"Thomas W. Pearson takes us to the front lines of one of the great under-reported environmental issues in America today--how the fracking industry's hunger for sand is impacting rural Wisconsin. His deep research and intimate portraits of people on all sides of the controversy make this an important and timely read for anyone concerned about our country's environment, natural resources, and what happens when the needs of big business collide with those of ordinary citizens."--Vince Beiser, award-winning journalist "A masterful blend of stories and scholarship that will be the definitive account of a major environmental justice issue. Thomas W. Pearson is fair-minded and unflinching as he traces the erasure of place and the scramble to salvage community and democracy."--Adam Briggle, author of A Field Philosopher's Guide to Fracking " When the Hills Are Gone is a riveting, sobering story about local democracy at the whipped-around tail-end of the frack-driven oil and gas boom that has rocked the United States since the turn of the millennium. The writing is lively and reflective--deftly portraying the many micro-tactics through which local democracy can be undercut and the many kinds of people working against this in rural Wisconsin.

This is critical reading for understanding contemporary politics on the ground."--Kim Fortun, University of California, Irvine "The churning engine of the global energy economy always touches down in local places, sometimes to brutal effect. Thomas W. Pearson provides a compelling and deeply personal story of one such place, the sand hills of Wisconsin. Both an ethnography and a study of state and local politics, When the Hills Are Gone richly describes community divisions and sudden activism in places where disruptive environmental change is ongoing."--Paul Robbins, director, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison.