One of my current re-reads is Wild America .... by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher. My copy is a hefty hardback. Here's what one reader ( on Amazon) thought about it ..... If I were to pick the top five books that have influenced my life...for the better, this one would probably be at the top of that list of five. I first read it as a relatively young man and have given it several rereads over the years and just finished my latest. I like books pertaining to natural history, history and travel books. It this single volume I get all three of my reading loves dished out in a grand manner. This book has been around for over 50 years now and in many ways it is a fresh today as it was the day it was published. Now this is not to say that it can be used as a "current" travel guide - alas, far from it. The geography of North America has changes somewhat over the years. New roads, strip malls, dried up rivers and creeks, urban sprawl, pollution, new roads, logging, and on and on and on...all have taken their toll. The America Peterson and Fisher observed and recorded is in many ways not with us any longer. I suppose I am fortunate in a way (or unfortunate - depending upon how you look at it) to have had the opportunity to travel though and visit many of the places this duo visited both then and more recently. I am acutely aware of the changes. And this is one of the strong features of this work. It records a country in a state which we will, if we want to be realistic about it, never see again. It records our history and thereby will give the thoughtful reader much to ponder both as to our current situation and that of the future. The premise of this work is well known. Two of the world's greatest naturalists drive from the extreme North East section of N. America and roughly follow the coast line all the way around via automobile with a side trip to Mexico and of course Alaska. They observed and record. They of course pat particular attention to birds of other wildlife and plants are not ignored nor are the geographical oddities of this vast land. The book is well written and both med and contributed - the get the American "take" as well as the European (English). I love the way the book is designed and formatted...very, very readable! You need not be a birder to enjoy and appreciate this one. It is a chronicle of our land at a specific time. I wish there were more book like it written by naturalist of this caliber. Here's a most unusual rendering of West Side Story's " America" ..............
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
|