Southern Sierran
Former director authors book on life in Sierra Club

By Dave Czamanske

The Angeles Chapter will host a reception for former Sierra Club executive director Michael McCloskey at the Chapter Office on Wilshire Boulevard from 5 to 6 pm on Nov. 20, in honor of publication of his book In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club.

McCloskey was hired as the Club’s first field representative in 1961, became its first conservation director, and in 1970 its second executive director, succeeding his controversial mentor David Brower. Membership grew from 70,000 to 500,000 during his tenure as Executive Director, and the Sierra Club expanded from a California-based organization to a nationwide conservation powerhouse. He directed lobbying that played a major role in enactment of numerous environmental laws, and played a key role in defending against the assaults of Ronald Reagan’s anti-environmental Interior Secretary James Watt.

After his retirement as executive director he was given the honorary title of chairman of the Sierra Club, the only person so honored, and continued his environmental work by battling efforts in Washington to weaken environmental regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency and international trade agreements.

Copies of his book will be available at the reception for purchase and signing by the author at a price discounted from the list price of $29.95. To reserve your copy, please send an e-mail with subject line “Michael McCloskey’s book” stating the number of copies you would like reserved to dczamanske-at-hotmail.com.

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