Post-World War II Oregon was a place of optimism and growth, a spectacular natural region from ocean to high desert that seemingly provided opportunity in abundance. With the passing of time, however, Oregon’s citizens — rural and urban — would find themselves entangled in issues that they had little experience in resolving. The same trees that provided income to timber corporations, small mill owners, loggers, and many small towns in Oregon, also provided a dramatic landscape and a home to creatures at risk. The rivers whose harnessing created power for industries that helped sustain Oregon’s growth — and were dumping grounds for municipal and industrial wastes — also provided passageways to spawning grounds for fish, domestic water sources, and recreational space for everyday Oregonians. The story of Oregon’s accommodation to these divergent interests is a divisive story between those interested in economic growth and perceived stability and citizens concerned with exercising good stewardship towards the state’s natural resources and preserving the state’s livability. In his second volume of Oregon’s environmental history, William Robbins addresses efforts by individuals and groups within and outside the state to resolve these conflicts. Among the people who have had roles in this process, journalists and politicians Richard Neuberger and Tom McCall left substantial legacies and demonstrated the ambiguities inherent in the issues they confronted.

Explores the social and natural history of eastern Oregon, including central Oregon.

The first history of Oregon to appear in twenty-five years, "Oregon's Promise explores familiar and neglected people and movements in the state's history, while challenging readers to view Oregon's past, present, and future in a new way. David Peterson del Mar recognizes that the words "Oregon history" conjure up images of Lewis and Clark and rugged pioneers. But he argues that the explorers' impact was both different from and less significant then commonly assumed, and that the state's settlers were much more varied, contentious, complicated, and interesting than conventional heroic stereotypes would suggest. "Oregon's Promise is a concise general history spanning the period from that of the region's earliest inhabitants to the present. It moves beyond the more familiar episodes of Oregon history to discuss indigenous peoples before and after contact with whites, the profound and evolving impact of broad forces like industrialization and suburbanization, and the varied fortunes of a growing stream of people form across the world who have sought the good life in Oregon. It explores the tensions behind contemporary disagreements rending our political, social, and cultural fabric. The book's many themes revolve around Peterson del Mar's consideration of how Oregonians have attempted to build a prosperous and just society. He examines both the traditional center of Oregon history and its often overlooked margins--the people who have struggled to be included in Oregon's promise. Each chapter includes brief biographies of noteworthy Oregonians. David Peterson del Mar is both a respected historian and an engaging writer, with a talent for explaining Oregon's past in a way that will appeal togeneral readers as well as to scholars and students.