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source documents for emerging environmental era ... Read more

Reviews (4)

for every thinking person and those who wish to be
Everyone I've recommended this book to has loved it. It will either be an introduction of new ideas that are pleasant to think about or a conformation of thoughts the reader already has worded in a way that makes them more accessable. The list of writers contains many sparkling souls. Anyone can read this without being offended, and everyone should read it at least once.

Fabulous, it will expand your mind
The book's premise is that buddhism is the perfect religion for an eco-centric based society & culture. It does very well in proving the compatibility and similarities between buddhism & ecology. The section on shifting views of perception is highly enlightening. The variety in this book is amazing, there are over 30 contributors. Books like this one, in which the book is merely a collection of essays on the same topic are great because you can read it in one sitting, or read an essay at a time. As you finish the last essay of the book, you will never see Smokey the Bear in the same light again, now there's a teaser!. But seriously folks, this book is great.

Well written, insightful, thought provoking
Dharma Gaia is a collection of essays offering different perspectives on human/Gaia interaction. These perspectives tie in with Buddhist philosophies to offer readers a sane and well reasoned spiritual approach to ecology. Short introduction by the Dalai Lama, essays and some poetry.

An excellent and original read
Overall, this is an easy read which addresses some complex issues. By the end of the book I developed a greater understanding of both environmental conservation and buddhism. Too many books jump on the "buddha-chic" or "eco-cool" bandwagon, but offer little more than a rehash of general facts - this isn't one of them. ... Read more

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Another great collection
Not quite as wonderful as the first John McPhee reader. But that may be because the first collection inspired me as I was beginning my career as a reporter. Objectively, the second "Reader" is every bit as inspiring in its lucid, meticulous prose and McPhees ability to convey the details about a person or a place that make them come alive on the page. ... Read more

Book Description

In the years since Chris Chester and his wife Rebecca rescued "B," a featherless baby sparrow--a creature with all the initial appeal of "a testicle with a beak"--they’ve had plenty of time to consider and reconsider their eccentric lifestyle. Along the way they’ve learned a great deal about the natural history of birds, and even more about that aligned avian species, the House Sparrow. And with this knowledge has come gratitude. For it is through B that Chester has discovered a renewed capacity for joy and wonder and an expanded realization of the consciousness and intelligence in living things. A book filled with acerb wit, frequent references to literature both high and low, and genuine reverence for the life around him, Providence of a Sparrow is Chris Chester’s beautiful meditation on life with B. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"Providence" Satisfies on So Many Levels!
Don't be deceived by the title. This would be a gem of a book even if it WERE only about the author's life-altering relationship with a house sparrow. Fortunately, "Providence" is so much more, and ultimately so much more satisfying, as it roams with humor, poetry, candor and intelligence over many aspects of the author's life--his marriage, childhood memories, his struggle with depression, the death of his father, his philosophy about life and the afterlife, and so on. I alternately laughed out loud, cried, and nodded knowingly--sometimes within the space of a single page; I read passages aloud to my wife, who found it equally hilarious, poignant and profound. Chester's word choices are often unexpected--exquisitely so--and the cadence of his prose is captivating. "Providence" is, simply put, one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Unforgettable!
I thank this author for sharing the intimate details of his life. Thank you for allowing me to know "B." I savored every word of this heartwarming story. It was beautifully woven, provocative, intense, human.

Best Book Ever About a Pet Bird!
"Providence of a Sparrow" is simply the best book about a pet bird that I have ever read, and that means it even surpasses such charmers as "That Quail Robert" and "Arnie the Darling Starling." Chris Chester's close observations of a House Sparrow named B are equal parts wry, scientifically informed, and touching. I thought my wife Linda and I spoiled our birds, but Chris and his wife Rebecca go the extra mile for their feathered foundlings, and then several more miles on top of that. Chris weaves stories throughout his narrative about his father, Rebecca's belly dancing job, faithful cat Marlowe, and a host of other birds. But B demands and gets center stage in this truly amazing book that every animal lover should own.

A Phenomenal Book
Funny, tender, lyric, insightful and informative, "Providence of a Sparrow - Lessons from a Life Gone to the Birds" is, in my opinion, the best book ever written about an animal (in this case, a bird) and its relationship with a human being. Chester's prose is beautifully constructed and endlessly quotable. His description of canned cat food as "fish rectums packed in some sort of urine," is an amusing example. On his beloved House Sparrow's reaction to an exploding firecracker (the bird is napping at the time in Chester's hand): " . . . his neurons ignite for an instant, light up pathways unsealed from sleep; sentry calls to sentry with the message, 'You're safe in the hand that has never harmed you.' " The book is a universe.

I'll Never Use the Word "Birdbrain" Again!
What a terrific book - beautifully written and nuanced and utterly astounding. Who would ever have thought that a baby sparrow could become such an engaging and - dare I use it - intelligent companion. This is a must read for anyone with an interest the avian world. That "God knows every little sparrow," is made real in this book. Chester's memoir about the bird who changed his life is simply exquisite. Five stars. ... Read more

Book Description

For years, Tom Brown, Jr. has made a bestselling name for himself as the guru of nature, meditation, and mysticism with his extraordinary messages of hope for our earth and our inner selves. Founder of the Wilderness Survival School, Brown now shares his vision of harmony in a wilderness guide that has become a bible for both spiritualists and nature lovers. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A great sophomore outing for Mr. Brown!
I must say that I wasn't disappointed in this, the follow up to "The Tracker". Though I was inspired by the first book, this, the second really gives me the story I want. It goes from high to low. It shows the man who was at first a bit hesitant and leery of his talents test them in ways that inspire. From Mr. Browns deep wood encounter with the spirit of a great, old tree, to the heartbreak of the tracking of a young victim of a senseless crime, the book captivates!

A worthwhile follow-up to "The Tracker"
Though not as quite as inspired as the tracker was, the search continues the story of Tom's life in the outdoors and the further challenges he put himself through ... Read more

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Much Better Than Expected
This beautifully crafted narrative presents a month-by-month, May through April, description of a 58 year old mountain climbing guide's recollections and reflections on living and working Grand Teton National park. Teewinot is the nearest peak visible from the author's seasonal cabin in the park.

Each chapter is an essay about climbing, wildlife, plants, environmental management or personality profiles related to events that happened during that month. The book begins in May because that's when spring begins to overtake winter, covers the intense summer climbing season, describes autumn wildlife viewing treks to remote corners of the park and tells about winter ski treks. The lifestyle and habits of climbing guides, rangers and other professional outdoors people are profiled throughout.

One of the best aspects of the book is that while it's written by a technical climbing guide and has interesting stories about both guided and highly challenging climbs, the book goes beyond that to reflect the author's wide-ranging, eclectic interest and knowledge about everything related to the Tetons.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in mountaineering, national parks, wildlife and the contemporary American West. There are 11 unexceptional color photographs, two maps with sufficient detail to follow the ground covered in the essays, and a six-page bibliography of reference sources for the Tetons and other topics covered, although many books cited are probably available only in large reference libraries.

Teewinot - A Year in the Teton Range. By Jack Turner
Teewinot - A Year in the Teton Range. Jack Turner. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press. New York. 2000. 248pp.

Jack Turner is a mountaineering instructor and guide for Exum Mountain Guides, the oldest and most prestigious guide service in America. He has lived and climbed in the Tetons for over 40 years and so is uniquely qualified to write this book.

A philosophy professor by academic training, Turner has deeply contemplated the essential nature of the mountain landscapes of the Teton Range. Teewinot, named after the peak that looms above the Exum Guides' summer base and climbing school, is an ode to the mountains, streams, plants, animals and people that he loves. However, this book is far more than just an account of one of America's most beautiful mountain ranges or the remarkable climbers, rangers and biologists that know those mountain holds better than anyone ever will. It is also about achieving a tranquil and happy life by strengthening personal connections to the seasons, cycles and rhythms of the land.

Turner speaks of the "gifts of returning" - certain routines observed year after year, season after season, which in time have become personal and meaningful rituals that uplift and reconnect him to the landscape each time they occur: the first circumambulation of the Cathedral Group every Spring; the first snowfall in Lupine Meadows, snow that will not melt until the following summer; battening down the guides' hut for the winter off-season; and the final hike around Jenny Lake each year.

Turner reminds us that such simple gifts are available to anyone who attunes one's self to one's surroundings and the people and places one loves.

In its major themes and conclusions, Teewinot is in a class with Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' lovely book, Cross Creek. The latter book is a loving testimonial of the joy Rawlings experienced during her long residence in the land between Orange and Lochloosa Lakes in North Central Florida in the 1930's and 40's. Like Teewinot, Cross Creek teaches that meaningful connections with a place are hard-won after patience and persistence and determination.

I recommend Teewinot to anyone who loves and contemplates landscapes and their meaning in our lives, and who believes that developing a sense of place and exploring one's inner landscapes go hand-in-hand in one's attempt to live a deliberate, meaningful life.

An Interesting Narrative of Grand Teton Nat'l. Park
Turner's book is a look at a year in the life of a climbing guide in Grand Teton National Park. Turner, an Exum climbing guide, also relates to nature, wildlife, and the overall experience of the lifestyles of those who call the park home throughout the year. As I read the book, I felt like I had been transported to the park with Turner. His vivid descriptions and lively writing style make the book a must read for anyone interested in climbing, mountaineering, or this country's national parks. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful!
This book is superb. Packed with spectacular photography and interesting essays regarding Mount Desert Island's history, geography, and ecology. The print quality is first rate; kudos to the publisher. A very inspiring volume which reminds us how important it is to have places like Mount Desert Island and Acadia. Highly recommended from a resident of Maine. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the great tropical naturalists of the seventeenth century, G. E. Rumphius-the "Indian Pliny"-spent most of his life stationed on the island of Ambon in eastern Indonesia. His classic text, the first modern work on tropical fauna, is here published in English for the first time. The book describes and illustrates the organisms of the seas surrounding Ambon, as well as minerals and rare concretions taken from animals and plants. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Slimy Things That Crawl with Legs...
This is the first complete English translation of an important work by the Dutch botanist, zoologist, and ethnographer Rumphius; it was first published in 1705. On his arrival on the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies, Rumphius began studying, as a hobby, the region's flora and fauna; soon, he was toying with the idea of writing a book on the subject.

However, he went blind at 42, and thus was forced to write his books during three decades of "sad darkness." Notwithstanding this misfortune, his charming descriptions are marvellously detailed; as though in compensation for his blindness, he had a prodigious visual memory and a gift for striking descriptions. (In fact, a 1990 scientific survey of Ambon praised Rumphius for his "great accuracy and reliability.") The black-and-white plates are beautiful, and would be worth having even if one had no intention of reading a word of the text.

Apart from its scientific virtues, "The Ambonese Curiosity Cabinet" contains many evocative and mildly alarming passages, as thus: "The Dog Crab...extends its hollow passages under Houses, and crawls out of them at night, making a lot of noise. It also knows how to creep up on Chickens, grab one by the feet, and haul it to its hole, which causes the nocturnal noise that one hears sometimes coming from the Chicken coops. If you pour hot water in their holes, they have to come out."

This is a valuable work of ethnography as well, since Rumphius respectfully catalogs the natives' folklore and social behavior. And he is not above throwing in the odd bit of gossip, political commentary, or personal anecdote. (For hardier souls than myself, it might even serve as a cookbook, since Rumphius describes his attempts to eat virtually every creature he comes across.)

Rumphius epitomizes the best qualities of the woefully devalued seventeenth-century approach to science: as the editor and translator of this volume says, his writing "is ready to impart information yet is more interested in understanding, while as religion, it aspires to a state of rapture but does not want to impose orthodoxy or ideology." More by far than one could say of Richard Dawkins!

Anyone who enjoys this book may also wish to track down a used copy of "The Poison Tree," which comprises excerpts from the same author's massive "Ambonese Herbal." ... Read more

Book Description

Some people prefer to walk in the woods alone. Terry DeBruyn walks with bears. Set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, this is the account of an extraordinary human-ursine story. Biologist DeBruyn believes that the only way to protect wild species is to determine precisely what they do all day.

To find out, DeBruyn pioneered a G.P.S. monitoring stystem for radio-collared bears, but he soon realized the only way to truly understand the animal is to enter her world. Not so easy when the subject is a 250-pound North American black bear with cubs. Black bears are enormously powerful animals, though very shy of humans. So, first, DeBruyn must convince an individual bear to stick around long enough to learn she has nothing to fear. When he finally accomplishes this, the rewards are immense. Carmen and her daughter Netti, and later, Netti's daughter June are ambassadors who grant us a glimpse into bear life. DeBruyn is their interpreter. He is a priviledged guest, watching intimate family scenes: nursing, grooming, and wrestling amond den mates. He learns as much about he moods and emotional life of bears as about their dietary requirements. Walking wtih Bears is an endearing tale of interspecies friendship. It will forever change the way we view one of the most fascinating and feared of all wild animals. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A GREAT BOOK FOR BLACK BEAR LOVERS
WALKING WITH BEARS IS A GREAT STORY OF ONE MANS LOVE FOR THE BLACK BEAR. TERRY DEBRUYN MAKES YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE WITH HIM IN THE WOODS AS HE WALKS WITH THE BEARS. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I HOPE ONE DAY I CAN BEGIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BEARS AROUND MY HOME AS THE AUTHOR DID. I RECOMMEND ANYONE WHO LOVES BEARS SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!

Fascinating!
If you're at all interested in the natural world around us, and concerned about how much we take for granted in this day and age, this is a sobering and fascinating look at black bears. The author tracks the lives of a family of bears (mainly 3 generations worth) over the course of a year to discuss their behaviors and their seasonal variation. Almost as a by product of this you learn a lot about bears, and the actions and motivations of potentially dangerous wild animals as a whole. I feel a lot safer being outdoors having read some of the explanations for the motivations of aggressive behavior, especially towards humans. I would say more about the book itself but I think it is best left as a surprise. Suffice it to say if you've wondered about bears or the upbringing of offspring in animals, this is a superb book. It's my first book on bears so there may be some others out there which others would suggest first, but I don't see how one could go wrong with this one.

Anyone Working With Black Bears Should Read This Book!
I have purchased 3 copies of this book for bear biologist firends. Debruyn gives a wonderful look into the private lives of black bears. I found myself comparing what he discovered with what I see working with black bears in west Texas. The book is written by someone who is dedicated to their research. There is a wealth of information on biology and ecology of black bears that is presented in a wonderful read. I read it cover to cover, then read it again.

Bonnie R. McKinney West Texas Black Bear Study

Just Amazing
I can only say that this is one amazing book. Buy it and read it. It's a rare treat.

Right Spot On
I have scoured high and low to enjoy the information that only biologists from the field can share about the intimate lives of animals. It is very hard to find information of the type in Walking with Bears, and it should be seriously digested and openly applauded. I've heard what the game commissions have had to say, and deep down inside I already knew what this book has now confirmed. The black bear should be a cherished national emblem in the wild for all generations to appreciate . After all, it is ursus americanus. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If evolutionary biologist Massimo Pigliucci didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent him. His Tales of the Rational defines an intellectual space as far removed as hardcore religious fundamentalism from mainstream thinking--but it may be coming closer as scientists and skeptics launch more aggressive attacks on pseudoscience and fuzzy thinking. Pigliucci, a rising star on the evolution-creationism debate circuit, pulls out all the stops in his work, not content merely to defend science against its detractors, but eagerly undermining belief in religion and the existence of any gods at all. Using writing that is strong if rarely eloquent, he defines his terms precisely, makes short work of creationists William Lane Craig and Duane Gish, challenges religious preconceptions, and even ventures to hose down the flames of pseudoscience spouting from chaos theory. Readers with any sympathy for spirituality will run face-first into statements like "I do not see what science has to gain from being reconciled with a system of superstitious beliefs that stands for the exact opposite of free inquiry."

His own transparent faith in reason and materialism may damn him in the eyes of the postmodern, but he is right when he claims that they are uniquely powerful tools for describing the world unmatched by anything in religion's shed. The essays could have used a bit of editing, but the rough edges bring out Pigliucci's charm and passion as he elbows religious believers out of the way to promote his scientific vision. This new kind of fundamentalism will probably run itself out--it's hard to imagine a swelling movement devoted to reason and atheism--but the lessons learned from Pigliucci's confrontational style should stay with us as we struggle to accommodate spiritual and scientific awareness through a process that can only be political. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Not for Weak Minds!
Pigliucci's book gives a superb philisophical and practical discussion of the downsides to believing in theistic faiths. He also shows quite clearly why Darwinian Evolution is not "just a theory" - but one grounded in every fact we known about our physical world.

Mathematics, for instance, is also "just a theory." The only reason we KNOW that 1+1=2 is because we use our brain: the certainty of the conclusion is based on rational thought alone. The same is true for biology and Darwinian evolution.

Pigliucci shows the absurdity of adherence to religious "faith" in the face of solid scientific evidence. If you don't believe in the utter complete lack of "Intelligent Design" in evolution, then you may as well not believe in medicine, physics, bio-chemistry, genetics and every other science. For that matter, you may as well believe in ghosts, the tooth-fairy, leprechauns, ESP, alien abductions, and Santa Claus - they are all equally absurd!

Here's a suggestion: for those religious apologists who want to blindly deny Darinian evolution and all of it's firm ties to every physical science we know, next time you're sick, forget going to your doctor - just stay home and pray. The only reason to see a doctor is because you believe he or she has some knowledge about biology. Otherwise, your priest will do.

If you're afraid to be intellectually challenged .... if you prefer to be blinded by faith, and not ever critically or skeptically examine life around you, then don't read this book. Instead, just watch TV.

Be warned: this book will make you THINK!!

Wonderful book!
Scientists often seem remote, speaking an esoteric language whose precision increases its inaccessibility to the general public. Scientists also learn to avoid straying beyond the narrow regions of their expertise. That's good for science, but unfortunately leaves the public susceptible to those who speak whatever language will sell their arbitrary ideas. It also leaves the thoughtful, but non scientific, public without a guide to the issues on which science can and should inform.

How refreshing it is, then, to read Dr. Pigliucci's essays! A well-published biologist and an experienced debator, Dr. Pigliucci brings a careful, analytical mind to a wide range of topics in science, society, and religion. He argues with clarity and elegance in favor of using rational methods to understand our world and to evaluate the claims of those trying to sell arbitrary or evidenceless ideas as truth.

Dr. Pigliucci is especially strong in reviewing debates he's had with creationists. Having seen him debate with great style and success, I still find that a book is a better medium for presenting the thoughtful developments of arguments; his rebutals and further insights in 'Tales of the Rational' leave no further room for the pseudoscientific silliness of the creationists.

The book is a delightful journey through the methods and philosophies of science, the application of science and reason to religious claims, the foibles and frauds of proponents of mindless faith, the pseudoscience of anti-evolutionists, and an examination of other scientific ideas often misunderstood by the general public.

It's trendy presently to claim a growing connection between religion and science; this book is the antidote to those who think that science can be watered down sufficiently to force a fit with superstition and baseless speculation.

What Carl Sagan and his 'Cosmos' was for general science, Dr. Pigliucci and 'Tales of the Rational' is for the rich nexus of science and theology. That is, he gives the reader the careful analytical tools of an experienced and scientifically skilled mind and does so in an exciting and entertaining way.

Misleading caricatures by a dishonest propagandist
My advice is to READ this book and then go read the works of the people this guy criticizes. You'll find plenty of distortions in this book.

What are you afraid of Pigliucci, loosing some power?

Wonderful....
Mr. Pigliucci has put together a series of essays aimed directly between the eyes of the Christian right wing and the "psuedo-scientists" whose aim it is to confuse those searching for science in religion. The answer - You won't find it folks. Religious theory does not follow anything close to scientific method - regardless of what the psudo-scientists would like you to believe.

Still refuses to deal with the fundamental issues
As with other works written against theism or Christianity, this one still fails to deal with fundamental issues in metaphysics and epistemology. The author of course wishes to reject theism or Christianity, but the presupposition that he replaces them with fails to preserve intelligibility and thought. Once again, the question "How do we know what we know?" destroys non-theistic philosophy. For more information, read the works of Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, and Greg Bahnsen. Until non-theists can justify their presuppositions, they are just building intellectual castles in thin air. ... Read more

Book Description

In this warm, stimulating brew of personal stories, acclaimed author Kathleen Dean Moore uses the metaphor of an island to challenge the cynicism inherent in the Western worldview. A gifted storyteller with a sly sense of humor, Moore explores three separations brought to us by Enlightenment philosophers: the separation of human from nature, of things near and far away, and of the sacred from the mundane. Challenging each, such as Descartes' idea that humans have a discrete consciousness and can alter creation while remaining unaltered themselves, she reveals why such divisions don't tally with the values expressed daily in the way people live. Moore disguises her philosophical explorations in stories: about vacationing on a tiny island in Alaska, visiting her father in the hospital, watching grouse perform their mating dance in the desert. Throughout, she shows that, when properly observed, the world is full of opportunities to find hidden connections. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Curmudgeon, environmental brawler, and literary desert rat, Edward Abbey nursed dreams of one day walking out into the wild "to become one with the landscape. To just... disappear." He made valiant efforts to make good on that dream of escape in sometimes harebrained, often dangerous expeditions to difficult places, adventures some of which are recounted in this lively collection of essays.

The first part of Abbey's Road is given to a walkabout in the outback of Australia, whose scattered human settlements remind Abbey of towns in the American West, "although not so blatantly ugly." Having ignored good advice not to stray too far afield in that waterless place and lived to tell the tale, Abbey turns later in the book to other desert landscapes (islands in the Gulf of California, remote corners of the Grand Canyon, and the like) before delivering a series of trademark yawps against the forces that would just as soon bulldoze such places as protect them.Along the way Abbey recalls his work as a seasonal park ranger (which yielded his incomparable memoir, Desert Solitaire) and fire lookout, offers a few tongue-in-cheek words in defense of rednecks, and muses on the effects of hallucinogenic drugs and the virtues of his "slapstick, slapdash, sex-crazed manner"--all good and generally good-natured pieces, even if a few of them are now showing signs of age.

If you're new to Abbey's work, Abbey's Road is not the best place to start; have a look at The Best of Edward Abbey or The Serpents of Paradise, two sturdy, career-spanning collections. But if you've read his better-known books and want to have a closer look at the man behind them, Abbey's Road is the one to follow. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Vintage Abbey
This collection of previously published magazine articles is vintage Abbey, alternatively moving and funny, sacred and profane, flip and dead serious (well almost) and at all times entertaining. Divided into three categories - Travel, Polemics and Sermons, and Personal History - the subjects range from the Great Barrier Reef to technology to women to Winnebagos to hallucinogenic drugs - with many stops in between. The introduction, wherein Abbey comments on nature writing - and various nature writers - is itself worth the price of admission.

Abbey is great, but this collection is not his best
Do not let this book be your introduction to Edward Abbey. There is plenty of brilliance here, but an established fan will be able to appreciate that brilliance best.

A disappointing first introduction to Ed Abbey
This was my first introduction to the well known author, Edward Abbey. My impression was that Abbey wrote with a strong environmental voice and was an advocate of wildlands. Instead, I read about a man who kicks animals that don't get out of his way, who drags trashed cars through the Australian outback, who tosses his empty wine bottles into remote canyons,and who expresses a superior attitude to just about everybody. His writing style is highly variable, ranging from sophomoric (usually) to pure Americana (very occasionally). When he hits the latter, he can rival Mark Twain, which is probably why he enjoys the reputation he does. However, this reputation obviously wasn't made with the essays contained in this anthology. Folks looking for an introduction to Abbey are advised to try another book.

Wistfully Abbey's best desert writing outside USA
This wistful collection of essays captures the spirit, the essence of the great deserts of Australia and Mexico. There is a yearning for all that is wild in the great Australian outback which captures the reader's inner core. Abbey makes clear that though Australia is his kind of place he is obliged to return to his mother country. He captures the spirit of place by describing the weird smells emanating from gedgi trees, the bitter taste of Aussie Black Swan lager, the distant and near views of Ayers Rock, his longing for an Aussie barmaid who almost accepts his invitation to travel with him in a rented 2-wheel drive vehicle across the impenetrable western desert. He captures the Australian or Strine vernacular and the desperation of the modern aborigine. This yearning of Abbey carries over onto a desert isle off the coast of Mexico where there's not much but isolation, scarce water, no women, and beans for dinner. That's pure Abbey ... Read more

Book Description

For more than 30 years Ted Williams has been hailed as one of the foremost nature writers in the United States, with articles and columns that appear in a wide range of national magazines--from Fly Rod & Reel to Audubon. His eloquent advocacy for a host of environmental and wildlife conservation issues have won him prestigious awards. The National Wildlife Federation presented him with their Conservation Achievement Award; his conservation writing won him the Federal Wildlife Officers Association Award; the Outdoor Writers Association of America recognized him with their highest honor, the Jade of Chiefs; and the Coastal Conservation Association of New York named him "Conservationist of the Year."

Wild Moments is a collection of Williams's beautifully crafted seasonal observation columns that is sure to be prized by Ted Williams's fans and to attract a broad new readership. The text is complemented by the illustrations of John Burgoyne, himself the winner of more than 150 awards in the United States and Europe.

Williams explains the weather conditions that bring out the brightest reds in autumn leaves, when to watch for the massive migration of northern flickers, how hungry wolf spiders catch their prey, and why American goldfinches wait until July or August to build a nest and start breeding.

Although Williams's home is in Massachusetts, his columns describe the action of the natural world all across North America, with a few forays to other parts of the globe. So readers will learn why there are so many aspens in Yellowstone National Park and the extent of the burrowing owl's habitat (from southwestern Canada to Argentina).

Written in an inviting, accessible, and entertaining style, these brief columns are packed with in-depth information on a broad range of topics. Anyone who loves the natural world will find this book irresistible. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Helen and Scott Nearing wrote Living the Good Life and many other best-selling books about working hard, living simply and self-sufficiently while saving time for fun and pursuits of the intellect. This is a book written by Helen after Scott died (at 100 years old!), and is a story of love and living and dying on one's own terms, at peace with the world and with one's own heart. Inspiring and moving, this is a "how-to" book about facing life with delight and with eyes open. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

We are fortunate that Helen left us this book
When your 100-year old husband of 55 years has passed on and you, at 88, can see your own end, and when you have spent most of those years seeking and living the good life, and when you take the time and trouble to record your thoughts for posterity, it is surely worthwhile for us, the readers, to take note and reflect on what might be of value in our own goal of living the good life. This is not a biography of the husband, Scott, nor an autobiography of Helen but it is offered as a tribute to Scott's being as Helen knew it. She wants Scott to be remembered as an unassuming, kindly, wise, husband as well as a principled, uncompromising, intellectual radical; she also wants to share with us his peaceful, intentioned, and premeditated ending.

Born in the upper echelons of society, he worked alongside immigrant laborers in the Pennsylvania mine run by his grandfather. This was a formative experience that resulted in his speaking publicly in his early twenties on liberal reform. '''Even before I began the study of economics,' he said in an early lecture, 'I was impressed by the monstrous inequality which exists between the rich and the poor in modern society. The rich enjoy wealth, leisure, and boundless opportunity. The poor are overwhelmed by misery, overwork, and insanitation. The rich have a heaven of opportunity; the poor a hell of misery, and the heaven of the rich is founded upon the hell of the poor. If I was impressed by these conditions before I had studied them, I was appalled after having given them careful consideration. I had heard of poverty; I believed that misery and vice existed, but I was not aware that they were prevalent in every town and city of the land. Ability and capacity were suppressed; together with the progress which might well be attained, were opportunity more universal ... The poor are ignorant of the fact that by standing together at the ballot box, they might revolutionize conditions in a decade.'"

Very soon he had offended the powers that be with his outspoken views and he would never teach again in the United States. From that point Scott's life can be summed up in these sentences: "The living of an ideal involves payment of a certain price ... the further the ideal is removed from the common practice, the higher the price that must be paid for it ... If your ideal is to live a mentally active, mentally honest life, to seek the truth, then you may have to sacrifice even food, clothing, and shelter to get it." and "The majority will always be for caution, hesitation, and the status quo - always against creation and innovation. The innovator - he who leaves the beaten track - must therefore always be a minoritarian - always be an object of opposition, scorn, hatred. It is part of the price he must pay for the ecstasy that accompanies creative thinking and acting." Scott was aware of the price he would have to pay for his convictions; he regretted enormously the loss of the day-to-day contact with his university students who lost an outstanding educator; but he never regretted standing alone. One of his file cards clearly defined the problem: "If a man is one step ahead of the crowd he is a leader; if two steps ahead, he is a disturber; if three steps, he is a fanatic and not to be trusted." Scott was too many steps ahead of those in authority and he was a danger who had to be removed. At the age of 34 his chosen career was in ruins; his books that had been standard textbooks in public schools were banned and royalty income ceased. He was at the low point of his life and that was when he met Helen.

Helen, born in 1904 into a family of high principles and adequate means was the unconventional child, always reading and addicted to the twelve volumes of the Book of Knowledge at a young age. She had a talent for the violin, preferred the company of trees and rocks, drew and wrote poetry. She did not accept unquestioningly the world in which she lived. As a teenager she felt there was a power and a purpose in the universe and queried what we are here for and what life is all about. At seventeen, she sailed to Rotterdam to study the violin, met up with the Theosophists and the young Krishnamurti who she followed for several years on his mission to be a world teacher. But she saw the vast abyss between the ultra rich and the homeless in Bombay and Calcutta while Krishnamurti surrounded himself with the well to do, the famous and the influential. It was time for her to strike out on her own path. She returned to Ridgewood and there received a phone call from Scott.

The formative years for both of them were over; they were ready for each other; they were ready to build a life together; they were ready to create their version of the good life. We have much to learn from this couple because their life together was built on high principles. We are indeed fortunate that Helen left us this book.

A book worth owning
Having encountered the Nearings in Mother Earth News in the 70's I quickly became an avid admirer as well as a sincere follower of their wisdom. Thus I was overjoyed to buy Helens book because it allowed me to see a side of both Scott and Helen I never knew that well. The man whom I had admired as a wise soul but a tad put off by people, comes across as such a loving and yes "romantic" soul which made me like him even more. And Helen sharing how she was raised and the experiences she had and how she was encouraged by Scott to spread her wings and not allow him to fence her in, is a must read for any woman who questions where she belongs in the whole life circle.

We must own a good five hundred books that we love, but this book is amongst a handful that get read and re-read over and over, with something new being learned each time. I also think the book like all their books is a must read, because it reminds us how fascists this country (united states) has been and can be and the price sincere patriots often pay. As well as the value of taking the path less traveled and not relinquishing ones personal integrity or perseverance. And that in the end the good guy can win.

A Wonderful & Memorable Recollection By Helen Nearing!
In today's youth-obsessed contemporary culture, it is a rare treat to be able to find a book so full of loving wisdom written by someone so involved socially, politically, and spiritually in the events of the 20th century. Therefore, I was enthralled in reading Helen Nearing's moving, absorbing and often quite disarming recollections and reflections on her life, both as an individual and as the lifetime partner of one of the most celebrated critics, iconoclasts and individualists of our time, economist, philosopher and social critic Scott Nearing.

The two lived lives singularly devoid of apologies, half-efforts, or excuses, living it largely on their own terms, based on their own labors and ingenuity. Early in the 1930s they struck out from New York City to escape the Depression and social convention by starting a revolutionary experiment in rural Vermont. In many respects the experiment succeeded, yet they were never able to transform it from a personal adventure to one more largely social and community-based in the Vermont setting. With the coming of ski resorts and encroaching exurbia in the early 1950s, the Nearings moved once again to rural Penobscot Bay in Maine to start again.

Of course, in due time they were suddenly "discovered" by the baby boomers and the counterculture in the late 1960s, and became the elder statesmen of the 'back-to-the-land' movement of the late sixties and early seventies. In all this, Scott and Helen continued in their commitment to a socially aware, civically responsible, and environmentally sustainable way of living. By the time Scott died at age 100 in the early 1980s, thousands of curious counterculture hopefuls made the pilgrimage to visit with the Nearings at their celebrated farm in rural coastal Maine.

This is a lovely, thoughtful, and wise book, full of the almost endless love and care and compassion Helen Nearing brought to all of her endeavors for her many decades of purposeful and socially responsible living. This book is no small treasure; it looms large and lovely for those who are aware of the incredible journey the Nearings made as fellow citizens, and also of the loving and special relationship these two rugged individualists shared. I have read it several times, and love having it on my bookshelf. I suspect you will too.

A window into "The Good Life" of two remarkable people
I discovered Helen and Scott's books in the early 1970s and they inspired and sustained me as I planned my escape from urban California. Not long before she died, Helen reviewed my book and gave it a wonderful testimonial which I will always cherish. No other two people have had a greater influence on the back-to-the-land movement. Helen and Scott were born to privilege and rejected it to live lives that showed by example their commitment to right living. They were vegetarians, they raised most of their food, and they were remarkable in their physical and intellectual capacities. Their physical bodies are dead but their spirits live on in the lives of those now living the good life because of their example. After Scott died at the age of 100 by purposefully not eating, Helen wrote this candid book that gives insight into their private lives and reveals their deep convictions.

Impressing....
I'm a student of Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. My major is pol.science. Somehow this book became the textbook of one of my courses, which is 'Politics appeared in Literature'. This book was quite nice and we had discussion after having read this. I guess most of students got impressed by Helan & Scott's whole life. ... Read more

Book Description

Muir kept this journal on his first extended trip to Yosemite in 1869. Here he faithfully recorded his impressions of the dazzling animal and plant life he encountered in the magnificent Sierra. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Well intentioned but...
The Sierras are much nicer when visited in person. Reading about the natural wonders found there isn't the same as actually checking them out for yourself. Perhaps if you were already familiar with the areas Mr. Muir traversed, and wish to brush up un them or revisit them literarily when unable to do so physically... THEN perhaps this book would be better.

Repetitive and boring, but a good message....
My First Summer in the Sierra
By: John Muir
Review by Austin Bauer

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir is a book published by Penguin Nature Classics in 1987 but written in Muir's diary in the summer of 1869. It seems almost as if Muir wrote one page and repeated it 264 times. He wrote of nature's beauty and bounty when untouched. John Muir was a naturalist who lived from 1834-1914, beginning his life in Wisconsin and later moving to California to observe the beautiful sierra mountains. His intention in the writings were to inspire people, naturalists or not, to enjoy nature at its fullest and keep it that way. I think that this book was very repetitive, but the message was a positive and, to me, true one.
The context of this book revolved around the idea of nature's true beauty and how it can exist freely. Muir spoke of the ecology of the Sierra. Nearly every page of the book had a new species of plant or animal that he had observed. He then told of what its affect on him was, whether it was annoying or satisfying, beautiful or ugly, natural or processed. In short, his main context was the loveliness he observed and wanted to share in his writings.
John Muir stated "...Mr. Delaney, a sheep owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the headwaters..." This was the beginning of his journey to the most beautiful place he could ever imagine, a place that he returned to for the rest of his life. Muir had a good companion, a St. Bernard named Carlo. The book went on to tell how him and a few others led 2050 sheep up the Sierra mountain range in California. They encountered many obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles were bear attacks, to which Muir said, "Bears are slow and awkward with their eyes." They went on camping at different sites, spending sometimes several weeks at one site. Here, Muir made endless amounts of sketches and recordings of his observations. The group faced a bread famine, the result of a slow and lazy Mr. Delaney, but recovered and returned to their trek with the sheep to the high mountains. John's helpful substance was tea. To another, tea was nothing and he needed tobacco. Everybody had something to keep them with it, so to say. The book did gain some excitement when Muir was sitting atop a mountain and had a sudden feeling that his old professor from Wisconsin was visiting. A few days later, he realized this was true and met up with him, speaking of old times and getting slumber in the hotel. Whenever John would observe tourists going through the mountains, he would shake his head at their ignorance to the size and beauty of the area. He just saw them looking at the ground, not fully enjoying it. Towards the end, John was sad to leave the mountains and return to the lowlands, farther away from the mountains he adored so much. He said "Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again." He returned many times in his long life, and each visit was never a disappointment.
The work that I read had very much information on the specifics of plants and animals found in the Sierra. I learned a lot about the sizes of these organisms and their characteristics. For example, there was a section where Muir wrote of how the ants were ¾ inches long and that they "check you out" before they have the colony attack you. If you are still and seem harmless, they will not bite, but a sudden move may jolt them to bite. He said that the bite from this species of ant felt like a terrible electric sting that nobody should have to endure more than once or twice in a lifetime. So these parts of the book were good because I found this activity quite interesting, but some parts, such as the tree descriptions, got boring. I am not interested in the texture and color of the tree bark. I can get the whole picture much easier. My own experiences tell me what nature is like, so I have a good feel of what Muir is trying to show us. The honors biology class has helped me by letting me know some of the ideas behind genus species names and writings, so that is how the course helped me out. That is what I thought of the book and why I thought that way. The only question I really had was why Muir described things so detailed and run-on and descriptive. I may have an idea, but I am not sure.
I believe that John Muir described the organisms so in-depth because he wanted his audience to really be able to visualize it and the beauty it held in itself. This all fits in with the context of the environment's ecology being a precious thing that can not go to waste. So while it wasn't the most fun book to read, it still held an important message, as I have said before, that we must follow to keep the environment beautiful.

Akin to reading the National Geographic Wildlife guide
Muir tells a story of his journey into the Yosemite area in California as a shephard. While his journey encompasses other places, the story remains essentially the same since the entire book is filled with him talking about everything being so marvelous.

Despite John Muir being very well known now to many people I'm left uncertain as to why this man should be one out of so many other 'mountain men' to become famous.

His story is filled with rantings about finding different little animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and indians and then peppers each description of the animal with some bantering about whatever it is that he finds extraordinary about it, or whatever he thinks is extremely interesting, or by simply saying such and such is truly amazing.

I did however enjoy the peripherial aspects of the book, such as Muir's growing insanity from being isolated in the woods for several months. He starts his journey talking about how he's heard stories of shepards gone mad and how he doesn't really believe he'll go insane. But near the middle of the book, he's put a personality to the plants...by the end, he's having in depth conversations with plants. Ha! It's almost worth reading just for noting little things like that.

The book gets 3 stars, as opposed to 1 star, because Muir writes VERY eloquently and if you have an interest and a solid knowledge of plant and animal life and the terrian Muir is traveling, the book is relatively interesting.

Quintessential Muir
In the summer of 1869, John Muir was invited to help herd sheep in summer pasture near Yosemite, California. This book is Muir's diary of his first summer in the Sierra Nevada. In the spirit of an ascetic mystic, Muir recorded his feelings of wonder as he discovered the awesome beauty of the Sierra Nevada. I held my breath and chuckled as Muir described his encounters with the denizens of the woods. "Having heard that a black bear will run from his bad brother man and deciding I would like to see his gait in running, I rushed and shouted at a large cinnamon colored fellow. To my dismay, he did not run. On the contrary, he stood his ground, ready to fight. Then, I suddenly began to fear upon me would fall the work of running." For the reader or nature lover who would like to become more familiar with the father of the conservation movement, this is the book to read.

The one book to buy on John Muir
This is one of John Muir's best books (the other being _First Summer in the Sierra_). It's Muir's slightly-edited diary of his 1000-mile trip through the Southern U.S. to Florida, then Cuba. He traveled on foot observing nature and the people. The book holds your interest as it's written on the spot through the enthusistic eyes of a young man. It reminds me a little of Mark Twain's book _Roughin' It_, another story through the eye's of a young man latter to become famous (about working on antebellum riverboats). ... Read more

Book Description

The Farm as Natural Habitat is a vital new contribution to the debate about agriculture and its impacts on the land. Arising from the conviction that the agricultural landscape as a whole could be restored to a healthy diversity, the book challenges the notion that the dominant agricultural landscape - bereft of its original vegetation and wildlife and despoiled by chemical runoff - is inevitable if we are to feed ourselves. Contributors bring together insights and practices from the fields of conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration to link agriculture and biodiversity, farming and nature, in celebrating a unique alternative to conventional agriculture.

Rejecting the idea that "ecological sacrifice zones" are a necessary part of feeding a hungry world, the book offers compelling examples of an alternative agriculture that can produce not only healthful food, but fully functioning ecosystems and abundant populations of native species. Contributors include Collin Bode, George Boody, Brian DeVore, Arthur (Tex) Hawkins, Buddy Huffaker, Rhonda Janke, Richard Jefferson, Nick Jordan, Cheryl Miller, Heather Robertson, Carol Shennan, Judith Soule, Beth Waterhouse, and others.

The Farm as Natural Habitat is both hopeful and visionary, grounded in real examples, and guided by a commitment to healthy land and thriving communities. It is the first book to offer a viable approach to addressing the challenges of protecting and restoring biodiversity on private agricultural land and is essential reading for anyone concerned with issues of land or biodiversity conservation, farming and agriculture, ecological restoration, or the health of rural communities and landscapes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Rejects the idea of "ecological sacrifice zones"
The Farm As Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems With Ecosystems edited by Dana L. Jackson (Associate Director of the Land Stewardship Project, White Bear Lake, Minnesota) and Laura L. Jackson (Associate Professor of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa) is a thoughtful, extensively researched and meticulously presented compendium of essays by a variety of learned and expert authors focusing on the interaction between agriculture and the environment. Emphatically rejecting the idea that "ecological sacrifice zones" are required to feed the hungry, The Farm As Natural Habitat reaches out to explore how agriculture and biodiversity can exist in harmony. A first-rate, eye-opening book for farmers around the world, The Farm As Natural Habitat is a strongly urged addition to academic reference collections (especially for agricultural colleges), governmental policy makers and department of natural resources/farm bureau administrative personnel, and the personal reading list for anyone engaged in agriculture ranging from the "family farm" to agribusiness. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In this collection of essays, continuing the argument begun with The Unsettling of America, Wendell Berrywrites of the importance of good farming to a healthy culture. By health he means not the mere absence ofdisease, but the operation of a balanced, nondestructive way of life; his essays on the Amish people ofPennsylvania and Ohio offer a model. "An economy of waste," Berry writes, "isincompatible with a healthy environment"--an environment that operates in balance, within bounds.Arguing for the primacy of family-based, local economies, and for the exercise of intelligence, reverence, and community values, Berry crafts a prose idyll celebrating the pastoral existence. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Diverse, easy to read and easy to like.
The Gift of Good Land is a collection of 24 essays that were originally written for magazines. The original venue means that the essays are quite readable in terms of sentence length and punctuation. These essays cover a wide range of topics.

The glue that holds these essays together is Wendell Berry's love and concern for 'good' farming. To Berry's way of thinking, good farmers mimic natural ecosystems. That is, they cultivate a diversity of crops, both plant and animal. The diversity is not random but rather it is a patchwork quilt that is lovingly matched to the idiosyncrasies of the land. The Gift of Good Land focuses on people and cultures that have somehow managed to remain good farmers in spite of economic pressures. Ironically, many of these cultures exist in brittle climates. Hostile environments kill stupid economics just as quickly as it kills stupid people.

The thing I liked best about The Gift of Good Land is that Wendell Berry genuinely LIKES the people he interviews! He treats them gently, with dignity and respect. Many authors would see Berry's people as "subjects" that are stupidly struggling to maintain the basest existence. Berry sees them as people who are heirs to thousands of years of cultural evolution, living lives that are a heroic testament to human adaptability. I prefer to see through Berry's eyes.

Attached are a few of Berry's observations that I think are particularly acute:

(In Europe)"...'marginal' farms and their farmers are looked upon as vital resources that will be needed in times of crisis, and so policies have been evolved to keep them productive."

(In the Peruvian Andes) "I wanted to see ancient American agriculture that has been carried on continuously for...4500 years... (on) steep, rocky, and otherwise 'marginal' land." "What seemed so alluring and charmed then, and seems so hard to recover now, is a live sense of contrasting scales. The scale of that landscape is immense....This way of farming that has obviously had to proceed by small considerations. It has had to consider dirt by the handful. Every seed and stem and stone has been subjected to the consideration of touch - picked up, weighed in the hand, and laid down."

(In the Sonoran Desert) "In response to their meager (arable) land, the Papago developed a culture that was one of the grand human achievements. It was intricately respectful of the means of life, surpassingly careful of all the possibilities of survival."

(In the Mid-West) "A bad solution is bad, then, because it acts destructively upon the larger patterns in which it is contained."

(At home) "One of the ideas most ruinous to the small farm has been that the farmer "could not afford" to produce his own food....What is your time worth? Though often asked, I do not think this question is answerable. It is the same as asking what your life is worth."

(On children) "...parenthood is not an exact science, but a vexed privilege and a blessed trial, absolutely necessary and not altogether possible."

(In West Virginia from the seat of a bulldozer) "...it is virtually impossible to see what you're doing..... He (the person being interviewed) still seems a little awed to think that so large a machine has to be run so much by guess." And that is a fine metaphor for life.

Consider buying this book if this kind of writing appeals to you. Otherwise, save your money.

Yes, Berry is like a prophet.
This book has powerful insights about our society today. When I read it, I can't help but acknowledge all of Berry's arguments; he is so convincing. I can't do a very good job in summing up his thesis, but basically our "slash-and-burn" petroleum-based industrial economy is killing us--killing us physically, spiritually, and culturally. He advocates a return to small subsistence farming and learning how to better take care of the Earth and of each other. Right now, our hyper-consuming way of life is destroying our children's world.

Essays from a social and cultural prophet
Rural America's problems are often dwarfed by urban conflicts. Popular media attention is directed toward the larger market, but rural problems are ominously similar, declining incomes, shrinking population bases, abandoned school districts, empty store-fronts, and shattered communities. Berry is the preeminent rural philosopher to carry this message to a larger audience. Using the language of landscape, community, economics, and a good dose of spirituality the author demonstrates that the problems of rural America are the problems of a society that pursues ways to make a living rather than a society that pursues ways to live. Most of these essays are approching twenty years old and the causes and consequences of national and social inattention are just as relevent today as in the late 70's. If you have been looking for sound,sane , perceptive insights on how to live well in the place you are then I highly recommend this book. If you want to think about the future of the nation's food supply, soil resources, water quality, and the social sustainability of modern economics on agriculture then this is a book you will read and return to again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

"The Life of the Bee" was published in 1901. The book is essentially an adornment of the known truth about bees. It is a piece of sustained eloquence, which has for its subject-matter what the writer has seen and read of the swarm, the foundation of the bee city, the young queens, the nuptial flight, the massacre of the males, the progress of the race of bees. It depends not upon discovery, but upon a presentation of facts and opinions. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Tell Us More Mr. Science
Not enough people read Maeterlinck today and this is a shame: the man was, unlike some Nobel prize winners in literature, truly a fantastic writer with a uniquely tuned, sharp, comprehensively philosophical but never didactic mind. Coming from a well-to-do Belgian family in the age before Television, Radio, and all the other usually destructive distractions of today, the young Maeterlinck had beekeeping for his principal hobby (just ask even your high-I.Q.