GOOD DIRT: Confessions of a Conservationist ...

GOOD DIRT: Confessions of a Conservationist by David E. Morine (Ballantine: $9.; 195 pp.). The Nature Conservancy enjoys a reputation as the most professional of environmental groups; instead of confronting developers, its members work within the system to buy and protect important tracts of land. As director of acquisitions from 1973 to 1988, Morine oversaw the purchase of more than 3 million acres of critical habitat. His funny, often scandalous stories reveal the wheeling, dealing and conniving that enabled the Conservancy to preserve some of last unspoiled areas in the U.S.