Editorial Review

Terry Tempest Williams makes it clear that we lose an essential part of ourselves when we neglect the earth, but this collection of essays does not offer a soapbox delivery of tired manifestoes; rather, it uses poetic and insightful inspiration to urge the reader to become aware, assess the damage, and begin to heal broken bonds. In her essay "Yellowstone: The Erotics of Place," Williams writes, "There is no defense against an open heart and a supple body in dialogue with wildness. Internal strength is an absorption of the external landscape. We are informed by beauty, raw and sensual. Through an erotics of place our sensitivity becomes our sensibility."Read more

Reviews (3)

The Erotics of Place
As the title of one of Terry Tempest Williams' essays states... this collection of immersions into spirit and place are "The Erotics of Place." That is, not just a bodily immersion into her subject, but one of totality. Williams accomplishes that sinking into her well-worded ideas that leaves only the tips of her hair floating on the surface, a faint rippling of the water where she stepped in, and nothing more - she is submerged. And that is a thing of quality. An Unspoken Hunger
Beautiful and lyrical. Terry has done it again.

Beautifully, powerfully written.
Terry Tempest Williams is a wonderful writer.All of her books are a delight.This book is a collection of several essays, each a jewel.When I read her writings I feel very connected to myself and to nature. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Nature    3. Nature/Ecology    4. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    5. Nature / General   

Reviews (2)

One of the great essayists -An American original and classic
Emerson is one of the greatest of essayists. His thoughts have a poetic power. But they are often complex and paradoxical and difficult to understand.
Classic isn't a good enough description
This is a radiant essay on nature's greatness. It's beautifully written by Emerson. This book will stay with you even months after you've read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Essays    3. Fiction    4. Literary    5. Literary collections    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. Natural history    9. Nature    10. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    11. Literary Collections / Essays   

Reviews (3)

A Loss to Literature
Did this ever happen to you, you close the pages of a well-written book and you just sigh for a minute, wishing it had not ended?And then as it happens you open up your daily newspaper and find out that the author has died, died even perhaps as you were reading and admiring her prose style?I first read "Swimming in Mojave" two years ago in the magazine ORION, and I laughed out loud thinking of the author trying to beat the desert heat by swimming across the sands, like a John Cheever character, in every swimming pool at every motel and resort her family could find.Recently I found this book, THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF TURQUOISE, and settled in for the pleasure of a whole collection of essays, and some well-researched bits of historical fact and fancy about the mineral turquoise, another hobby of mine.
Colors are the deeds and sufferings of light- Johann Wolfg
There are three reasons to possess this book. The first reason: You want to read an author whose prose verges on poetry... "On the Colorado Plateau... nights come less as a smooth pause than as a steep, enduring purity of eye-blind dark.(In the day) The mesa's colors in theirflanks - terra cotta, blood-red salmon, vermilion - bear the temperament of iron."
amazing insight into the natural world
Enthusiastic Recommend: The Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen MeloyRead more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Essays    3. General    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Nature / General   

Editorial Review

Thomas Pakenham, a distinguished historian of Africa, takes a new tack by writing an old-fashioned kind of book: a catalog of trees of the British Isles. The last such book was published in 1826. In Read more

Reviews (15)

Inspirational!
Pakenham's Meetings with Remarkable Trees and his Remarkable Trees of the World are portraits, not just pictures, each book documenting the impressive presence of sixty venerable trees from around the world. Pakenham groups them by their histories: Natives, Travelers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. Each is a testimony to the majesty of Nature's creativity, diversity and adaptability.
a Wonderful Tree Lovers Book
This is an amazing book from the stunning photographs to the detailed stories about each remarkable tree. It is also scattered with beautifull 18thC etching of illustrated trees that refer to the tree being discussed.I found this book quite beautiful. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about trees. Or to anyone who is looking for great photograhic reference as I was.

Beautiful trees, beautiful writing, beautiful book.
If you need a gift for a nature lover or photographer that you really like, this is the book for them.And get yourself a copy while you're at it.
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Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Nature    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Pictorial works    5. Trees    6. Trees & Forests - General    7. Nature / Trees    8. Trees & wildflowers   

Reviews (14)

what a book!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought this book to learn more about the wolves being reintroduced to YS after I was privelidged enough to view a pack in YS. But I got so MUCH more from this book-information of wolves But insight into our connection with nature & as a result with ourselves. I felt the author was speaking to me and of me. Thank you so much for your words!!!!!!!!!!!! Nancy Riggs

Review of Shadow Mtn
Although I know I would like the author as person; She was rather verbose in her style of writing and that lost me at times.I did conclude from what I read that she is authentically connected to the topic she wrote about but, I found several inconsistencies in her timeline which may have been my misintrepretation. Overall, I am still struggling to get through the book. Maybe I will feel better about it once I have completed it.
This book is the way to write a memoir
When i first picked up shadow mountain, i did so in an unbiased way, i didn't hear anything about it. it started off kind of slow. But then it picked up and was full of sincere emotion. For renee askins to convey such a tragic and triumphant story without sounding corny or overdramatic is quite a feat. It is an inspiring, heartwrenching, beautiful tale - and helps one understand how hard it is to make things right with not only a small section of the world (by getting wolves reintroduced), but to understand the fears of those who oppose it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dogs    2. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    3. Essays    4. Mammals    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Parks & Campgrounds    8. Nature / General   

Reviews (2)

The Last River Rat
I have never met Kenny, but after reading this book, it seems as though I have known him most of my life.I grew up on a farm in Winona County in the 50's and 60's hunting and fishing every chance I had.Reading chapter after chapter, from my experiences which are a bit different, but similar, than Kenny's, I relived part of my life again and many of the phrases found in the book jogged my memory nicely.I spent four years at Winona State and did my share of fishing below the dam and wandering around some of the backwaters on the Wisconsin side of the river amid much of the wildlife Kenny encountered.Each almanac chapter, as well as the Rat Tales, are filled with information and feelings that only a true naturalist could convey.This book is a facinating account of a river rat's calendar year and all the beauty and excitement in and around the Mississippi River from one month to the next.A must read for anyone who lives in this area or wishes they did.

Most Honest Accounting of "A River Rat"
I have known Kenny since 1980, although I've only started reading this story I am extremely comfortable with the pace and grace Mr. Bestul uses. Kenny is everything the book says he is a very hard working, deliberate, honest, kind and caring person, without a mean bone in him. I've shared stories and bread with Kenny, and he really is the type of person you would like to know personally. Mary Kay's illustrations are graceful and a pleasure to view alongside this wonderful story.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1943-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Essays    5. Floodplain forest ecology    6. Mississippi River Watershed    7. Naturalists    8. Naturalists, Gardeners, Environmentalists    9. Nature    10. Nature/Ecology    11. Salwey, Kenny,    12. Wisconsin    13. House & Home / General    14. Modern fiction   

Reviews (12)

For all bird watchers and those interested in evolution
Very well written tale about the possible ancestor of birds.I should think that even casual bird watchers would enjoy learning the theories of evolution of their favorite creatures.Well researched theories, their plausbility, and their potential flaws are discussed in fabulous and convincing detail.

The first bird, or a feathered reptile?
Archaeopteryx has aroused the interest of specialists and the general public alike since its first fossils were discovered in the 1860s, only a short time after The Origin of Species was published, when the excitement raised by Darwin's famous book had by no means died down. Darwin himself had explained that so extremely few individuals become fossils that we cannot expect to find fossils to answer every question about evolution that we might want to ask -- in short, that fossilized links cannot be found to document every postulated transition between one species and another. Nonetheless, there was great interest in the search for "missing links", for example between modern birds and their ancestors. Archaeopteryx seemed at once to supply this link: it had feathers, like a modern bird, and unlike any other modern creature; but it also had teeth, like a dinosaur, but unlike any modern bird.
Detailed but inconclusive
This is a rapidly evolving subject and things have moved on since the book was written.
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Subjects:  1. Archaeopteryx    2. Birds    3. Essays    4. Flight    5. Fossils    6. General    7. Life Sciences - Evolution    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Evolution    11. Science / General    12. Science: General Issues   

Reviews (2)

a wonderful wonderful book
I've worked for years in the extensive gardens of children's book author/illustrator Tomie dePaola (26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE and other books).This book has helped me appreciate what I do and has helped me"see" the value and the beauty in plants and shrubs and colors,etc., that I never before saw or understood.It's a wonderful book.

A 12 Month Delight
Never did I expect to be so conflicted about why I love a book.This one has it all.Such a beautifully written love story about a garden and the shared lives oftwo people who have a vision and the courage to create atruly great landscape.The sheer volume of information about specificplants and how they are used are invaluable to me.To have all thisknowledge presented in such a beautifully written book is such a gift. I've already read it twice.I've had my copy of this book for two yearsnow and it wouldn't surprise me if I picked it up for a fresh readingsometime this winter. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eck, Joe    2. Garden Design    3. Gardening    4. Gardening / Horticulture    5. Gardening/Plants    6. Homes and haunts    7. Vermont    8. Winterrowd, Wayne    9. Nature / Essays    10. USA   

Reviews (8)

Food for Thought on the Insect-Human Connection
Joanne Lauck's book "The Voice of the Infinite in the Small," starts with the very intriguing premise that we humans tend to demonize the smaller six, eight and multi-legged creatures around us, while these have their place in nature and are often important in our own survival (where would we be without pollination!)As a professional biologist who has specialized in arthropods, I could not agree more on this point.Indeed, Lauck has brought together some most intriguing imagery and fascinating myths and metaphors into a discussion that I think was long overdue.As a professional I constantly hear complaints from people about some harmless or nearly harmless arthropod, such as any spider, certain innocuous true bugs and beetles, or house centipedes that they think should be immediately wiped off the face of the earth.
Ms Lauck Gives A Beautiful Voice To The Insect World
The prevailing attitudes towards insects are mostly antagonistic or ambivalent, and certainly, uninformed. In the concrete covered human world that has distanced itself from Nature and realitiy, we are daily subjected to the perverse messages delivered through commercials by profit greedy pesticide companies about the nasty, stinging, dirty, disease carryings bugs. By now, though, we should all be able to see through that snake-oil facade, but how about the "bad bug" disinformation passed along by good intentioned, but uninformed teachers, parents, et al?
A wonderful and much-needed new perspective
Thomas Berry, the famed theologian and cultural historian who wrote the introduction to this book, makes a perfect statement: "The time has come for humans and insects to turn toward each other. Such is our way to wisdom, the source of our healing, our guidance into the twenty-first century." Joanne Lauck has made a wonderful contribution to those of us seeking to transform ourselves as we travel our spiritual pathways. This book (herein referred to as The Voice) is not a study of insects, it's not a scientific book and it doesn't pretend to be. It's more than that. The Voice offers a new perspective to life, to all that is beautiful and wonderful on this planet; it opens the doorway for us to consider insects in all their splendor and beauty and as necessary beings for the balance of all life. The many stories and myths, woven into facts about insects, make for fascinating reading. For me, reading The Voice brought to my attention the dusty corners of my mind, those places that held prejudices I didn't even know existed. Not just against certain insects--I was forced to look beyond them. Reading The Voice proved to be exciting, educational, rewarding, eye-opening and, finally, a critical step on my spiritual journey. Since then, I've gifted others with the book. An acquaintance named Robert, who reads The Voice while sitting with the insects, tells me time and time again that he looks at the world differently now; his vision is much larger than it was before he began establishing a relationship with insects. The insects welcome him. The bees especially have been offering their friendship--they walk back and forth along the top of his glasses in greeting, then explore the gentleness of Robert's hands. Robert is in the healing profession, and he admits that as he is changing, so also is his work changing. Such is the impact of Ms. Lauck's book. I highly recommend it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Human-animal relationships    3. Insects    4. Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Psychological aspects    8. Religious aspects    9. Insects & spiders    10. Nature / Essays   

Subjects:  1. Authors, American    2. Biography    3. El Paso    4. Essays    5. Landscape    6. Nature    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Texas    9. Texas Hill Country    10. United States - State & Local - General    11. Nature / Essays   

Reviews (1)

Wonderful, Wide-Ranging Meditations on Art and the Environme
Rebecca Solnit's Savage Dreams is one of my favorite books, and this compilation of essays covers some of the same territory. She writes insightfully about the visual arts, the environment, and feminism in a way that causes us to look at the world differently. Her passion for the desert and its fragile ecosystems is especially evocative. I particularly liked her essays on dirt and Carlsbad Caverns.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Criticism    4. Essays    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Subjects & Themes - General    7. Theory of art   

Features

• Unabridged

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Audio - Literature / Classics    3. Classics    4. Essays    5. Fiction    6. Horror - General    7. Literary Collections    8. Literature: Classics    9. Unabridged Audio - Literature Classics   

Reviews (3)

Carefully chosen, wild and precious words
Prior to reading this book, I had already read several volumes of Mary Oliver's poetry, as well as a book of her nonfiction.So I knew what to expect: beautifully concise language, lovely descriptions, and some insightful observations about the natural world and about life.What struck me most about this book was its similarity to the nonfiction of Annie Dillard, another of my favorite writers who deal with both the natural world and the craft of writing.Certain essays in this book reminded me of "Teaching a Stone to Talk," which is another book remarkable for its economical prose.I enjoyed learning some of Oliver's philosophies about the purpose of a writer, and I appreciated her observations about writers who inspired her, particularly Edna St. Vincent Millay and Walt Whitman.She writes well about everything from owls to deer to poetry, and it all comes across as effortless and seamless (though she shows us that the process itself is anything but smooth).I loved this book, although I would say that the best introduction to Mary Oliver is through her poetry: I recommend "White Pine" or "Dream Work."If you already like Mary Oliver, this book won't disappoint you!

THank you, Mary Oliver!
This book is exquisite.Thanks to Mary Oliver, I have begun to open my eyes, ears, and soul once more.Her poetry, all her observations, are so moving and her connection to life and what really matters has made mereexamine my own "wild and precious life."I wish I could thankMary Oliver in person for her poetry and her dazzling insights!

M. Oliver speaks the absolute truth in only "A Few Words".
Whatever you believe to be the truth you must read this book.Mary tugged at my heart so intently that I broke down and cried. She seems to possess a consciousness that eludes much of humanity and I wonder how did we let that happen.Mary offers no answers, but she stimulates thought and hopefully her writing will lead her readers to perhaps even conscious thought.I will read this book over and over and over again ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Literature - Classics / Criticism    3. Literature: Classics    4. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques    5. Nature / Essays    6. Popular psychology   

Reviews (15)

Great Read - too technical
I enjoyed this book having read other non-fiction frontier books. However, I must say that the degree to which the author delves into how to make certain tools/objects, etc., I could have done without. I would skip through parts like those describing how to build a bean cooker, because such descriptions were so detailed.If you're a technical/hands-on person, then you probably would like knowing how items/tools were built from raw materials in the frontier. But for me, I was more interested in the story, than the instructionals.

Cache Lake Country
This is a wonderful compendium of all things old wise and woodsy.Reading it transported me back to a much simpler, more joyful time to be alive.I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading about life in the wilderness and the wisdom it brings with it.

A peaceful book
I love this book, I read it as I was leaving Alaska to return to Kentucky and it makes me miss the north woods every time I look at the spine on my bookshelf.. I love the autors style of writing which by the way is just as good in "Spindrift" if you can track down a copy of that. All in all, this is a great book, cover to cover, and one of those books that makes you want to pack it up andcanoe out to nowhere, just to be there.
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Subjects:  1. Cree Indians    2. Essays    3. General    4. Natural History    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. North America    8. Outdoor books    9. Outdoor life    10. Biography: general    11. Maine    12. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Reviews (8)

Better than five stars!
This book struck me deeply.I laughed out loud because it was so unexpectedly funny. Mostly though it is gracefully written about beautiful places - in Alaska and in the heart and mind.It is lovely to read but painful also.I loved the frequent quotes(Muir, Abbey, Leopold and many others); the snatches of conversation from history (Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir); and funny lyrical present day conversations.It isn't cheating to use so many quotes from others - it is a gesture of great respect and this book makes me want to seek out those other writers and photographersto reread or open for the first time. Heacox probably doesn't realize that within his own writing are many excellent lines that will be quoted by future generations.He brings Michio to life in a wonderful way.Heacox has an incredible gift of putting life, friendship, love, the essence of wilderness, and deep inner thoughts into words.This review written by Cecily Fritz (Paul's wife).He would die if this was attributed to him!Thank you Kim for making me think.

A real treasure
This book is a "must-read" for anyone who loves kayaking and/or the rugged outdoors.Not only will you learn some history, you will soar with the eagles, hear about a land that is wild, and the people who love it.

Five stars from Alaska
Kim Heacox has outdone himself. This book is funny, sad, erudite, and beautifully written, and an important contribution to Alaska literature. It's a rarity--a book that manages to convey an important environmental message without sliding into self-absorbed intellectualism. Heacox does it all this time around. His voice is relaxed and the prose beautifuly crafted, and the landscape of Glacier Bay, present and past, lives and breathes around the reader. There's plenty of food for thought about the effects of industrial tourism, but Heacox manages not to preach--at least, not any more than he (as an insider who knows and loves Glacier Bay) should. As a student of Alaska literature and a professional writer, I'm grateful for this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alaska    2. Community life    3. Description and travel    4. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    5. Environmentalism    6. Essays    7. Glacier Bay Region    8. Glacier Bay Region (Alaska)    9. Nature    10. Nature / Field Guide Books    11. Nature/Ecology    12. Outdoor life    13. Social life and customs    14. Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection   

Reviews (2)

Get in Touch with truly `Seasonal Produce`!
Voted `a corker' by Jamie Oliver, this is a book which challenges that `all-year' round availability of `fresh' ingredients, with a primary aim of re-educating the reader to think about how fresh, not to mention how tasty, e.g. the fine green beans are ,that have just flown in from Kenya?
My favorite cookbook, bar none
There are several recipes in this cookbook--the one for batter-fried pollack comes to mind--that in themselves justify the purchase of the book. But what really makes this volume special is that almost ALL of the recipes are that good. Literally more than half of them are in heavy rotation in my kitchen.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. General cookery    3. The countryside, country life   

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    3. Environmental Studies    4. Essays    5. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    6. General    7. Human ecology    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Religion    11. Religion And Science    12. Religious aspects    13. Spirituality - General    14. Environmentalist thought & ideology    15. Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection    16. Religion: general   

Reviews (6)

Good for Interfaith Worship
In designing an interfaith worship service for a scout outing, I was able to use many materials from this book. There are also things in it that are not necessarily suitable for a worship service, but certainly inspirational in respect to Nature and the Earth and our role in preserving them.

An excellent introduction to environmental literature!
I read from this book to my 6th grade science class on a daily basis. It introduces them to classic environmental literature and fosters a deep appreciation of our earth.

Awesome peaceful beautiful book
I remember at camp our councelors read this a bedtime, and i used sitthere and think about what was read. Then at closing ceremony they read aparagraph, this book has a tremendus effect on the way you think about lifeand the earth when your done reading it. I would recomend this to anyonenot just environmentalists. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Environmental Science    2. Environmental Studies    3. General    4. Anthology of nature writing    5. Essays    6. Nature    7. Nature & Wildlife    8. Nature Writing / Essays    9. Nature in literature    10. Pastoral literature, American   

Reviews (4)

A great read, you'll read more than once.
I read River of Grass last fall and then read Liquid Land last winter. It was great. Easy to read and follow. Very informative.
Winner of the 2004 Burroughs Award
This book just won author Ted Levin the 2004 John Burroughs Award for natural history writing, putting him in the company of such wonderful writers as David Quammen (Song of the Dodo), Carl Safina (Eye of the Albatross), Rachel Carson (The Sea Around Us), John McPhee (Control of Nature), Bernd Heinrich (Mind of the Raven), and others.
The Everglades: a Metaphor for a Land Abused
The Florida peninsula was at one time, depending on how you looked at it, a collection of pestilential swamps and frightening dark hardwood hammocks and pine woodlands, or a remarkable paradise of biodiverse and uniquely intertwined ecosystems.I tend to view the peninsula that was as the latter and I am saddened by, for example, the loss of tropical hardwood hammock to the ever growing asphalt and concrete jungle that is called greater Miami.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    3. Essays    4. Everglades    5. Florida    6. Natural history    7. Nature    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Restoration ecology    10. Conservation of the environment    11. Mathematics and Science    12. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Reviews (5)

Hauntingly beautiful without the least bit of romanticism
Gary Nabhan's book has images in it that are complex and, judging by some of the reader's reviews, too fine-grained for some people's tastes.Like all great written works, Gary has taken the time not to oversimplify or over-generalize, but the resulting ambiguities and lack of forcing these essays into a pre-ordained thread has left me with images that will stick with me for a long time.They, like the ecosystems and cultures that he describes, point to a complexity which reveals itself slowly and over time--lifetimes, in some cases.It is this complexity that he celebrates and mourns the loss of as the cultures and languages that have evolved close to the land become increasingly diluted and discarded in the rush of assimilation that has overtaken so many cultures,languages and landscapes.His case for breathing life back into our landscapes THROUGH our culture and language is compelling, and a challenge to us all, wherever we live.

Interesting ideas but too loosely written
While I found his concepts very interesting and many of his stories beautiful in and of thesmelves, Nabhan fails to bring his book into a cohesive argument. He vaguely alludes to his concepts of the importance of biodiversity to cultures, and how a diversity of cultures promotes biodiversity, I felt as if I were drowning in nostalgia as he told this and that tale without making their significance clear and... significant. We all need to see culture this way
So few nature writers (Barry Lopez being one notable exception) are concerned with dissolving the artificial wall between humanity and nature. Nabhan takes this objective one step further by showing that biodiversityactually depends on the survival of human communities.In specific, humancommunities that have adapted to and depended upon natural systems fortheir own survival.For those who are interested in conservation,environmental science, human cultures, Native American societies,ethnobotany, archaeology, and anthropology, this book is a must-read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Physical    2. Essays    3. Human Geography    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Applied ecology    7. History of ideas, intellectual history    8. Management of land & natural resources