Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country by Marsha L. Weisiger - Book Report/Review Example

?Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country by Marsha L. Weisiger Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis ment 4 Summary of the Book 4 Thesis of the Book 4 Theme of the Book 5 Organization of the Book 5 Analysis of the Content 6 Overview 7 Strengths 7 Weaknesses 7 Work Cited 8 Introduction Francis Bacon the great philosopher, author and notable statesmen of seventeenth century, remarked about books vey intelligently. He commented, “Some books are to bee tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to bee chewed and digested: That is, some books are to be read only in partes; others to be read, but curiously, and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention” (Rudrum, A. & Et. Al., “The Broadview Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Verse & Prose”). Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country by Marsha L. Weisiger is among those books, which should be definitely read with complete diligence and attention. Published in the year 2009 from the University of Washington Press, the book captivates an enlightened documentation of 391 pages building an innovative and fresh trajectory pertaining to the history of Navajo and its pastoral life. Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country is an engaging study that investigates and intrudes into the lives of the people of Navajo and their effect on livelihood and an age old tradition due to one of the very substandard policies of the federal government in the land. The author of the book Marsha L. Weisiger is an associate professor in the department of history at the New Mexico State University. At the same time, she has the precision and expertise of being a veteran environmental historian which definitely provided a leap in formulation of the thesis of the book and helped her to incorporate her first-hand experience and knowledge in making the book transcend beyond the periphery of mundane testimonies and comprehension. Thesis Statement The essay intends to evaluate and explore the subtle and intricate doctrine of social, economic and environmental changes that took place due to Navajo Reservations during the decade of 1930s imbibed in a very concrete and comprehensive way in the book, “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country”. Summary of the Book The book “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country” provides very new interpretations of the history of the pastoral life and livelihood depending upon in Navajo. During the 1930s, the federal government attempted to decrease the number of livestock in the areas where the government machinery saw it as an ambitious means to reduce the number of horses, sheep, and goats with a vision to stop over-grazing in those arid patches of land and standardize the lifestyle of the people in the Navajo area. In the book, “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country”, veteran environmental historian tries to understand the effect the slaughtering of ten thousand livestock brought into the ecological, environmental and socio-economical balance of the Navajo area without any such mentionable or significant development in the condition of the land patches located for the conservation due to excessive overgrazing. Thesis of the Book After the reservation of the livestock in 1930s; the greatest victim of this ambitious attempt of the government was the womenfolk that were directly associated with the rearing of the livestock in the ranches of America. The policy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs could not see the complications that the reduction of the livestock would bring into the climate, culture and economy of an age-old legacy. Placing the story of women, who substantially depend on the rearing of the livestock in the ranches of Navajo, undergoes a complete socio-economic change. This forms the central thesis of the compelling and engaging study of history, environment and sociology in one platform, “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country.” Theme of the Book An in-depth study of the enlightened document by Marsha L. Weisiger would definitely launch its readers to a plane where the theme of the book can be summed up as the transition of the environmental history of the Navajo range and the effect of the ambitious pursuit of the government leading to a catastrophe of the life of the people depending on the occupation and an age-old legacy since late 1860s. Organization of the Book The book is well written and well edited. In fact, it is neatly woven into parts that separate the purpose and intent of the author precisely and skillfully. The well structured anatomy of the book owes largely to the comprehension of the content within the section of the book along with the title which provides a considerable hint to the subject content under the running head. The book has a very strong ‘Foreword’ bearing the title ‘Sheep are Good to Think With” by William Cronon. Followed by this section is the ‘Preface’ of the book and ‘Acknowledgements’. The book initiates with a very appropriate Prologue bearing the title, “A View from Sheep Springs”. The book is divided into four parts. Part one of the book bears the title, “Fault Lines”. It contains two chapters bearing the titles, ‘Counting Sheep’ and ‘Range Wars’. Part two of the book bears the title, ‘Bedrock’. This section of the book again contains two chapters, ‘With Our Sheep We Were Created’ and ‘A Woman’s Place’. The third part of the book contains two chapters as well namely, ‘Herding Sheep’ and ‘Hoofed Locusts’. The third section of the book is titled ‘Terra Firma’. The forth part of the book bears the title, “Erosion” and it contains three chapters bearing the title, ‘Mourning Livestock’, ‘Drawing Lines on a Map’ and ‘Making Memories’. The book concludes with an epilogue, bearing the title, “A View from Defiance Plateau’’ followed by notes, glossary, plants, bibliography and indices. This organization of the book not only forms a guide map to the readers but makes it easily perceivable to the readers. Analysis of the Content The content of the book is very precise, well conceived and completely coherent with the theme of the purpose of the book. The book intends to project the national tragedy, a tragedy of the entire community that could have been easily avoided. Both the ends of the spectrum where the victories and the victims are projected are prominently discussed and the eagerness and the urge of the people resilient of a decision forcibly dumped on them are narrated with ease and compassion. The content of the book has a balance in terms of its content as it is conceived out of immense research, scholastic inputs and testimonies of the people from the affected area directly. The target readers of the book are huge for its lucid explanations and organized presentation, which make the book very friendly in nature. Along with this, there are enough illustrations and examples in form of case studies which makes the book interesting and insightful. Overview Strengths The book is divided into fragments and the chapters have a logical lineage with each other which build a proper coherence of the subject content. The book focuses on the loss that an entire state bears for the de-empowering women and Navajo is a case which actually states a few of the hasty and unplanned policies of the US federal government along with its criticism. The book is systematic as it develops a history of American livestock rearing and history of Native America as well and then plunges into the socio-economy of the Navajo state along with the decision and effect of certain ambitious policies of federal government. Weaknesses The book has one folly amid so many positive aspects. The book uses a few typical jargons at many places which are at times very hard to comprehend. The terms are essentially associated with environment, economics and chronology. Though all of them are explicitly discussed in the glossary but while engrossed in the chapters, at places it becomes tough to go through the subject matter with full concentration (Weisiger, “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country”). Work Cited Rudrum, Alan. & Et. Al. The Broadview Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Verse & Prose Broadview Press, 1999. Weisiger, Marsha L. “Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country”. February 29, 2012. University of Washington Press, 2011. Read More