Discussion Questions

 for This America of Ours

1.

How do the settings of Avis and Bernard’s childhoods and the near disaster of being washed away in a flash flood early their marriage impact Bernard and Avis in their careers?

2.

As the country enters World War II, Bernard is arrested for purchasing a copy of Strange Fruit and he writes that “the place to fight censorship is whatever place it appears.” Bernard defended the Bill of Rights but also knew the First Amendment allowed others to smear him. Describe whether you believe censorship is justified during war time or any time. Has your belief changed with advances in how information is disseminated today?

3.

Bernard DeVoto’s romantic descriptions of the west were inspired by family trips to public lands. Nate Schweber also uses descriptive language to paint pictures of the west. How does the use of language build support for conservation efforts? Have you been inspired by visiting America’s public lands? What feelings do these visits invoke?

4.

“McCarthyism” is the act of accusing people of disloyalty and conspiracy based not on facts but instead on innuendo, inference, allusion, and gossip. Did McCarthyism exist only in the era of its namesake, Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy, and his role model, Nevada Senator Pat McCarran? How did the DeVotos fight McCarthyism?

5.

Senator McCarran’s political maneuvering eventually resulted in the creation of the Bureau of Land Management as part of a multi-step plan aimed at selling off public lands. This plan supported private capitalism over public access for hunters, anglers, hikers, irrigation farmers, and municipal water systems. Do you feel capitalism can exist in balance with conservation? How would our country look differently today had McCarran’s “landgrab” been successful?

6.

In 1935, Bernard called the U.S. West a “plundered province” because Easterners had raided its natural resources. His 1947 anti-“landgrab” Harper’s article “The West Against Itself” blamed Westerners too for this plunder. Is the west still being plundered? If so, how, and by whom? If not, why not? 

7.

Water is the west’s most precious natural resource and the DeVotos feared that too many dams would not only ruin the National Park System, but also over-allocate a finite resource. Is the west using its water more wisely today than in the DeVotos lifetimes? If so, how? If not, why not – and what can be done?

8.

As the DeVotos worked to save Dinosaur National Monument they built a coalition of strange bedfellows -- conservationists who loved wilderness and fiscal conservatives who didn’t want to pay for wasteful dams. Are there opportunities today to build environmental coalitions among people who have different values and perspectives? What groups of strange bedfellows could share ultimate interest in conservation? How might they be brought together?

9.

Bernard and Avis DeVoto were married for 33 years. How did they bring out good in each other? How did they struggle? Have you experienced similar benefits or challenges in a relationship of your own, or observed them in that of a loved one?  

10.

The DeVotos developed relationships with many people we would think of as famous including Robert Frost, Ansel Adams, Adlai Stevenson, Lester Hunt and Paul and Julia Child. How did these relationships affect Bernard and Avis’ lives?

11.

The DeVotos ritualistically observed “The Hour,” when they would enjoy evening cocktails and camaraderie. Do you have a favorite ritual? Why is it important to you?

12.

Have you visited the DeVoto Cedar Grove along the Lochsa River? If so, how do you feel when visiting this natural cedar grove? If not, what places in nature do you enjoy visiting? What feelings do they invoke?

Building a shared reading experience to foster curiosity, spark discussion and celebrate a love of story and community engagement.

©Everybody Reads 2019. Site by Northwest Media.

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