The Nature of Generosity by William Kittredge (review)

B O O K R E V I E W S T h e N a t u r e o f Q e n e ro sit y . By W illiam K it tr ed ge . N e w York: A lfr e d A . Kn o p f, 2 0 0 0 . 2 7 6 p ages, $ 2 5 .0 0 . R e v i e w e d b y P a u l C r u m b l e y U t a h St a t e U n iver sity , Lo gan W illiam Kittr ed ge u sefully illu m in ates th e h etero d o x ar tistic stan ce o f T h e N atu re o f Gen erosity w h en h e con ced es, “T h is b oo k proceed s m ore like a d an ce th an an ar gu m en t” (2 9). A s a ch oreograp h ic in terw eavin g o f travel n arrative, m em oir, n atu re w ritin g, literary h istory, an th ropology, scien ce, an d a per sisten t stran d o f p olitical p olem ic, th e b oo k resists easy con tain m en t in co n v en tio n al form al categories. P art o f th e reason for su ch stru ctu ral in d eterm in acy is th at th e aim o f th e b oo k is b oth sim ple an d dazzlin gly am b itiou s. Kittr ed ge’s p r oject m ay be su m m arized as an exten d ed m ed itatio n o n th at m ost m u n d an e an d fu n ­ d am en tal expr ession o f gen erosity, “n eigh b or lin ess” (3 3 ). A s h e states in h is in trod u ction , “Extrem e lon g-loop altru ism is w h at I m ean to ad v o cate” (3 4 ). Kittr ed ge’s prim ary ach ievem en t, h ow ever, lies in h is ab ility to em b r ace vast P eter P eterson Tofft. M Y C A B I N O N E L K C R E E K , M O N T A N A T E R R I­ T O R Y 1866. W atercolor. 8 9/16" x 10 5/8". M . an d M . Kar olik Fun d. C ou r tesy M u seu m o f Fin e A r ts, Boston . R ep r od u ced w ith perm ission . © 2002 M u seu m o f Fin e A r ts, Boston . A ll righ ts reserved. 2 6 6 WAL 3 7 . 2 SUM M ER 2 0 0 2 h ist o r ic a l e x p a n se s t h a t st r e t c h fr o m t h e P a le o lit h ic c a v e p a in t in g s a t L a sc a u x t o m o d e r n - d a y r a n c h in g in W a r n e r V alley , O r e g o n , w h ile a t t h e sa m e t im e c o n v e y in g h is p e r so n a l st r u ggle t o m a st e r t h e d a ily c r a ft o f liv in g ge n e r o u sly , o r w h a t h e v a r io u sly d e sc r ib e s as “c o m b a t in g d e sp a ir b y...