Wildland Sentinel

This was part working-life-memoir, part cautionary book, and different for me. But overall, I thought it was a pretty good read. I read it in a few sittings, slowed only by dry bits about the history of nature conservation in Iowa. But the author made up for those with her recounting of experiences out in the field. They covered a range of emotional high and low points, as you might expect. I won't give anything away here.

I'm glad I got to read this, so thanks to the author for writing it, and the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read it in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this first hand account. It had great vignettes of a career in conservation law enforcement. The beginning seemed like it would balance well between life and work but the end turned more toward work. I would have liked to understand more why she did it. Some passages hinted at it but I was left feeling ambivalent if she truly loved what she did. But she's a good writer and I appreciated the perspective of a woman.

Wildland Sentinel is part memoir, part conservation essay, and a fascinating inside look at the work which conservation officers perform. Due out 15th Sept 2020 from the University of Iowa Press, it's 230 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is a plainly written and accessible first person account of the making of a conservation officer from her childhood up through employment and experiences in the field. Working in Iowa, where there are remarkably few truly wild places remaining, her job entailed a lot more park ranger type duties than I was maybe expecting (challenging as a woman), but she's adept at telling her story and I found myself engaged in the narrative. I finished the book in a couple sessions and never felt the pace dragged or became difficult. The scenarios run the gamut from quite humorous to deep pathos and everything in between and Ms. Billerbeck is gifted in her storytelling.

The stories are arranged roughly thematically: the author's childhood, the officers, being a woman in a male dominated field, areas of conservation (water, land, wildlife), laws and law enforcement, the public, and her maturation as an officer of the law and as a person. She has a down to earth and philosophical writing style and I found myself nodding along as I was reading the book. It's a very readable book.

I really liked the lino cut illustrations (see cover art) and felt they added a lot to the text in a simple and rugged way. There aren't any photographs, but the descriptive style of the author more than compensates for the lack. The book doesn't contain an index, but it does have a neat appendix listing other books from the publisher with a number of interesting titles.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.