Nature Writing

Originally given as part of a lecture in 1851, "Walking" was later published posthumously as an essay in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. Now being a chief text in the environmental movement, Thoreau's "Walking" places man not separate from Nature and Wildness but within it and lyrically describes the ever beckoning call that draws us to explore and find ourselves lost in the beauty of the forests, rivers, and fields.

The Appalachian Trail stretches along the East Coast of the United States through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Bill Bryson sets off to hike 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats and rattlesnakes. Facing savage weather and unreliable maps, Bryson makes his way through the captivating landscape of the Appalachians...

This is an adventurous tale that follows the life-cycle of a leaf named Jack from spring through fall.

Jack has hopes of becoming the perfect fall specimen, worthy of a collection, until the elements of nature shape him in unexpected ways. He learns to deal with the disappointment by patiently accepting the way he is, while still trying to be the best that he can be.

In the end, Jack is grateful as his final shape is revealed and he realizes that he is more special than he could ever have imagined.

Kathie Knerl was in awe of the gigantic size and vibrant color of the Maple leaves she found in Missouri. As she began searching for the perfect leaf to take to her little granddaughter, she soon realized that every leaf she picked up was blemished in some way. Having a vivid imagination, she began a story about a leaf to tell her granddaughter. So “Jack” was born.

The rest is his story.

A stirring tribute to one of America's most remote and beautiful places by one of the first modern preservationists

This Penguin Classic-Muir's first book-puts a pioneering conservationist's passion for nature in high relief. With a poet's sensitivity and a naturalist's eye, Muir celebrates the Sierra Nevada, which he dedicated his life to saving, and recounts his breathtaking visits to Yosemite Valley, Kings Canyon, Sequoia Groves, and Mount Whiskey. The Mountains of California is an affecting celebration of raw nature by one of its most ardent defenders.

"Unique among survival books...stunning...enthralling. Deep Survival makes compelling, and chilling, reading."—Penelope Purdy, Denver Post

After her plane crashes, a seventeen-year-old girl spends eleven days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better-equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?

Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death—how people get into trouble and how they get out again (or not)—Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the "stages of survival" and reveals the essence of a survivor—truths that apply not only to surviving in the wild but also to surviving life-threatening illness, relationships, the death of a loved one, running a business during uncertain times, even war.

Fascinating for any reader, and absolutely essential for anyone who takes a hike in the woods, this book will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.

Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac has enthralled generations of nature lovers and conservationists and is indeed revered by everyone seriously interested in protecting the natural world. Hailed for prose that is "full of beauty and vigor and bite" (The New York Times), it is perhaps the finest example of nature writing since Thoreau's Walden.
Now this classic work is available in a completely redesigned and lavishly illustrated gift edition, featuring over one hundred beautiful full-color pictures by Michael Sewell, one of the country's leading nature photographers. Sewell, whose work has graced the pages of Audubon and Sierra magazines, walked Leopold's property in Wisconsin and shot these photographs specifically for this edition, allowing readers to see Sand County as Leopold saw it. The resulting layout is spectacular. But the heart of the book remains Leopold's carefully rendered observations of nature. Here we follow Leopold throughout the year, from January to December, as he walks about the rural Wisconsin landscape, watching a woodcock dance skyward in golden afternoon light, or spying a rough-legged hawk dropping like a feathered bomb on its prey. And perhaps most important are Leopold's trenchant comments throughout the book on our abuse of the land and on what we must do to preserve this invaluable treasure. This edition also includes two of Leopold's most eloquent essays on conservation, "The Land Ethic" and "Marshland Elegy."
With this gift edition of A Sand County Almanac, a new generation of readers can walk beside one of America's most respected naturalists as he conveys the beauty of a marsh before sunrise or the wealth of history to be found in an ancient oak.

Jeff Alt takes you along every step of his 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail adventure filled with humorous, frightening, and inspirational stories including, bears, bugs, blisters, skunk bedmates, and hilarious food cravings. As Alt walked on through freezing temperatures, driving rain, and sunny skies, he was constantly buoyed by the knowledge that his walk was dedicated to his brother who has cerebral palsy. Alt's adventure inspired an annual fundraiser which has raised over $150,000 for the Sunshine Home where his brother lives. As you walk along with Alt, you experience the success of turning dreams into goals and achieving them. Alt shares his life lessons from the trail with a focus on family, stewardship of the earth, and good health. New chapters to this edition include: The Sunshine Home and the annual Walk-With-Sunshine he inspired; What is Cerebral Palsy?, Jeff's hiking gear list, including gear and tips to take the whole family hiking. A Walk for Sunshine has been featured in media nationwide including ESPN and Hallmark Channel.

An unabridged, illustrated edition with a foreword by Ralph Waldo Emerson, to include: Biographical Sketch - Natural History of Massachusetts - A Walk to Wachusett - The Landlord - A Winter Walk - The Succession of Forest Trees - Walking - Autumnal Tints - Wild Apples - Night and Moonlight

First published in 1968, Desert Solitaire is one of Edward Abbey's most critically acclaimed works and marks his first foray into the world of nonfiction writing. Written while Abbey was working as a ranger at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah, Desert Solitaire is a rare view of one man's quest to experience nature in its purest form.

Through prose that is by turns passionate and poetic, Abbey reflects on the condition of our remaining wilderness and the future of a civilization that cannot reconcile itself to living in the natural world as well as his own internal struggle with morality. As the world continues its rapid development, Abbey's cry to maintain the natural beauty of the West remains just as relevant today as when this book was written.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edward Abbey was born in Home, Pennsylvania in 1927. In 1944, at the age of 17, Abbey set out to explore the American Southwest, bumming around the country by hitchhiking and hopping freight trains. It was during this time that Abbey developed a love of the desert, which would shape his life and his art for the next forty years. After a brief stint in the military, Abbey completed his education at the University of New Mexico and later, at the University of Edinburgh. He took employment as a park ranger and fire lookout at several different National Parks throughout his life, experiences from which he drew for his many books. Abbey died at his home in Oracle, Arizona in 1989.