Book Description
Anthropologist and naturalist Loren Eiseley blends scientific knowledge and imaginative vision in this story of man.
Customer Reviews:
Pondering Nature.......2007-08-31
Most of us do not spend our days thinking about the magic of nature. In fact, it is rare that we stop and wonder at the unique qualities of life and evolution. This book is a collection of short essays which seem to take a walk through nature, pondering its interesting and beautiful idiosyncrasies. Without going into too much detail, Eiseley helps us to stop and look at the seemingly small things and understand their vast importance. This is not a complicated book designed for naturalists, but a fairly straightforward and engaging book for those who simply enjoy nature. A high school student interested in studying anthropology or environmental science in college would be wise to read this as inspiration.
one of the little known great writers........2007-02-10
the title, i suppose, could lead one to think that this book might be too heavily on the new-agey side of things for one's taste. not so! mr eiseley is one of the most profound thinkers i have come across over the years, and his writing is spectacular. i have seldom come across a non-fiction writer with such a marvellous prose style (lytton strachey comes to mind as an equivilant). this great book had me looking at life past and present in ways and from angles i had never considered. the authors wonder at existence in all its mystery, joy, and sorrow, made for some of the most moving reading i have ever encountered. this, and other works by mr eiseley, i will be reading and rereading throughout my lifetime.
Great book arrived in great shape.......2006-03-20
Great book, it arrived in great shape in a timely manner
scholarly treatment of Darwin's ideas - and textual analysis.......2004-05-23
Eiseley has read all of the different editions of "Origin," and in that way traces the evolution of Darwin's thought in the context of his times and in how he re-edited his books as his opinion changed. It is well written and argued and somewhat better than normal academic writing, but it still reads like a pedantic text. Perhaps it was too advanced, or simply too detailed, for the level of my interest, but I found a lot of this somewhat boring - and I admit that that is as personal as a reflection on the text. Eiseley is a world-class science writer, up there with Sagan and Gould, and explains with great clarity, etc. You get to know Darwin's mind, his many doubts, and the way he constantly hedged and worried about his reception.
Recommended with this in mind. It really depends on what you are looking for.
"...Lie Awake While the Meteors Whisper Greenly Overhead.".......2003-10-17
This is a very unusual book. It is ostensibly about the "Immense Journey" of man along his long evolutionary trail. But, in the same way that "The Odyssey" is not just an historical travel tale, Eiseley's book is much more. This is a work about the wonders of life, the joys of curiosity, the rewards from solitary time spent in the natural world and the transitory nature of all existence.
This one must have been just fantastic when it was published in 1957. It's still very good in 2003 despite the passage of time, which has exposed several of Eiseley's scientific beliefs and musings to be erroneous. Keep in mind the tremendous advancements in archeology, molecular biology and all other fields of science over the last 46 years and don't get hung up on these anachronisms. Instead, revel in the beautiful language Eiseley uses and the imagery he evokes: "Some lands are flat and grass-covered, and smile so evenly up at the sun that they seem forever youthful, untouched by man or time." Or another favorite: "Tyrannosaurs, enormous bipedal caricatures of men, would stalk mindlessly across the sites of future cities and go their slow way down into the dark of geologic time."
Read this book and you'll want to dig up fossils, listen to the wind, watch other animals and soak up life. And you will probably want to read it again.
Book Description
Author Corey Ford documents the moving story of naturalist Georg Steller, who served on the 1741-42 Russian Alaska expedition with explorer Vitus Bering.
Customer Reviews:
Dynamic as the Bering Sea.......2007-10-01
Great historical read of the Russian Bering/Stellar voyage to Alaska. Corey Ford's writing is vivid, flowing, has first hand knowledge of the Bering Sea islands, gifted nature writer. I've given this book as a must read to several friends.
Ford scores a home run........2001-08-29
This was a terrific story about the quest to find what is now Alaska. It gives insight into just how courageous these early exployers were. I can't comprehend of enduring those sort of hardships. Ford is also a good biologist and gives interesting commentary on the animal life. He also describes what may have been the first observation of a diving reflex in a marine mammal, the now extinct Northern sea cow. If you read this, it would be hard to complain about our current quality of life.
A great account of the first explorers to discover Alaska........1998-11-06
A true account of Vitus Bering's voyage from Russia to discover what is now Alaska. Anyone interested in the history of Alaska should start by reading this book, or someone looking for an actual true life adventure story that makes one appreciate the dangers encounted in the 1700's by these amazing explorers. This book is written from the journals of Georg Stellar, the naturalist on-board the boat that discovered Alaska. The first written account and identification of many species that Stellar discovered and writes about in his journals. One of which is extinct today and his writings are the only account of the massive Stellar Sea Cow. A fabulous account of these adventurors and their interaction with the beautiful, but deadly, Alaska coast and it's native people.
Great adventure book.......1998-08-17
Excellent story of the discovery of Alaska by the famous explorer,Vitus Bering and naturalist, Georg Steller. Combines text from Steller's extensive notes and observations of the author.
Amazon.com
In 1953 renowned American ornithologist and painter Roger Tory Peterson and British seabird specialist James Fisher undertook a whirlwind, 100-day tour of America's great wildlife refuges and corridors. This wonderful book recounts that sometimes madcap voyage, which took them to familiar places such as Long Island and the Smoky Mountains, but also to less traveled venues such as Big Bend and the then-remote Everglades. Along the way the authors document such things as the courting behavior of dragonflies and the arrival of the first cattle egrets in North America. This is a classic of nature writing and a great pleasure to read.
Book Description
On an April day in 1953, renowned American naturalist, author, and illustrator Roger Tory Peterson met his British friend James Fisher, an authority on seabirds, in Newfoundland. There they began a strenuous and thrilling hundred-day field trip around the edge of the continent. Part travelogue, part epic natural adventure, their richly illustrated record is "the superlatively good product of ideal circumstances" (Chicago Sunday Tribune).
Customer Reviews:
Gratitude and optimism for wild America........2006-07-10
When I found this book at Third Place Books in Seattle in the summer of 2002, I had never heard of it, but, from the authors' reputation as naturalists and ornithologists, it looked like a good read. I discovered the book at the end of my camping journey to three national parks in Washington state and a one-week cruise to Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and the main points of interest in beautiful southeastern Alaska. My jaunt to the natural areas of the Pacific Northwest and the Alexander Archipelago would be lame compared to the 20,000+ miles that Roger Peterson and James Fisher logged in on their comprehensive foray to "Wild America".
The authors embarked on their journey following the coast of the US with intermittent forays to the interior and a brief excursion to Mexico a year before the publication of the molecular structure of DNA as double helix. Rapid developments in our understanding of the molecular basis of life ushered in the molecular era of biology, which has ultimately led to the restructuring and overhauling of the way we teach biology and the way we explain, understand, and appreciate the complexities of life. Just when most students in biology these days are honed to the molecular and cellular basis of life--a reductionist view, so to speak--and less to the holistic and more traditional view of biology, what a refreshing change to learn from and be engrossed by the keen observations of two naturalists on the road and be taken back to an era when biology as natural history was respected as an academic field and an engaging pastime as well!
There are tons of information on birds in this book, but the authors also pay attention to mammals and other fauna, and then there is the flora (peculiar landmark plant species of the West stand out, like the agave, saguaro, ocotillo, Joshua Tree, Monterey cypress, coastal redwood, sequoia, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, and Douglas fir). There are also accounts of long-term inhabitants and indigenous peoples, and their culture and history. The illustrations are superb. The most remarkable part of the book, however, are the wholehearted commentaries on the purpose and values of our national parks and monuments. Since 1953, many of the national monuments they visited are now national parks. Roads have been paved, widened, and increased, and so have concessions and amenities, converting park villages into virtual towns and confronting many visitors with the same urban and suburban evils (traffic, congestion, to name a few) from which they try to escape by visiting national park areas. You can try hard to hope that James Fisher criticizes the way national parks are run, but you don't find that in the book. Notwithstanding this, it is amusing that many facts about the national monuments and parks still apply today and that these places can make the same impressions today, mainly because we try hard to keep these natural treasures intact for future generations. The British naturalist's gratitude to Americans for the designation and preservation of national parks and optimism for their stewardship is a sharp contrast to Edward Abbey's cynical attitude towards the National Park Service and disdain for tourists.
The book concludes with a powerful statement that speaks of Fisher's gratitude to Americans and optimism for "Wild America": "And this is what I have tried to do--to tell of Wild America, and say that never have I seen such wonders or met landlords so worthy of their land. They have had, and still have, the power to ravage it; and instead have made it a garden". Certainly the power of his statement would not have been lost on people who deeply appreciate natural America and care to preserve our astounding natural heritage.
One of the Most Influential Books of the Century.......2003-02-08
The world of e-reviewing is a tolerant world, and exaggerations have an easy home there. But measured by the role it has played in people's lives, there is little hyperbole in identifying Peterson and Fisher's "Wild America," precisely fifty years old this year, as among the most important books produced in the twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the book found its way into school libraries all over America, where it has been read with awe and envy by the last three generations of would-be naturalists--read so intensively that many of us, decades later, can quote great passages by heart.
The book is a collaborative account of the biggest 'big year' up to that point ever undertaken in North America; the trip was planned by none other than Roger Tory Peterson, then (and still today, perhaps) the continent's best-known birder, and was intended as an introduction to America's natural history for James Fisher, an equally prominent British naturalist who had never visited this side of the Atlantic. "Wild America" was the result: a priceless document of the continent's natural riches seen through the eyes, the words and the illustrations of two gifted and interesting observers.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Peterson and Fisher's trip, and the book is certain to be celebrated over and over in the press. Those who have not read it should by all means visit their library to borrow a well-worn copy; and those who have should take it in hand again, and be reminded of how important this text was in the birth of North America's birding culture as we know it today.
Wonderful.......2000-12-20
Let me just quote my favorite line from the book. It is when James Fisher, an Englishman, first sees the Grand Canyon:
"I went down there a few yards. The world ended; began again eight miles away. Between the ends of the world was a chasm."
Now I have never seen the Grand Canyon, but reading about it with such wonder through Mr. Fisher's eyes was extraordinary. It brought tears to my eyes. It goes to show how truly amazing and beautiful America is. I highly recommend this book, not just for the birds these two men see, but also for all the wonderful sights they come encounter. It made me want to retrace their route.
Average customer rating:
- A story of self-discovery from a wonderful nature writer
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The Journey Inward
George
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0525241086 |
Customer Reviews:
A story of self-discovery from a wonderful nature writer.......2001-03-02
Best-loved children's nature writer Jean Craighead George generously lends her most dedicated fans and admirers a look into her personal life in this dramatic autobiography. She covers her life from the shaky beginnings of co-writing with a dominant husband, to the proud winning of the Pulitzer Prize of children's books, the Newbery Medal. Struggling to achieve independence and recognition for her work, Ms. George does a good job of portraying her feelings toward her life as a parent, writer, and naturalist. Throughout her life Ms. George constantly compares herself with the animals she studies and writes about--from the song sparrow couples who befriend her and her husband, to the matriarchal nanny leaders of rocky mountain goats and the magnificent black alpha male wolf of a Mt. McKinley pack. In doing this she forms an increasingly powerful bond with the natural world and her words build more meaning throughout her long career. Ms. George covers the turbulent and problematic events leading up to, and following, her separation from an unsympathetic husband, the joys and troubles of raising three children, and the constant struggle to deal with her femininity in a time when men were often more highly regarded than women. When times are hard--when teenage drug dealers and little money threaten--Ms. George always finds strength in the natural world both inside and outside her home. Her pets, besides the usual dogs and cats, often included a menagerie of wild beasts--raccoons, bats, skunks, crows, owls, and frogs--providing humor and warmth both to Ms. George's life and to the book. Outdoors, Ms. George spent hours observing the characters in her books--the goats of GOING TO THE SUN, the gulls of GULL NUMBER 737. She dreamed of living off the land and surviving among nature like Sam Gribley in MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. There is a long, fascinating lead up to Ms. George's greatest work, JULIE OF THE WOLVES, in which she journeys to the tundra of Arctic Alaska to observe and communicate with wolves and befriend the efficient Eskimo people. JOURNEY INWARD was published in 1982, and since then Ms. George has written dozens more marvelous children's books and continues to write in her home in Chappaqua, New York. This is a fascinating glimpse into the life of our finest children's nature writer, an author of over eighty books, and a spectacular person.
Average customer rating:
- goallover review:
- Peter Matthiessen shines again!
- Peter Matthiessen shines again!
- No feeling for place, no feeling for people
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African Silences
Peter Matthiessen
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0679731024
Release Date: 1992-06-30 |
Book Description
African Silences is a powerful and sobering account of the cataclysmic depredation of the African landscape and its wildlife. In this critically acclaimed work Peter Matthiessen explores new terrain on a continent he has written about in two previous books, A Tree Where Man Was Born -- nominated for the National Book Award -- and Sand Rivers.
Through his eyes we see elephants, white rhinos, gorillas, and other endangered creatures of the wild. We share the drama of the journeys themselves, including a hazardous crossing of the continent in a light plane. And along the way, we learn of the human lives oppressed by bankrupt political regimes and economies, and threatened by the slow ecological catastrophe to which they have only begun to awaken.
Customer Reviews:
goallover review:.......2002-04-22
This book had me laughing out loud on the beaches of Zanzibar. Matthiessen turned the landscape into a fascinating wealth of experience, and simultaneously managed to describe the most frightening experiences with wit and humour. He is a travel writer of great skill, and certainly inspired me not only to travel through Africa, but also to the thrills of light aircraft flights. Meanwhile, in more mundane settings, such as taking a shower, his encounter with the mongoose left me in hysterics. Sat as we were, in a resort that had run out of Coca Cola, much to the horror of the assembled guests, Matthiessen most light-heartedly led me through more daring scrapes and moments of sublime comedy than I could ever experience at a beach resort. What a fantastic counter-balance to the average holiday travails.
Peter Matthiessen shines again!.......2001-01-30
I have tremendously enjoyed reading this book. This book takes a reader on a perilous journey in Senegal, Gambia, and the Ivory Coast as well as Gabon and Zaire. Author's prose, as always, is powerful and lyrical, shows the grim reality of people and wildlife in the area. Despite the previous reviewer's opinion, I am giving this book the best rating possible. The author's intention was to document the reality. This book is not work of fiction. In my opinion the book is excellent.
Peter Matthiessen shines again!.......2001-01-30
I have tremendously enjoyed reading this book. This book takes a reader on a perilous journey in Senegal, Gambia, and the Ivory Coast as well as Gabon and Zaire. Author's prose, as always, is powerful and lyrical, shows the grim reality of people and wildlife in the area. Despite the previous reviewer's opinion, I am giving this book the best rating possible. The author's intention was to document the reality. This book is not work of fiction. In my opinion the book is excellent.
No feeling for place, no feeling for people.......1998-06-04
I grabbed this book because it is so hard to find books about West Africa, and because it appeared to be so well reviewed. But I hated it! The wildlife aspects didn't captivate me; but the writer's whole attitude to the people he met alternately shocked and dismayed me. He talks of people's villages "littering" the landscape; refers to languages as "dialects" without seeming ever to recognise the incredible complexity of the culture in Senegambia; patronises the people he meets; never bothers to learn the correct names for things ("tom-toms" is not really a term used for African drummers) ... refers to how he likes his African musicians "wild" and gets dismayed when they instead start wearing "modish trousers" in Paris ... His driver buys a charm to hang from his window but discards it, jealous of his compatriot's "shiny" souvenirs ... He treats people like children and the descriptions of wildlife fail to grip. A very very great disappointment.
Product Description
According to naturalist Ed Kanze, "Life in all its endless manifestations amazes and astounds me, and I find great pleasure in celebrating." Celebrate with Kanze the wild Adirondacks, where nature revels through the night; danger lurks in the wild terrain; the forest, animals, and lakes creep into your soul; and discovery generates excitement and wonder. Kanze astutely describes man's wild nature calling him to the forest, and then his civilized, social nature driving him home. Laugh out-loud as Kanze wages a hilarious war on deer mice that have invaded his home when he attempts to outsmart the persistant creatures rather than kill them. And, see how our relationship to the outdoors and its creatures has evolved in the John Burroughs Association Outstanding Published Natural History Essay, "In Search of Something Lost." Readers will discover the natural world of the Adirondacks, at once wild and gentle, teeming and hushed, restless and at peace, and along the way get to know themselves a little better.
Customer Reviews:
Nature writing at it's best!.......2007-10-18
Over the Mountain and Home Again teaches, inspires, and entertains all at the same time. The reader gets a taste of the Adirondack experience, from the outdoors (the magnificent title essay) to the indoor battle against the "Rodents of Mass Destruction." Both the serious nature lover and the casual reader will be well-satisfied by this book. A great read!
Just O.K........2007-09-29
Not the book I was hoping for that would bring the Adirondack experience to life, though it has some nice moments.
Adirondack Splendor.......2007-01-22
Over the Mountain and Home Again is a gem of a book. Naturalist and author Ed Kanze has assembled 12 essays that are interesting, informative, and a delight to read. In "Rodents of Mass Destruction," Kanze recounts his family's struggle to rid their Adirondack home of shirt-devouring, slipper-chomping deer mice. Determined to expel the gnawing intruders without killing them, he attempts to trace their movements, then block the entry points. Toward this end, Kanze dips captured mice in a bag containing "flaming orange" fluorescent powder hoping to see the now psychedelic colored eating machines scurrying to and fro. This less than successful tactic leads to other strategies, and eventual victory in the great rodent war.
Arguably the most fascinating and thought provoking work in the book is "In Search of Something Lost," winner of the John Burroughs Association's award for Outstanding Published Natural History Essay in 2004. By way of his trek to Pigeon Roost Mountain, Kanze tells the tragic story of the North American passenger pigeon which numbered between three and five billion at the time of the European discovery of America, and was extinct by the second decade of the 20th century.
Anyone who has visited the Adirondacks, or is contemplating a trip to the park will learn of the rhythm of the seasons, the driving force of life in this wilderness. "The Truth About Snow" is an especially informative essay explaining how creatures ranging from the tiny snow flea to the powerful moose adapt to the eighteen feet of snow that blanket the Adirondack Mountains some years. This is Kanze at his best. Describing how the moose is "perfectly designed" to survive North Country winters he writes: "Start with the torso: bigger than a bathtub...This prodigious mass of muscle, blood, and viscera travels on four legs so long and slender they would look at home, if shaved, in a chorus line." A writer who can portray one of North America's great beasts by evoking an image of heel-kicking show girls knows what he's doing.
Kanze has the vision of a naturalist, the soul of a poet, and an engaging, often playful writing style. Readers will finish this book with a deeper appreciation for the magic and beauty that is the Adirondacks. For all those who love the wilderness and savor their time in the natural world, Over the Mountain and Home Again is a must read.
Amazon.com
Take a trip to last century's Alaska through Muir's clean, easy-going, enthusiastic prose. He wrote the way he took pictures, with insight, attention, care and genuine feeling. It's a lovely look into a beautiful land and its inhabitants the way it used to be, told in a flowing narrative that is far less rushed than contemporary travel tales.
Book Description
This classic account of John Muir's adventures and discoveries during three visits to Alaska in 1879, 1880, and 1890 is now available in a handsomely designed edition as part of the John Muir Library Series. This book, which Muir was working on at the time of his death, vividly recreates his explorations (including the discovery of Alaska's largest tidal glacier, now named in his honor), his sojourn among Indian tribes, and his unbounded awe of, and delight in, the untamed Alaskan wilderness.
Venturing on foot, by canoe and dogsled, Muir was equally excited by his first view of an unfamiliar species of flower, bird, or tree, or the "supreme, serene, supernatural beauty" of Alaskan auroras. Here also are his harrowing accounts of near death between grinding walls of glacial ice and of rescuing a companion from a thousand-foot precipice.
Download Description
The most interesting of the short excursions we made from Fort Wrangell was the one up the Stickeen River to the head of steam navigation. From Mt. St. Elias the coast range extends in a broad, lofty chain beyond the southern boundary of the territory, gashed by stupendous canyons, each of which carries a lively river, though most of them are comparatively short, as their highest sources lie in the icy solitudes of the range within forty or fifty miles of the coast. A few, however, of these foaming, roaring streams--the Alsek, Chilcat, Chilcoot, Taku, Stickeen, and perhaps others--head beyond the range with some of the southwest branches of the Mackenzie and Yukon.
Customer Reviews:
Southeast Alaska, Once Upon A Time.......2007-02-19
John Muir's "Travels In Alaska" is his accouts of his trips to Southeast Alaska in 1879, 1880, and 1890. Southeast Alaska 125 years ago was sparsely settled and poorly explored; Muir's adventurous spirit and enquiring mind led him to investigate the numerous inlets and glaciers in the area, including the magnificent and much-celebrated Glacier Bay.
Muir's simple, muscular prose weaves a fascinating narrative out of descriptions of the people, wildlife, and geology he encounters on his journey, suffused with his endless sense of wonder at the landscapes in which he saw the hand of God. The reader can hardly help but be carried along by Muir's enthusiasm. Muir's descriptions may be most relevant to those traveling Southeast Alaska by cruise ship, for a sense of what the landscape looked like before the population reached today's size and spread. Those not interested in the travel aspects of the book and in numerous descriptions of glaciers may find this book less interesting.
This book is highly recommended to fans of John Muir's writings, and to those planning a trip through Southeast Alaska.
Don't know what to make of this.......2002-10-29
From the title, one would think this a type of travel journal, a panorama of episodes along the way, a sequence of stations between the starting off point and the destination. Instead, the overall weight of the book is given to glaciers, their descriptions, their influence on the landscape, their geological record, the discovery of new glaciers, and other characteristics of these moving rivers of ice. While Muir offers descriptive powers unequaled among authors on nature, never repeating himself though constantly repeating his subject, the sheer repetition tends to bog the work down. Two whole pages might contribute to our view of a particular glacier, and suddenly Muir reports that he's finished a 200-mile leg of his journey on foot. He tells us when he's climbed a glacier, and along the way we've missed an entire week. Time and space almost have no medium in this publication, utterly lost when gazing upon a glacier. For nature lovers who will never go to Alaska, the descriptions in this book make the ranges and glaciers come alive in print, but as a dramatic journey, a travelogue, or a field manual for the Alaskan bush, this book forms only a vague shadow.
Muir in southeast Alaska........2002-09-25
I confess up front, it's been a few years since I read Muir's Travels in Alaska. Yet significant aspects I remember well. Given Muir's exuberance for life and almost everything he encounters in his travels, one almost looses view of Muir the botanist and geologist. But not quite. Here we find the author contemplating the activity of glaciers and documenting the flora of southeast Alaska. Muir (who tended strongly toward vegetarianism) gleefully entertaining himself by foiling duck hunters. Baffling the locals by happily wandering out into major storms.
The book is a journal of Muir's 1879, 1880, and 1890 trips (he wouldn't mind if we called them adventures) to SE Alaska's glaciers, rivers, and temperate rain forests. He died while preparing this volume for publication.
I remind myself, and anyone reading this, that Muir isn't for every reader. And, as other reviewers have stated, this may not be the volume in which to introduce oneself to the one-of-a-kind John Muir. One reviewer doesn't think that Muir is entirely credible in these accounts. I won't say whether or not this is wrong, but I tend to a different view. For some of us -- and certainly for Muir -- wilderness is a medicine, a spiritual tonic, so to speak. For the individual effected in this way, physical impediments and frailties rather dissolve away when he is alone in wildness. I once heard Graham Mackintosh (author of Into a Desert Place) speak of this. In all of his travels alone in the desert, he doesn't recall having ever been sick. This may not sound credible to some, but I strongly suspect it is true.
If you like Muir's writings, read this book. If you like the stuff of Best Sellers, perhaps you should look elsewhere.
The Literary Side of Science.......2002-03-12
Nature is a beautiful and highly complicated phenomena of this world. Many have sought to understand it and capture its essence in writing. The nature writings of John Muir succeed in capturing the beauty of nature as well as the scientific aspect. I have to be honest, I wasn't that enthused about reading a book about science. I expected Muir's book to be identical to a science textbook, definitely not my idea of enjoyment. However, his book was actually full of detailed descriptions and creative uses of similes, metaphors, and analogies. In fact, it completely changed my perception of a scientific novel.
In his book, "Travels in Alaska", Muir brings alive the magnificence of the vast expanses of unexplored Alaskan territory. His prose reveals his enthusiasm for nature, and he weaves clear and distinct pictures through his words. Muir's writing is very personal. His favorable feelings toward the land are very apparent, and reading the book is like reading his diary or journal. He avoids using scientific jargon that would confuse and frustrate the average reader; his words are easily understood.
Muir also uses very detailed descriptions throughout "Travels in Alaska". Although at times his painstaking description is a plus, at others, he seems to take it a little too far. Numerous times throughout the book, Muir spent a paragraph or two talking about something slightly insignificant. He would go off on a tangent of enthusiasm for something as simple as a sunrise or the rain. While his careful observances make the book enjoyable, the sometimes excessive detail tends to detract from the point he was trying to make. The description also reveals that his heart and soul was in his research; this became very evident upon reading the long and thoughtful descriptions.
"Travels in Alaska" can be appreciated by a wide audience. Muir shines light upon the Alaskan territory, and he is detailed in his account of the many people he meets. Anyone could read the book and find enjoyment learning about Alaska when it was for the most part unsettled. Muir shares with the readers his keen insight upon the various Indian tribes that lived in Alaska. At one point in the book, he gives a very detailed description of one tribe's feasting and dancing. His observances capture exactly what he saw and the feelings these observances evoked in him.
John Muir's writing is of high quality. He incorporates beautiful and creative similes, metaphors, and analogies. His prose is very poetic, which makes it an enjoyable read. For example, Muir says that "when we contemplate the world as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty." His work is also very organized. The book is divided into 3 sections, or parts of his trip, as well as separate chapters devoted to specific subjects. Muir spends one chapter describing his trip to Puget Sound, another on Wrangell Island, etc. The book follows a specific format that ensures that everything is easily followed and understood.
Truthfully, I was impressed with the writing, and the fact that it was nothing like a textbook. It incorporated the literary aspect so well, that the book held my interest whereas a textbook would not have. I had the wrong impression of a scientific novel, and I urge anyone unfamiliar with the genre, to give "Travels in Alaska" a fair try. It may just change your mind about scientific writing.
Don't start your Muir education with this one.......2002-03-03
If you're new to John Muir's writings, please don't start with this one. It's a worthwhile read in its own right, don't get me wrong. But read _My First Summer in the Sierra_ or a Muir biography like Michael P. Cohen's _The Pathless Way_ before you move on to this one. Get a good dose of what the naturalist is like and learn some of his background, and then you'll be in the proper frame of mind to tackle _Travels in Alaska_. Otherwise, this book is just one glacier after another. And bless his heart, Muir wants to see them all. And climb them and explore them and sketch them and hike their entire lengths and write about them ad nauseum. He leaves his companions in his wake and puts himself squarely in the face of isolated danger over and over again. Read this book first, and you'll think he's insane. Know his roots in Wisconsin and his good work in California, and you'll be better able to appreciate what he thinks of and does in the Alaska of the late 1800s.
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The Desert (Peregrine Smith Literary Naturalists)
John C. Van Dyke
Manufacturer: Peregrine Smith Books
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Desert Solitaire
ASIN: 087905395X |
Book Description
In the early summer of 1898, John C. Van Dyke, an asthmatic forty-two-year-old art historian and critic, rode an Indian pony out of the Hemet Valley, and headed southeast into the Colorado desert. With his dog, his guns, and few supplies, this sickly aesthete wandered, mostly alone, for nearly three years across the deserts of California, Arizona and Mexico. He crossed the Salton Sea Basin, forded the Colorado below Yuma on a raft he built himself, followed the railroad line to Tucson, then turned west again toward Sonora. His exact route is not known; he did not always know where he was himself. He sought both health and beauty in the dry country and wrote that the desert "never had a sacred poet; it has in me only a lover".
This extraordinary book, composed "at odd intervals, when I lay against a rock or propped up in the sand", is a masterpiece of personal philosophy, containing precise scientific analyses of diverse phenomena-- from erosion to sky colors-- and prescient ruminations on the nature of civilization. "The desert should never be reclaimed!" Van Dyke wrote, yet he lived long enough to see the reclamation projects in what became the Imperial Valley. He did not witness the virtual destruction of the Colorado Desert still ongoing. As poet Richard Shelton wonders in his introduction, "Where are the herds of antelope Van Dyke spoke of, and the gray wolves and the pure air?"
This series celebrates the tradition of literary naturalists-- writers who embrace the natural world as the setting for some of our most euphoric and serious experiences. Their literary terrain maps the intimate connections between the human and the natural world, a subject defined by Mary Austin in 1920 as "a third thing... the sum of what passed between me and the Land." Literary naturalists transcend political boundaries, social concerns and historical milieus; they speak for what Henry Beston called the "other nations" of the planet. Their message acquires more w
Customer Reviews:
Poetry in Prose.......2001-05-29
This book is a treasure. Mr. Van Dyke obviously has the soul of a poet, and within his graceful prose he paints vivid and soul-stirring pictures of some of the most beautiful places on earth. He describes in fine detail observations he made on a long trip, on horseback in 1898/99, over, around, and through the lower deserts of Arizona and California. He leaves no stone unturned as he describes the magnificence and beauty of each aspect of the desert, and pulls no punches in his criticism of man's destructive intrusions. To Van Dyke, the play of light and shadow, the star-pocked night skies, the ragged and jagged ranges of mountains, the perfectly adapted plants and animals, the sometimes shifting sands, and the silent river barrier known as the Colorado are each part of the unique sum which is, in its own harsh and angular way, a paradise of color, form, and life: "The Desert."
Speaking as one who has lived on and wandered through this same desert for nearly forty years, I can attest to the accuracy of Van Dyke's physical descriptions and, perhaps more importantly, I can note that I've found here both the magic and the majesty which he so ably describes. Still, this isn't a book for everyone. Those who prefer the gleam of glass towers and the roar of jet planes to flaming sunsets and yapping coyotes, save your money. Van Dyke wrote, "Not in the spots of earth where plenty breeds indolence do we meet with the perfected type. It is in the land of adversity ... that finally emerges the highest manifestation."
He was right, and he leaves us "The Desert" as evidence.
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- The Hight Priest of 18th century natrural science
- A Natural History classic
- The Review of a trip through nature.
- An important, but not enthralling, book
- great read if you know the southeast
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The Travels of William Bartram: Naturalist's Edition
William Bartram , and
Francis Harper
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
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Binding: Paperback
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Guide to William Bartram's Travels
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William Bartram on the Southeastern Indians (Indians of the Southeast)
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A New Voyage to Carolina
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William Bartram: Travels and Other Writings, Travels through N.&S. Carolina, Georgia, E. & W. Florida, Travels in Georgia and Florida, 1773-74, A Report to Dr. John Fothergill, Misc. Writings
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An Outdoor Guide to Bartram's Travels
ASIN: 0820320277 |
Book Description
First inexpensive, illustrated edition of early classic on American geography, plants, Indians, wildlife, early settlers. Naturalist's poetic, lovely account of travels through Florida, Georgia, Carolinas from 1773 to 1778. Influenced Coleridge, Wordsworth, Chateaubriand. "A book of extraordinary beauty..." — New York Times. 13 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
The Hight Priest of 18th century natrural science.......2006-11-07
"...So it is the varied and mutable scenes of human events on the stream of life.The high powers and affection of the soul are so blended and connected with the inferior passions, that the most painful feelings are excited in the mind when the latter are crossed,thus in the moral system,which we have planned for our conduct,as a ladder whereby to mount to the summit of terrestrial glory and happiness,and from whence we perhaps mediated our flight to heaven itself at the very moment when we vainly imagine ourselves to have obtained it's point,some unforseen accident intervenes,and suprises us;the chain is violently shaken,we quit our hold and fall:the well contrived system at once becomes a chaos;every
idea of happiness recedes;the splendor of glory darkens,and at length totally disappears;every pleasing object is defaced,all is deranged,and the flattering scene moves quietly away;,a gloomy cloud pervades the understanding,and when we see our progress retarded,and our best intentions frustrated,we are apt to deviate from the abmonitions and convictions of virtue,to shut our eyes upon our guide and protector,dought of his power,and despair of his assistance.But,let us wait and rely on our GOD,who in due time will shine forth in brightnes,dissipate the envious cloud,and reveal to us how finite and circumscribe in human power,when assuming to itself human wisdom..."
Excert from Dover Publications -copyright 1928 (Part 1,Ch.5 pgs.66-670
(born-April,9,1739,Kingsessing,Pa.-died July 22 1823,Kingsessing)
The son of John Bartram,considered the 'father of American botany',self-educated,and a friend of Benjamin Franklin and the botanist for the American colonies to GEORGE 111.William Bartram describes the abundant river swamps of the southeastern US in their primeval condition.An engaging read throughout.The writing is so graceful and genuine with that 'home spun'fragrance that usually are the attributes of a simple and gentle man doggedly pursuing the convictions of his heart.Judging from his writing it would of been a pleasure,permission granted, to have been his companion throughout his entire excursion through Florida,Georgia,and the Carolinas.This is an adventure full of suprises and gives one a sense of exploring the primordial landscapes of the souteastern United States 200 yrs ago.
A Natural History classic.......2000-02-09
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the nature, landscapes, Indians, and early settlements of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee around the year 1775. I haven't read this book in about 10 years, but I do remember checking it out of the library about 3 times, and I'm going to buy it for my birthday. The landscapes the Bartram describes will by and large never be seen again. Bartram described seeing a 45 square mile forest made up of nothing but magnolia, and dogwood trees. He saw forests that were covered by grapevines for miles. The trees were sometimes 20 feet thick, and the grapevines were so old that the vines were more than a foot thick. He saw canebrakes that covered miles, and some of the bamboo cane was 40 feet high. Canebrakes are practically extinct as an environment. He saw virgin forsts, abandoned Indian fields, overgrown Indian villages, open pine savannah forests, and uninhabited swamps. He saw wildlife which today would be scare, or extinct. He reported seeing a bobcat stalk a turkey. He pleaded with a market hunter not to kill a mother bear, and lamented the reaction of the bear cub to it's mother being killed. Bartram also reported seeing wolves, and bison skulls from recently killed buffulo. Bison were just rendered extinct in eastern Georgia at that time. Bartram took literary licence with some events. He exaggerated his encounters with alligators in Florida. After enjoying a meal of fish, rice, and oranges from the Spanish missionary orchards, he battled "fire breathing dragons." Bartram had many encounters with the Creeks, and Cherokees, and most were friendly. He feasted with Indian cattle raisers. Bartram also gives a good account of early settlements. If you decide to get this book, also get a copy of a tree guide with the scientific names, because Bartram tells exactly what kind of trees he came across in each forest. What I wouldn't give to see what Bartram saw?
The Review of a trip through nature........1999-11-10
This book was really really borring
An important, but not enthralling, book.......1999-10-08
William Bartram was a far better botanist than a writer. This book was a great achievement in that it was really the first work of American nature writing, and Bartram made a lot of great botanical discoveries during his journeys through the American Southeast. But his language is excruciatingly tedious. He uses ten pages to express what probably could be said in a single paragraph, and he often will offer two choices or options, when one would suffice: "We encamped on a high cliff or bluff..." And although he makes some interesting observations about the Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles, his views are often distressingly unenlightened or idealized. Although I love nature writing, and although I love the works of Thoreau, who came just a half-century later, I found Bartram's book painful to get through.
great read if you know the southeast.......1999-10-03
visit the south back in time and really vizualize it. very indepth descriptions of the countryside and its inhabitants. be prepared to learn a good deal about this area that has been overlooked by many. a must read if you are enjoy the natural world.
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Journeys Through Paradise
Gail Fishman
Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0813018749 |
Book Description
Following the original steps of pioneering naturalists, Gail Fishman profiles thirteen men who explored North America's southeastern wilderness between 1715 and the 1940s, including John James Audubon, Mark Catesby, John and William Bartram, John Muir, and Alvan Wentworth Chapman. The book is also Fishman's personal travelogue as she experiences the landscape through their eyes and describes the changes that have occurred along the region's trails and streams.
Customer Reviews:
To the Garden of Eden.......2002-01-03
The paradise of the southeast includes such cities as Charleston and natural areas as the St. Johns River, Cedar Key, and even the "Garden of Eden" in the Florida Panhandle. Fishman covers the more famous explorers such as Audubon, Muir, and Bartram but my appreciation goes to her for introducing me to some of the lesser known naturalists such as Hardy Croom who found new plants such as the Florida Yew, and the explorations of Dr. John Small and his weed wagon botanizing in the Everglades. The nations appreciation should go out to Roland Harper for researching and helping to preserve the Okefenokee Swamp.
Fishman mixes the travels of the naturalist with useful background natural history, and her own trip through the area traversed by the naturalist. Often this provides useful contrasts, but at times was superfluous; did it really add anything to the history to tell us that her car broke down or that the water in the campground shower was too hot? At times she projects her own personal emotions into the historic figure for example of William Bartram "He felt fear and must have sometimes felt a great loneliness". At times she also projects modern sensibility onto the times, for example though we may all now agree that the plan to drain the Everglades was "incredibly stupid", but it would have been more valuable to present an understanding of the culture of the late 1800's to understand this better. Despite these criticisms, I appreciated this book and hope that perhaps she does a follow up of some of the more recent naturalists such as herpetologist Archie Carr or ornithologist Arthur Howell.
Books:
- The Littles
- The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World
- The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
- The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates (Volume 1)
- The Search For Significance: Seeing Your True Worth Through God's Eyes
- The Sierra Club Yosemite Postcard Collection
- The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Pacific States (Smithsonian Guide to Historic America)
- The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America: The South-Central States: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Smithsonian Guides to Natural America)
- The Tapir's Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest
- The Very Rich Hours of Jacques Maritain: A Spiritual Life
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