Book Reviews                                                        

Tony Fitzpatrick. Signals from the Heartland. New York: Walker and Company, 1993. Pp. 230 with annotated bibliography, photographs, map and index. $22.95 (cloth).

According to the author of this wonderful book, the Heartland — "the bistate region comprising Illinois and Missouri" — is "the glue" that holds the Midwest together. Using the physical environment of these two states as a basis for discussion. Tony Fitzpatrick, science editor at Washington University's office of public affairs in St. Louis, writes about 12 people in Illinois and Missouri who care about where they live and who are actively engaged in solving their local environments' problems.

Phoebe Snetsinger, the "Birdwoman of Webster Groves," is the subject of his first essay. She is a careful and patient observer of birds, having logged 327 of the 380 native bird species in Missouri. She has also noted with depressing precision the decline of songbirds in her backyard. As he does in every chapter, Fitzpatrick generalizes from a local environmental problem to a discussion of ecological principles. The decline of songbirds is attributed to dwindling forests in both North and South America. Deep forests in which many songbirds live and reproduce on both continents continue to be destroyed, producing more edges and hence more representatives of edge-dwelling species — crows, blue jays, grackles and cowbirds — that replace the more desirable vireos, warblers and wood thrushes.

Anyone who has an interest in Heartland wildflowers and trees will be familiar with Robert Mohlenbrock, author of many books that help both amateur and professional botanical enthusiasts learn their way around forests, fields and wetlands. Fitzpatrick's interviews with Mohlenbrock, retired professor of botany at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, give the author an opportunity to lament the loss of Illinois' wetlands, environments highly productive of both plants and animals. Characteristically, however, Fitzpatrick prefers to emphasize how Mohlenbrock, as well as the other environmentally sensitive people whom he interviews and describes, is working to improve the environment through research, education and action.

Indeed, one of the recurrent and encouraging signals from the Heartland is that individuals, through their own personal interests, talents and efforts, can make a difference. Thus the book's tone is one of optimism rather than of gloom, as has been true of so many books and articles about the environment in the past 30 years. This optimism is based on the dedication and success of the people whom Fitzpatrick profiles.

Preservation and restoration of many parts of the world provide Heartland's natural another hopeful signal: Soil erosion has been reduced through no-till cropping by a thoughtful farmer near Gifford, Ill.; the free-flowing Merrimac River was saved from an ill-conceived Corps of Engineers dam by an Ozark farmer and her husband (the Corps of Engineers is rightfully presented as the source of many environmental problems in the river-rich Heartland); nearly extinct species of wolves are bred in captivity southwest of St. Louis and returned to the wild by a dedicated animal activist; the quality of Illinois' soil is improved by earthworms, a simple measure promoted by a University of Illinois soil scientist; and a huge prairie restoration project is underway at Fermilab west of Chicago. The lesson to be learned from these inspiring stories is that when it comes to improving one's surroundings, college degrees can be helpful but are not necessary. Rather, what counts is a love of the natural world, together with the energy and enthusiasm to make it better. This gentle and enticing book emphasizes the joy offered by the natural world and its creatures. The Heartland emerges as a microcosm of environmental opportunity for the rest of the country — and sometimes for the rest of the planet. Fitzpatrick's upbeat message is complemented by an accessible style, exemplified in his use of Heartland metaphor — as in the following comparison: "At the entrance to Busch Stadium, downtown home of the St. Louis Cardinals, stands a statue of Stan 'the Man' Musial... . As director of the [Missouri] botanical gardens, Peter Raven is to the city's environmental conscience what Musial is to civic pride."

Pen drawing, "Signals from the Heartland," by Sara Fitzpatrick

The summary "signal from the Heartland" is aptly stated in an experience recounted by Richard Coles, director of Washington University's Tyson Research Center near St. Louis: "We invite inner-city children to tour the center ... many of them have never been out of the city. Still, our Field Science Project once arranged an overnight camping experience for about fifty kids. They had a ball! Some of them were almost in tears when it was time to leave — they just didn't want to go back." Their discoveries remind us how much we all need the natural world — intellectually, environmentally and spiritually. Tony Fitzpatrick helps us to pay attention to its signals.*

Charles Schweighauser was born in Illinois and reared in Missouri. He is professor of environmental studies at Sangamon State University in Springfield. Before joining SSU, he served as director of the planetarium in St. Louis.

November 1993/Illinois Issues/31