Too often, the ideas and practices of professional foresters have been viewed as monolithic. This book argues that forestry is a more diverse and complex activity than has been generally recognized. It also underlines the political character of the profession. Difference lies at the root of politics, and Nova Scotia forestry has been punctuated by fundamental debates on matters of science, policy, and management. In different ways, the subjects of this volume all have run "against the grain," raising challenges in pursuit of new forestry practice. Many of their challenges have failed, in the face of a determined consensus. Nonetheless, the plurality of views and experiences they reveal are an apt reflection of the inherently political character of modern forestry and of the need to push beyond appearance to find the foundations of both orthodoxy and dissent.