Description:
So Great Was the Slaughter uncovers the gripping, untold story of how Arkansas teetered on the brink of ecological collapse--and the unlikely coalition that pulled it back. As market hunters decimated wildlife to feed booming urban centers, a diverse alliance of sportsmen, conservationists, and scientists rose to challenge entrenched political and commercial interests. Through meticulous research, Buckley T. Foster chronicles the birth of modern wildlife conservation in Arkansas, offering a powerful narrative of environmental reckoning, grassroots activism, and the enduring fight to preserve nature's balance.
Review Quotes:
"So Great was the Slaughter is the first serious treatment of the fascinating and nuanced history of hunting and fishing in Arkansas and the origins of the state's wildlife conservation efforts in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . [Foster delivers] a focused look at the perennial tug of war between rights and responsibilities in American conservation and environmental history." --J. Blake Perkins, author of Hillbilly Hellraisers: Federal Power and Populist Defiance in the Ozarks
"Buckley T. Foster's ambitious and original book is impressive. It is a tale worth the telling, and Foster tells it exceedingly well." --Morris S. Arnold, United States Circuit Judge and historian of colonial Arkansas