Who Controls Public Lands?: Mining, Forestry, and Grazing Policies, 1870-1990

Some people have the illusion that America's economic development was produced by individuals who made it on their own "without a dime of government help". This book will help educate people about America's real economic history. In reality a good part of America's economic development was created by massive subsidies to private economic interests by "big government". Indeed, reading this book shows that the development of the west is in many ways a form of state capitalism with the government owning huge sections of many states. Readers should also check out A Conspiracy of Optimism: Management of the National Forests since World War Two (Our Sustainable Future) This shows how the U.S. Forest Service made deforestation for the benefit of private economic interests a major priority in many areas.