About this title: "We can place this book on the shelf that holds the writings of Thoreau and John Muir." San Francisco Chronicle These astonishing portraits of the natural world explore the breathtaking diversity of the unspoiled American landscape -- the mountains and the prairies, the deserts and the coastlines. A stunning tribute to our land and a bold ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Very Good. 0345345053 **mass market paperback**--Exactly as pictured--EXACT ISBN MATCH--cover has shelf wear at tips of corners and minor cover crease or curl, minor Spine Creasing, No personalizations, No marks in the text at all. Tight and well bound. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Schwartz, Charles W. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Outdoor Essays & Reflections. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Schwartz, Charles W. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Outdoor Essays & Reflections. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Schwartz, Charles W. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Outdoor Essays & Reflections. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Schwartz, Charles W. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Outdoor Essays & Reflections. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780345345059ISBN:0345345053
Description: Schwartz, Charles W. Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 320 p. Contains: Illustrations. Outdoor Essays & Reflections. read more
My mom gave me this book a couple years ago with her strong recommendation. I had some trepidation about reading a 60-70 year-old environmental book. I shouldn't have; it was great. Occasionally something in the book would feel dated but overall it was remarkable to me how well it had held up and how current and relevant it felt. Not sure if that means the issues haven't changed much in the last 60-70 years, or he was ahead of his time. Probably both.
The book is in 3 parts.
1. sketches organized by month of the year; also on some particular topic but the theme was generally "boy, nature is a remarkable thing". it's not easy to pull off making "wow, this flower is pretty" interesting to the reader (at least to me) but he did it quite well and these were a joy to read. it helped that he was incredibly knowledgeable about nature, both in the sense of a professional naturalist and in the sense of a guy who tramps around outside a lot and keeps his eyes wide open, and that he conveys that knowledge well. the sketches contained a lot of specific observations that were both interesting in themselves and also conveyed the "nature is a remarkable thing" message much more effectively than just writing how pretty it all is.
2. essays, again each on a particular topic, but generally with a theme of "boy is it sad how nature is being despoiled". these were naturally not quite so fun and uplifting, but there was still some of that, and overall these were equal in quality to the first section.
3. essays of a much more general nature on environmental topics, e.g. how developing a land ethic is key to having society value nature and hence ultimately preserve it. The introduction to the book practically warned the reader not to read these (be very afraid! these are harder to read!) and that was occasionally true, but overall I thought these chapters were equally compelling, albeit in a different way. AL is a very clear thinker and I appreciated how he laid out his arguments, examined things from multiple angles, etc. It was basically exactly how I would have requested a discussion of those issues be laid out.
Whenever I read the book, I enjoyed it, but I would also note that I put it down several times and it took me probably a year to get from beginning to end; that has to reflect something, so I gave it 4 stars instead of 5."
"I read this a long time ago. The book is, in my opinion, a manifesto for an environmental policy that is not predicated on traditional economic cost/benefit analysis. It suggests that what is valuable to us is sometimes not quantifiable in dollars and cents, and that we had better take account of that fact before it is too late. Having grown up hunting and fishing in Kentucky, I had a hard time understanding all the hoopla when I read it. It seemed to me that the book did nothing more than state the obvious. Later, I came to understand that what seemed obvious to me at the time was not obvious to many others."
"Thoughtful, far-raching, poignant. I feel as if I'm there with him observing nature and the changing of the seasons. It made me get a map out and follow along. The part about the pigeons and other extinct wildlife both flora and fauna is an eye opener. I especially loved his canoeing journey down the delta of the Colorado river - the green lagoons are there no more. He must have been very observant indeed to notice the changes to the environment 60 years ago, so few people realized the long term impacts. I highly highly recommend this book."
"Powerful, inspiring, and passion driven is just a few words I would use to describe this book. Anyone who doubts the importance of conservations needs to read this book. I loved the book but it takes it made me cry, made me rage and made me question a lot of things. His words were powerful and really made me think about what I believe and how I impacted the world I lived in. You could feel so much in his words and on passage in particular will stay with me forever. " We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes-something only known to her and the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves meant a hunter's paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view" That my friends is a message that everyone needs to hear and understand!"
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