Tod lo que hacemos sin saber por qué

Amazon.com

It has long been alleged that officials in the Roosevelt administration knew, in surprising detail, about Adolf Hitler's plans to exterminate all the Jews in Nazi Europe--and that these officials did little to prevent the massacre, refusing asylum to shiploads of Jewish refugees and failing to order the bombing of railway lines leading to Auschwitz, Treblinka, and other concentration camps. David S. Wyman examines the evidence, concluding that senior American officials could indeed have saved many thousands, if not millions, of European Jews by intervening earlier. In this controversial work, he suggests, with good cause, that a combination of anti-Semitism and indifference to anything not perceived as being of direct strategic importance to the United States indirectly led to countless deaths. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In his landmark The Abandonment of the Jews, David S. Wyman argues that a substantial commitment to rescue European Jews on the part of the United States almost certainly could have saved several hundred thousand of the Nazis' victims. The definitive work on its subject, The Abandonment of the Jews is the winner of the National Jewish Book Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Award, the Present Tense Literary Award, the Stuart Bernath Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the Theodore Saloutos Award of the Immigration History Society. It was also nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Customer Reviews:

"Abandonment" is Probably the Wrong Word.......2005-06-03

Wyman's choice of a title is indicative of what is wrong with this book. However, there is also much right about it as well. "Abandonment" implies there was some sort of relationship to begin with between European Jews and and the United States. In order to "abandon" someone, you have to "leave." The US was never "there" to begin with. To say that America "turned its back" to European Jewry during WWII implies that it once had its back NOT turned to European Jews...and this simply was never the case. It wasn't even the case within the United States. The U.S. paid lip-service to American Jewry by including a few in the Roosevelt Administration, a couple on the Supreme Court, but there was no truly significant Jewish influence even in the United States at that time. Therefore this is a study of much more than simply the Roosevelt Administration. It is a study of America and any study of America during the time after WWI through the mid 1960's must include an acknowledgement of American anti-Semitism. It reached its peak, ironically, during WWII. FDR was the consummate politician. He may have held sympathy for what was happening to the Jews of Europe - but he was a POLITICIAN! And we all need to remember that. Had the American people demanded it, Roosevelt would have acted. Better put, there was enough anti-Semitism to make rescue a "political impossibility." Politics is, among other things, the "art of the possible." The real tragedy Wyman thus exposes is American anti-Semitism. Most significantly (and unfortunately) in the State Department. Wyman is "nice" (in my opinion) to Breckinridge Long, one of the most destructive anti-Semites in American History.

It is sad to acknowledge that The United States of America couldn't muster the courage to drop a single bomb on the rail lines leading out of Hungary, or into Auschwitz-Birkenau. One bomb would have done nothing to stop the Holocaust - but it would have spoken symbolic volumes about what America supposedly stood for.

Anti-Semitism was bad in the United States at that time. And anti-black racism was even worse. As sad an episode as this was in US History (not simply the US failure to act symbolically or otherwise to rescue European Jewry - but also the internment of Japanese Americans in camps, and the relegation of blacks to driving trucks in the military) it did, in the longer run, finally force America to look itself in the mirror.

I consider this a "must read" for anyone even slightly interested in American History, especially the upheavals of the 1960's. America "ignored" the Jews in Europe as it always had, and as it mostly ignored its own. WWII set in motion events that forced America to live up to what it was supposedly fighting for in "The Good War."

This book is also valuable because it reveals the depth of the split within American Jewry over how to respond the mass killings. That split certainly contributed to the ease with which FDR could concentrate on other issues besides The Jews of Europe...and thereby avoid any hint of a schism with Churchill.

Disturbing........2002-10-05

The reader will not want to believe what is being read.

The evil, satanic Nazi regime and it's methods intent on the slaughter and genocide of the European Jews is well documented elsewhere.

Little is written or heard about the passive accomplices....I hesitate in using the latter word, but none other can really suffice in this context. The author has provided an extremely valuable service with this work in bringing this subject to our attention.

It is difficult to estimate how many of the six million murdered Jews could possibly have been saved through a concerted, determined Allied rescue campaign. However, suffice to say no such measures were taken and all the victims perished.

The author documents that the US State Department and the British Foreign Office has absolutely no intention of rescuing large numbers of European Jews from the Nazi genocide machine.

Indeed, the author shows that the Allies actually feared that the Nazi regime would release tens of thousands of Jews into Allied hands and the inherent responsibility that such a move would impose upon them.

Such a move by the Nazis would have inevitably placed immense pressure on the British to open Palestine to increased Jewish immigration, and the US to admit even larger numbers of Jews to their own shores.

A situation that neither Government wanted to face. The British, although allowing virtually unhindered Arab immigration from surrounding Arab nations into Palestine, had their own reasons for refusing increased Jewish entry into what is now Israel. Instead, the British provided concentration camps of their own on Cyprus for those Jews seeking what they perceived as `illegal' entry to Palestine. A damning historical indictment, which being British and a non-Jew, I still find difficult to stomach.

The author shows that there was clear, authenticated documentation available to the US State Department in 1942, that revealed unmistakable evidence that the Nazis were pursuing a systematic extermination of European Jewry. However, it is shown that nothing was done for some 14 months, and only then were limited measures eventually adopted. Even so, the US record of action is still far better than that of the British.

These limited measures of assistance adopted by the US are shown to have been impeded by rampant anti-Semitism throughout US society and the US Congress, plus the mass media's failure to publicise Holocaust details and the virtual near silence of the Church and it's own leadership.

The author also shows that appeals to bomb the Auschwitz-Birkenau gas chambers, railroads and bridges were refused outright amidst claims that such military action would divert essential air-power. Yet, at the very same time numerous heavy Allied bombing raids were still taking place within 50 miles of Auschwitz, only a few minutes flying time away. The value of saving Jewish lives was not worth a single Allied bomb.

This is a disturbing book about a disturbing period of history and a disturbing analysis of the integrity of our leaders together with our foreign policies & agendas during the war years. There is so much information here. Read this and Sir Martin Gilbert's `Auschwitz and the Allies' for differing approaches to the same subject, but which reveal the same conclusions. Recommended.

Noble Price Material.......2000-03-18

Wyman wrote this book in the mid 1980's. Since then, many other historical studies have shown the same shamful findings:FDR and the State Department and many segments of the American public, including most of the Jewish leaders, not only suppressed the news on the extermination of the European Jews, but did their best to hinder efforts of rescue. Wyman includes undisputed sources for every fact, but being a gentile, he is too soft on the American Jewish leaders who looked at FDR as a God, and in order not to upset him, kept quiet. For those who still worship FDR, consider this: A million Americans are stranded in Europe during War World II and the Germans are systematically shipping them to concentration camps, torturing and gassing them. What would FDR and his administration have done? Conduct the war in a gentlemantary manner with taking of prisoners, etc., (a quarter million Axis prisoners were shipped to the US while a common American and British response to the abandonment of the Jews was no ships available), or immediately start a military operation to rescue them. Readers who still believe that saving the Jews was not possible because of the war effort, should read historical books on Great Britain during the war. While the British refused to consider any plan of saving the Jews they deployed more than 100,000 troops and a large armada in Palestine and the Med Sea for the sole purpose of capturing Jews who escaped the European hell. In 1940, the British had elaborate plans to attack would be German invaders with low flying planes dropping gas on the invaders, despite the Geneva agreements that the German kept (except with respect to the Jews, of course,who were gassed by the millions). This book is a Noble Price material because it reveals the truth about the darkest period in human history, a truth hiden because too many people still cannot confront the sicknening facts: The leaders of the free world in the 1940's were cowards, anti-Semites, and liers. Only a handful of brave men such as Hecht, Rogers, and a few Irgun members fought against overwhelming odds to bring about some response to the terrible plight of the Jews.

History by Conjecture.......2000-01-20

This is a highly influential book. Roosevelt has had many enemies growing out of his presidency. No one has had the same negative impact on Roosevelt's name to equal Wyman's attack. But, although Wyman, a professional historian has well-documented his research, much of the indictment of the Roosevelt Administration is based upon conjecture incapable of proof. The litmus test of his proposals was the bombing of Auschwitz. He asserts that the failure to bomb was due to a lack of caring. Thousands of Jews could have been saved. But there is no way to prove this. Many Jews could also have died because bombing was inaccurate and Jewish prisoners lived close to the crematoria. Too much in his charges is based on too little evidence. Peter Novick in his book, The Holocaust in American Life, calls Wyman's thesis a "comfortable morality tale" and "bad history." In addition to Novick, Henry L. Feingold, Frank W. Brecher, and William Rubinstein have written critically about Wyman.

Difficult Questions.......1999-12-12

It was hard to read because the issues remain emotional. The author gives one much to consider and many possible regrets.

The Abandonment of the Jews America and the Holocaust 1941-1945

Average customer rating:

The Abandonment of the Jews America and the Holocaust 1941-1945
David S. Wyman
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0LE2E

Average customer rating:

THE ABANDONMENT OF THE JEWS, AMERICA AND THE HOLOCAUST 1941-1945
David S Wyman
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MJE3SY

Reflections on The Abandonment of the Jews: a symposium.(David Wyman's The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945): An article from: Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Average customer rating:

Reflections on The Abandonment of the Jews: a symposium.(David Wyman's The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945): An article from: Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Ecumenical Studies, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2003. The length of the article is 7741 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Reflections on The Abandonment of the Jews: a symposium.(David Wyman's The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945)
Publication: Journal of Ecumenical Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2003
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Page: 393(14)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

THE ABANDONMENT OF THE JEWS: AMERICA AND THE HOLOCAUST 1941-1945. Introduction by Elie Wiesel. New afterword by Author.

Average customer rating:

THE ABANDONMENT OF THE JEWS: AMERICA AND THE HOLOCAUST 1941-1945. Introduction by Elie Wiesel. New afterword by Author.
David S. Wyman
Manufacturer: New Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7INMC

Average customer rating:

Good, but not Great (3 stars)

Reflects my values

At last!

Missing the point

Connecting

Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, ... America (or at least the Republican Party)
Rod Dreher
Manufacturer: Crown Forum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Political Doctrines | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Conservatism | Political Doctrines | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Party Politics | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life

Manliness

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

Women Who Make the World Worse : and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports

Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, And the Splendor of Truth

ASIN: 1400050642
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Book Description

When a National Review colleague teased writer Rod Dreher one day about his visit to the local food co-op to pick up a week’s supply of organic vegetables (“Ewww, that’s so lefty”), he started thinking about the ways he and his conservative family lived that put them outside the bounds of conventional Republican politics. Shortly thereafter Dreher wrote an essay about “crunchy cons,” people whose “Small Is Beautiful” style of conservative politics often put them at odds with GOP orthodoxy, and sometimes even in the same camp as lefties outside the Democratic mainstream. The response to the article was impassioned: Dreher was deluged by e-mails from conservatives across America—everyone from a pro-life vegetarian Buddhist Republican to an NRA staffer with a passion for organic gardening—who responded to say, “Hey, me too!”

In Crunchy Cons, Dreher reports on the amazing depth and scope of this phenomenon, which is redefining the taxonomy of America’s political and cultural landscape. At a time when the Republican party, and the conservative movement in general, is bitterly divided over what it means to be a conservative, Dreher introduces us to people who are pioneering a way back to the future by reclaiming what’s best in conservatism—people who believe that being a truly committed conservative today means protecting the environment, standing against the depredations of big business, returning to traditional religion, and living out conservative godfather Russell Kirk’s teaching that the family is the institution most necessary to preserve.

In these pages we meet crunchy cons from all over America: a Texas clan of evangelical Christian free-range livestock farmers, the policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection, homeschooling moms in New York City, an Orthodox Jew who helped start a kosher organic farm in the Berkshires, and an ex-sixties hippie from Alabama who became a devout Catholic without losing his antiestablishment sensibilities.

Crunchy Cons is both a useful primer to living the crunchy con way and a passionate affirmation of those things that give our lives weight and measure. In chapters dedicated to food, religion, consumerism, education, and the environment, Dreher shows how to live in a way that preserves what Kirk called “the permanent things,” among them faith, family, community, and a legacy of ancient truths. This, says Dreher, is the kind of roots conservatism that more and more Americans want to practice. And in Crunchy Cons, he lets them know how far they are from being alone.

A Crunchy Con Manifesto

1. We are conservatives who stand outside the conservative mainstream; therefore, we can see things that matter more clearly.

2. Modern conservatism has become too focused on money, power, and the accumulation of stuff, and insufficiently concerned with the content of our individual and social character.

3. Big business deserves as much skepticism as big government.

4. Culture is more important than politics and economics.

5. A conservatism that does not practice restraint, humility, and good stewardship—especially of the natural world—is not fundamentally conservative.

6. Small, Local, Old, and Particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New, and Abstract.

7. Beauty is more important than efficiency.

8. The relentlessness of media-driven pop culture deadens our senses to authentic truth, beauty, and wisdom.

9. We share Russell Kirk’s conviction that “the institution most essential to conserve is the family.”

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not Great (3 stars).......2007-05-31

There must be something afresh in the waters of conservativism. I became a Christian about 12 years ago and immediately hopped into the "Christian Right". After a period of studying I became "disenfranchised" with many of my views and those of my friends. I slowly started to return to a more "grassroots" conservativism. A conservativism that actually sought to conserve, enjoy, and cherish local traditions, including foods, architecture, nature, and farming. I found myself at Wild Oats and Whole Foods and conversing with the "enemy" - "those tree hugging, dirty hippies". Before long, I realized I was not alone. There were many conservatives that didn't think economic expansion and big business was the only way to be conservative or Republican. For those of us who found ourselves in that boat, then this is our book. A manifesto of sorts. Actually, this book is more of a collection of stories of men and women that became "crunchy cons", people that found themselves valuing the "free-market" and many things oft association with Republicans or conservatives, but also many things assumed to be left wing - the environment, local farming, organic farming, etc.

So, for those individuals that find themselves out of the current stream and spirit of the Republican Party, although they value some of the things most often associated with it, then this is a very good book to read. A book that you can give to your liberal friends, assuming you haven't isolated yourself, and you can find MANY points of agreement. For the left, it is also a good book to read, because it breaks down many walls and barriers from conversation and might enable both sides to see that they have a lot to agree upon. For example, the book points out how government laws hurt the small farmer. Both the right and left can agree that this is bad, although they may do it for different reasons. However you look at it you cannot agree that this is the "free market" at work, because corporations and the state are preventing entry to the market. My favorite chapters deal with architecture, farming/food, and religion (despite major differences). He writes in a winsome, appealing fashion that enables almost anyone to enjoy and breeze through the book.

The draw back of the book is that it could probably be cut in half. The stories of the various crunchy cons start off interesting, but become repetitious. You get the point of each chapter about halfway through the pages and much of the supporting material is not necessary. In fact, you can read his "10 Points" and then read the opening and close of each chapter to get a good flavor for what "crunchy conservativism" is. More than buying the book I hope that many buy into the ideas of this book and begin to implement some of the practical things found herein, because it would make our local communities a more valuable and sustainable places.

Reflects my values.......2007-05-25

Rod Dreher has the exact same values as I do. I have the exact same feelings as he does, both because I am socially conservative like he is, and because I care about the environment and everybody's health like he does. Although I am a socially conservative Christian, I care about the environment, and until recently, I wondered if I was the only socially conservative Christian who cares about the environment and living a simple lifestyle (apart from the Old Order Mennonites and the Amish). No, I am not an Old Order Mennonite or an Amish! I am very pleased to have discovered that there are other socially conservative people (besides myself, or the Old Order Mennonites or the Amish) who care more about the environment and everybody's health than about big business, materialism, etc.!!!

At last!.......2007-03-05

As a Roman Catholic Republican, I was glad to vote GOP but wondered how I could combine my religious and political sensibilities. Rod has helped show me the way with Crunchy Cons. Since I love to cook, the parts on food were especially helpful and interesting for me.
The only two parts of the book I didn't really respond to were Rod's critiques of Catholicism (incidentially he has since left the Church and joined the Orthodox religion) and suburban life. Not that I can't stand some critiques of my religion but I thought that some of Rod's were a little much.

Missing the point.......2007-01-27

From the reviews posted here it looks like Dreher certainly and unnecessarily left himself open to easy criticism. Urban folks criticize him for urging a return to the rural, rural folks accuse him of being a rich urban yuppie, poor people criticize him for demanding people purchase expensive goods, rich people criticize him for demanding we give up material goods and live in poverty. It seems like everyone has missed the point which is that Dreher is looking to emphasize family and community and is in favor of the values that strengthen these things. Family and community used to be the soul of what we call conservativism, but it has been taken over by those forces that isolate families and destroy communities: sprawl, mass-consumerism, materialism, mass-media. The community can be urban--Drehar lived in Brooklyn and has repeatedly praised the neighborhoods there--or rural. It can even be suburban, if suburbia regains its support for small, independent, capitalism epitomized by the small business owner, and gives up the mass market, big box store, sprawling, consumerism. Corporation worshippers need to realize that big business can destroy communities, unrestrained free-marketers need to realize that the family is harmed by the values of materialism it fosters, and anti-government Republicans need to realize the the environment is worthy of protection for a good life. These are the true points of Drehar's thesis and they are not as easy to refute as his critics make out.

Connecting.......2007-01-04

Crunchy Cons is an excellent book that does not "start a movement" as some have said. Instead, it brings back an old one. I take the phrase "gun-loving organic gardeners" from the onerous and far too long subtitle. Before pesticides and gun control laws, ALL gardeners were organic gardeners, and most of them had guns. Let's bring back Teddy Roosevelt Conservatism. The man who started the National Park System, was an avid hunter, and broke up the trusts should be the mascot of the Grassroots, new-oldfangled, conservatives. Modern politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, can learn from him. Everyone, and I mean everyone, can also learn from his successor, President Taft, who, when someone threw a cabbage at him during a political rally, said "It seems one of my opponents has lost his head." We need to take a breath of fresh air (but not Air America) and take this country back from the Party of Lust and the Party of Greed

Author's Note: If Taft and Roosevelt had not split up the Republican vote and given Woodrow Wilson the presidency, Either one of them would have gotten into WW1 sooner, thus actually trying to quell the bloodshed on the Somme and at Verdun. If I recall correctly, there were more than one million casualties for each battle. If you can't contemplate that, just think of the whole St. Paul/Minneapolis region, including the suburbs and Western Wisconsin, was suddenly swallowed up by a giant crack in the ground. That is what 2 million casualties looks like.(Added 2-15-07)

Burkenstocks.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing ... review) : An article from: New Criterion

Average customer rating:

Burkenstocks.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing ... review) : An article from: New Criterion
Joseph Rago
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1265 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Burkenstocks.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America )(Book review)
Author: Joseph Rago
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 24 Issue: 8 Page: 66(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

God, Guts, and Granola: A Manifesto for "Crunchy Conservatives" Forgets Why Self-Interest Is Important.(CRUNCHY CONS; Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, ... )(Book review): An article from: Reason

Average customer rating:

God, Guts, and Granola: A Manifesto for "Crunchy Conservatives" Forgets Why Self-Interest Is Important.(CRUNCHY CONS; Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, ... )(Book review): An article from: Reason
Robert Stacey McCain
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Reason, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2006. The length of the article is 789 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: God, Guts, and Granola: A Manifesto for "Crunchy Conservatives" Forgets Why Self-Interest Is Important.(CRUNCHY CONS; Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or at Least the Republican Party) )(Book review)
Author: Robert Stacey McCain
Publication: Reason (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Page: 61(4)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Granola on the right.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, ... review): An article from: National Review

Average customer rating:

Granola on the right.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, ... review): An article from: National Review
Brian C. Anderson
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from National Review, published by Thomson Gale on March 13, 2006. The length of the article is 1663 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Granola on the right.(Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-wing Nature Lovers, ... America)(Book review)
Author: Brian C. Anderson
Publication: National Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 13, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 58 Issue: 4 Page: 40(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The understanding of nature was Ralph Simpson's consuming passion, which he pursued with unmatched vigor and high spirits. In Grass Flats, 1890--1923, Simpson meticulously documents 218 species accounts of bird life in Warren County, Pennsylvania, including notes on other species observed at Presque Isle on Lake Erie. Simpson speaks of habitat preferences and population shifts, while at the same time offering a view of the natural world with a bit of whimsy, as in the following 1909 observations of the Screech Owl.

"I knew of an old Flicker's hole nearby, and on going past I saw feathers about the edges, so I investigated and found a Gray Screecher at home. She made no resistance, so I reached in and counted five eggs under her, petted her, and left her."

Join this noted naturalist, as he seeks adventure birding in the virgin timber of Wild Cat Run, navigating a steep precipice in the wilds of Goshawk Basin, or climbing 70 feet up a giant Eastern Hemlock to peer into a Sharp-shinned Hawk's nest. From his exploits, Simpson learned early on that, with nature, every moment instructs. Simpson, with feet on terra firma, beckons you to his stomping ground--Grass Flats.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books