Words from the Land: Encounters With Natural History Writing

Gathers essays by Annie Dillard, John McPhee, Edward Hoagland, Peter Matthiessen, and Barry Lopez

Here is a choice sampler of this decade's very best nature writing. Trimble, author of Canyon Country and The Sagebrush Ocean, interviewed nine literary naturalists to find out how they work. All regard themselves primarily as writers; most had liberal arts educations rather than scientific training, and the scientists among them claim to be generalists. Trimble offers excerpts from John McPhee's Basin and Range, Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams, Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard, Annie Dillard's Teaching a Stone to Talk, Sue Hubbell's A Country Year, Ann Zwinger's The Mysterious Lands, plus nine other delicious pieces from award-winning books. There is a brief biographical sketch of each author. This is an admirable introduction to the genre; readers unfamiliar with the original writings have a treat awaiting them. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

$17.95. nat hist This is a representative collection of essays and excerpts from longer pieces of 15 contemporary natural history writers. Trimble attempts to present the scope and philosophy of each writer in an overlong, rather tedious introductory essay. Beyond the introduction, selections from each writer are delightful firsthand observations of diverse outdoor scenes, ranging from the mystery of a tiny arctic island as experienced by Barry Lopez to the exhilarating grandeur of Crystal Mountain on the Tibetan plateau described by Peter Matthiessen. Photographs and short biographical sketches precede each writer's contribution. Sure to whet the reader's appetite for more material from these appealing writers. Evelyn G. Callaway-Helm, Sun City Lib., Ariz.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.