Brent Walth’s Fire at Eden's gate: Tom McCall & the Oregon story explores the modern civic maturation and pioneering environmental stewardship that redefined the political and ecological landscape of the Pacific Northwest during the late twentieth century. The narrative illustrates how the shifting environmental realities of this diverse topography—spanning from the fragile, publicly cherished coastal beaches to the rich agricultural expanse of the Willamette Valley facing rapid urban sprawl—required immense political resilience and a profound, shared adaptation from Oregon's citizens. By detailing the gradual transition from a frontier mindset of unchecked resource extraction to the cooperative establishment of landmark environmental legislation, the text highlights how the state's modern prosperity relied heavily on community-driven responses to ecological vulnerability. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that collaboratively securing public access to the coastline and patiently cultivating robust land-use frameworks were essential steps in transforming a rapidly growing state into a cohesive, deeply rooted model of environmental and civic responsibility.

564 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm