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100691217122
- ISBN-13978-0691217123
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Finalist for the Reading the West Book Award in Adult Narrative Nonfiction"
"One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership"
Review
"Illuminating and provocative."―Nick Romeo, Daily Beast
"One of the most fascinating and important portraits of modern American life."―Dylan Schleicher, Porchlight
"Farrell has done a massive amount of research in this absorbing study of the ultra-rich and their effect on the community."―Sandra Dallas, Denver Post
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (March 2, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 392 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0691217122
- ISBN-13 : 978-0691217123
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 1.25 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #55,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Sociology of Rural Areas
- #26 in Human Geography (Books)
- #53 in Environmentalism
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Justin Farrell is a professor and author at Yale University. His books and articles have won national awards and used on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Born in Wyoming, he lives in Denver and New Haven. http://JustinFarrell.org Twitter @J_Farrell
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers have mixed opinions about the content. Some find the book fascinating, while others say it lacks analytical rigor and original insight. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it well-written and well-researched, while other find it repetitive and over-explaining.
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Customers are mixed about the content. Some find the book fascinating, with good research and explanations. They also say the author is thoughtful and open-minded. However, others say the book lacks analytic rigor and original insight, and the author's bias is deeply entrenched.
"...forces that are causing this disparity, he is still thoughtful and open-minded toward the subjects of his research - the uber rich of Jackson Hole...." Read more
"Fascinating insight into the super rich and their choice of philanthropy...." Read more
"...points to the thrust of the book, it is surprising that there is scant analysis as to whether (and to what extent) conservation easements, land..." Read more
"Great insights and format of interviews and synthesis of the findings...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the writing style. Some find it well written and well researched, while others say it's repetitive and tiresome.
"...How to donate to improve your back yard and social life....The author is repetitive and the book could have easily been ½ the size...." Read more
"...Written as an academic book so it is somewhat repetitive but this reinforces the central message of money and inequality in small western towns." Read more
"...It's very well written and I'd recommend it to others." Read more
"...to make successful individuals seem insincere, illegitimate and foolish are tiresome...." Read more
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With insight into large societal trends, Justin Farrell creates a thoughtful account of the escalating wealth disparity in Teton County. Critical of the forces that are causing this disparity, he is still thoughtful and open-minded toward the subjects of his research - the uber rich of Jackson Hole. Indeed, the book is unique in trying to tease out how exactly the rich see themselves - their anxieties and worries - and why they have come to that point of view. Ultimately, his sympathies lie with those shut out and excluded from the wealthy's world and his concern rests with the way the wealthy are privatizing the public goods of Teton County. But even arriving at this point, he is able to give the ultra rich a fair shake. The research is aimed not at building enmity, but rather understanding between the ultra wealthy and everyone else. That understanding holds great potential - not just for Teton County, but for the United States as a whole.
Clear eyed and fair - and infused with a great love for this part of the country - the reality that the book details is still disturbing. That is what makes it such an important contribution.
There are no interviews at all -- only brief accounts of them.
Instead of providing transcripts (or even detailed retellings), allowing the reader the space and respect to interpret them by one's self, the author inserts dialogue snippets ad-hoc to support his conceptual framework, which comes across as being pre-formed.
This pre-formed conceptual framework frequently reveals itself in loaded word choice. For example, when working-class people expressed (on multiple occasion) measures of gratitude and respect for the rich and the opportunities they provide, the author labels these replies as "scripts", as if working-class people are not informed and/or authentic in their thoughts, feelings and opinions. Or, when the author remarks that wealthy people are "appropriating" frontier art and style of dress, we are suggested to believe that the wealthy are causing a social transgression or trauma by trying to fit in to the norms and aesthetic of their particular environment.
However, such word choices and the attitudes they reveal could have been overlooked if they were surrounded by a penetrating and insightful analysis. That is not to be found in this text.
A central point of the book is that the real estate activities of the wealthy in Teton County (often made with an explicit or implicit appeal to conservation and environmental interests) have made life much harder for the less-well-off. Another key point is that the wealthy of the county are much more interested and involved in "gilded philanthropy" than structural change. Given the importance of these points to the thrust of the book, it is surprising that there is scant analysis as to whether (and to what extent) conservation easements, land trusts, certain environmental restrictions, zoning, and other legal impediments to housing development are wise public policy, if they only serve to inflate land values, driving out working and middle class people. These are the very "structural" questions that require exploration, and deserve a sober analysis of the many tradeoffs required. However, this line of interrogation quickly goes down libertarian pathways; I wonder if the author's choice to leave them unexplored was (to borrow a concept) due to conscious or unconscious bias.
The book is also sorely lacking empirical financial data regarding the condition of the working class in Teton County, which the author frequently suggests are dire. For example, what is the average hourly wage and take-home pay of a housekeeper, nanny, landscaper, or house builder? What are the average rents? How many people are there per household? What are the rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic abuse? How have these changed over time? If the author wants better conditions for the working people of Teton County, which I believe he does, he ought to make it clear just how bad they are to begin with.
I would have liked this book to be a interesting and comprehensive retelling of subject interviews, (with anonymous transcripts provided), and some dry economic and policy analysis. However, it was a mishmash of undergraduate-level journalism, casual conceptualizing/theorizing, with a few charts thrown in. I have no animus against this author, I was just expecting something better.