Garbage Gumbo

Rezensionen / Stimmen

As is perhaps appropriate for a tale concerning the unique beauty of the Louisiana landscape and the unique character of Louisiana politics, Professor Sutherlin's account mixes serious and often tragic facts with unexpected humor and yarn-spinning verve. His academic expertise and experience have prepared him well to explain the technical complexities and political intricacies of the case study he presents. No unexplained jargon or secondary technicalities detract from the drama, and the pathos, of a story that combines the information of a factual report with the pacing and color of a novel. He has given us an unparalleled insight into a rich cast of characters who become involved in environmental politics. The result is as memorable as it is sobering. -- David Clinton In his revealing new book, Sutherlin takes readers to the underbelly of the garbage world. Although most people want to rid themselves of waste, Garbage Gumbo exposes the corruption and greed that makes waste profitable and desirable. Additionally, Sutherlin shares the stories of the families that are hurt by these actions; the underdogs that many people want to come out on top. Sutherlin's book is substantiated by the amount of research he gathered to tell this story. All of this is topped off with a little flair that can only be found in Louisiana. -- Leigh Nanney Hersey, University of Louisiana Monroe Combining scholarly insight from many fields-public choice logic finds itself intertwined with the technology of environmental innovation and the political economy of rural parishes-with a charmingly personal point of view, John Sutherlin's Garbage Gumbo skillfully traces the causes and consequences of decades of sluggish environmental policy through the agonizing case of the failed Belle Landfill project. His deep domain expertise makes him particularly adept at linking the various scales of the problem, from individuals up through federal environmental agencies. Sutherlin's side-splitting anecdotes provide plenty of meat atop the systematic bones of classic policy analysis. Garbage Gumbo will be of particular interest to academics and policymakers interested in environmental politics, even the most casual reader will be hooked into reflecting on the wild and wonky ways policy is made (and not made) by flesh-and-blood human beings. Timely, tragic, and hilarious. -- Robert J. Carroll, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign While cynical Americans would readily assert that "politics is garbage," and indeed in Louisiana we commonly refer to "holding one's nose" while casting a vote, Sutherlin reminds us that, in ways visible and tactile as well as hidden from public view, "garbage is political." He looks into who got what by exploring how and why myriad ideas for efficient, effective, and common-sense policies fell victim time and again to "brutal" political interests that could teach Machiavelli and Hobbes a thing or two. -- Greg Granger, Northwestern State University of Louisiana