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The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
by Richard PrestonHidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained-the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored. The canopy voyagers are young-just college students when they start their quest-and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there's nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air.The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called "fire caves." Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one's death.Preston's account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists' passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees-the story of the fate of the world's most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.From the Hardcover edition.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
by Richard PrestonHidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained-the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored. The canopy voyagers are young-just college students when they start their quest-and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there's nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air.The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called "fire caves." Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one's death.Preston's account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists' passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees-the story of the fate of the world's most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.From the Hardcover edition.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
by Richard PrestonHidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored. The canopy voyagers are young–just college students when they start their quest–and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there’s nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air. The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called “fire caves.” Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one’s death. Preston’s account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists’ passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees–-the story of the fate of the world’s most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.
Wild Visions: Wilderness as Image and Idea
by Ben A Minteer Mark Klett Stephen J. PyneA stunning combination of landscape photography and thematic essays exploring how the concept of wilderness has evolved over time Our ideas of wilderness have evolved dramatically over the past one hundred and fifty years, from a view of wild country as an inviolable &“place apart&” to one that exists only within the matrix of human activity. This shift in understanding has provoked complicated questions about the importance of the wild in American environmentalism, as well as new aesthetic expectations as we reframe the wilderness as (to some degree) a human creation.Wild Visions is distinctive in its union of landscape photography and environmental thought, a merging of short, thematic essays with a striking visual narrative. Often, the wild is viewed in binary terms: either revered as sacred and ecologically pure or dismissed as spoiled by human activities. This book portrays wilderness instead as an evolving gamut of understandings, a collage of views and ideas that is still in process.
Wild Weather: Find out how weather and climate affect our world
by Liz GogerlyWeather is awesome and exciting - it's part of our everyday lives but what is it? This funkily illustrated title explores all types of weather with four children Anjali, Lulu, Mason and Noah. Their teacher, Mr Sangar, explains that weather is about what's happening in the atmosphere. And, there are six major things going on up there that are constantly changing and making our weather. Mason's dad explains the water cycle to them. They experience all types of weather, such as rain, snow, sleet and hail and see some fantastic rainbows too. They learn about extreme weather, such as floods, hurricanes and typhoons and find out how to identify different types of clouds and lightning. They discover the different climate zones, learn about jet streams and get serious about climate change and global warming.Get Busy activity suggestions encourage children to be actively engaged.There are also full-page, step-by-step activities for how to make a cloud burst or a tornado in a jar.Look out for the other titles in this series: Go Green!, Nature Needs You! and Save the Seas!
Wild Weather: Hurricanes!
by Lorraine Jean Hopping Jody WheelerDiscusses where hurricanes come from, what types there are, and what can be done during one.
Wild Weather (It's All About...)
by Kingfisher Editors<p>Wild Weather tells you everything you want to know about the world's weather. Read about twisting tornadoes, ferocious floods and dusty drought. The wildest weather can cause the most extreme places - deserts, rainforests and polar lands. Discover how we use science to measure and predict the weather, and how we cope when natural disasters strike. <p>Wild Weather is part of a great new collectible series called It's all about... It is packed with facts and stats, and there are eight amazing collector cards to tear out and keep. You can access a free downloadable audio of Wild Weather by logging onto the special URL address on page 3. <p>Wild Weather has a Contents page as well as a Glossary and Index. You can check out the other titles in the series at the back of the book.</p>
The Wild, Wild Southwest!
by Jeff CorwinIt's a fascinating adventure with nature - this time in New Mexico! Budding naturalists Lucy, Benjamin, and Gabe are back and camping in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico! Readers can join the fun as these kids explore the diverse desert ecosystem. This is the third book in Jeff Corwin's young middlegrade fiction series, which shows kids that no matter where you live, you can have fun discovering the plants, animals, and natural life around you. .
Wild Wisdom: Zen Masters, Mountain Monks & Rebellious Eccentrics Reflect on the Healing Power of Nature
by Neil Douglas-KlotzInspiration from wilderness mystics from around the world, including Henry David Thoreau, Bai Juyi, Rainer Maria Rilke, Lalla, Rachel Carson, and more.Sages and mystics throughout the centuries have sought inspiration in the wildness of nature. This little book gathers the sayings and stories of the women and men who have sunk their roots deep into inner retreat and brought forth wisdom for all times and peoples.Here we find the stories and voices of desert fathers and mothers, forest hermits, mountain mystics, wandering philosophers, and wise eccentrics who maintained their solitude while living in society and challenged the status quo with humor. From East and West and everything in between. From Christian hermits, wandering Kabbalists, itinerant Sufis, Zen practitioners, Yogis, court jesters, transcendentalists, and freethinkers, Wild Wisdom gathers a timeless harvest for spiritual renewal.By turns witty, startling, beautiful, and sublime, Wild Wisdom makes a fine companion for personal retreat, daily contemplation, or simply taking time out during a busy day.
The Wild World Handbook: Creatures (The Wild World Handbook #2)
by Andrea DebbinkPacked with real-life tales of adventure, breathtaking illustrations, and practical tools, this handbook is an inspiring guide for the next generation of climate activists, conservationists, and nature lovers.We share this incredible planet we call home with countless living creatures, from butterflies and falcons to koalas and dolphins. And just like us, animals everywhere are faced with the growing threat of climate change. Featuring seven categories of creatures, this handbook offers a roadmap for change and an invitation to explore the outdoors with fascinating facts, hope-filled stories, and hands-on STEAM activities. Each chapter highlights the biographies of scientists, artists, and adventurers from diverse backgrounds who have used their passion and skills to become courageous advocates for animals around the world. The second book in a middle-grade series for young activists and conservationists, The Wild World Handbook: Creatures empowers readers to appreciate and protect Earth&’s wildlife.Inside you will find: • Seven incredible categories of creatures • Fourteen inspiring biographies • Seven kid-friendly DIY activities • Seven fun field trips • And much more!
The Wild World Handbook: Habitats (The Wild World Handbook #1)
by Andrea DebbinkPacked with real-life tales of adventure, breathtaking illustrations, and practical tips, this handbook is an inspiring guide for the next generation of climate activists, conservationists, and nature lovers.The wonder of the natural world surrounds us—from the Amazon rainforest to the snowy peaks of Mount Everest to the green spaces in big cities. And as the threat of climate change grows, it&’s more important than ever to show appreciation for our planet by taking action.The first book in a middle grade series for young environmental activists and nature lovers, The Wild World Handbook offers a roadmap for change and an invitation to explore the outdoors, alongside surprising facts and hands-on STEAM activities. Featuring nine habitats from around the globe, each section includes diverse biographies of outdoor adventurers, scientists, and artists who used their passion and skills to become bold allies for Earth&’s natural diversity and resiliency.Inside you will find: • Nine Amazing Habitats • Eighteen Inspiring Biographies • Nine Kid-Friendly DIY Activities • Nine Fun Field Trips • And much more! It&’s up to us to protect this beautiful, awe-inspiring planet we call home!
Wilder Journeys: True Stories of Nature, Adventure and Connection
by Laurie King & Miriam LancewoodEnvironmental writer Laurie King and internationally bestselling author Miriam Lancewood present a collection of narrative non-fiction stories and poems on the human connection with nature.Follow the call of the wild with these incredible true stories from an international group of nature lovers, nomads and adventurers.In these pages, you are invited to share the wisdom they gained on their wild journeys. You will walk across the Australian desert with American explorer Angela Maxwell; live with Hamza Yassin and a family of eagles in Scotland; survive for 10 years in an Australian forest with Gregory Smith; hunt in the wilderness with Miriam Lancewood in New Zealand; chart Karl Bushby's passage through the formidable Darien Gap; and set up a surf school for people of colour in California with David Malana.With beautiful illustrations, a foreword from explorer Belinda Kirk and contributions from leading poets, including David Whyte and Fatimah Asghar, this book will inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and connect to your wild, animal soul.
A Wilder Kingdom: Rethinking Nature in Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Beyond
by Ben A. Minteer and Harry W. GreeneZoos have always had a troubled relationship to what is considered the “real” wild. Even the most immersive and naturalistic zoos, critics maintain, are inherently contrived and inauthentic environments. Zoo animals’ diet, care, and reproduction are under pervasive human control, with natural phenomena like disease and death kept mostly hidden from public view. Furthermore, despite their growing commitment to conservation and education, zoos are entertainment providers that respond to visitors’ expectations and preferences. What would a “wilder” zoo—one that shows the public a wider range of ecological processes—look like? Is it achievable or even desirable? What roles can or should zoos play in encouraging humanity to find meaningful connections with wild animals and places?A Wilder Kingdom is a provocative and reflective examination of the relationship between zoos and the wild. It gathers a premier set of multidisciplinary voices—from animal studies and psychology to evolutionary biology and environmental journalism—to consider the possibilities and challenges of making zoos wilder. In so doing, the contributors offer new insights into the future of the wild beyond zoos and our relationship to wild species and places across the landscape in an increasingly human-dominated era.
Wilder Ways
by Donald C. JacksonIn Wilder Ways, Donald C. Jackson takes readers on a journey into the deep and very personal connections that can develop between people and wild places while hunting, fishing, and rambling across landscapes. Fishing by lantern light late at night for bullhead catfish on a small stream, hunting wood ducks and squirrels on his farm in north Mississippi, bow hunting deer as twilight creeps across a small clearing, handlining crabs in the Pascagoula River estuary, hunting caribou in Alaska and elk in Colorado, searching for blind fish in Ozark caves, and fighting a storm on an Indonesian river: Jackson leads us into reflections of our own journeys and helps us to understand that we can be part of a wilder way, often very near to our homes. We walk with him through the tall grass, wet with early morning dew, light tackle in hand, down to a “ditch” under a Mississippi highway bridge and then discover that the “ditch” is really a very fine stream full of fish. We recapture the essence of hunting by stalking fox squirrels in a small patch of hardwoods. We stand beside him, listening to the whistle of wings as ducks pass overhead in the pre-dawn light and fog that surround a tiny, brushy pond hidden in the woods. We smell the salt air and feel the power of a redfish as it strips line from the fishing reel while the sunset turns marsh to gold. We walk alone under the starlight along an Alaskan river after an afternoon of grayling fishing. We fall in love again with tents, tractors, and old brown dogs. Through the shared journeys in Wilder Ways, we link with the rhythms of the earth, understanding that the wilds are not something separate from us. We are all somewhat wilder than perhaps we ever imagine.
Wilderness and the American Mind
by Roderick Frazier Nash Char MillerRoderick Nash's classic study of changing attitudes toward wilderness during American history, as well as the origins of the environmental and conservation movements, has received wide acclaim since its initial publication in 1967. The Los Angeles Times listed it among the one hundred most influential books published in the last quarter century, Outside Magazine included it in a survey of "books that changed our world," and it has been called the "Book of Genesis for environmentalists." For the fifth edition, Nash has written a new preface and epilogue that brings Wilderness and the American Mind into dialogue with contemporary debates about wilderness. Char Miller's foreword provides a twenty-first-century perspective on how the environmental movement has changed, including the ways in which contemporary scholars are reimagining the dynamic relationship between the natural world and the built environment.
Wilderness and the American Spirit
by Ruby McConnellTHE IDEA OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT has always been rooted inexpansion and abundance— at great cost to the environment. Withthe world burning up, one can' t help but wonder: how did we gethere? Wilderness and the American Spirit traces hundreds ofyears of The United States' relationship to the environment starting fromthe initial colonization of Native American land, to the developmentof land use policies, and the creation of resource based economies.Using a lesser known alternative to the Oregon Trail— Ruby McConnelluses the Applegate Trail as a vehicle to weave exposition, history, andscience to show us how we got to where we are now and what wecan do about it.
Wilderness Days (A Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book)
by Sigurd F. OlsonIn the evocative words of one of America&’s best-loved nature writers, Wilderness Days brings together the essence of the magnificent wilderness with which he so deeply identifies. Sigurd F. Olson collects from his writings those moments that most vividly depict the turn of the seasons in the great woodlands and waters of the legendary Quetico–Superior region overlapping the Ontario–Minnesota border.
Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness
by Laura Waterman Guy WatermanThe classic environmental call to action 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Wilderness Act—the landmark piece of legislation to set aside and protect pristine parts of the American landscape. This anniversary edition of Wilderness Ethics should help put the many issues surrounding wilderness in focus.
Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness
by Laura Waterman Guy WatermanThe classic environmental call to action 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Wilderness Act--the landmark piece of legislation to set aside and protect pristine parts of the American landscape. This anniversary edition of Wilderness Ethics should help put the many issues surrounding wilderness in focus.
The Wilderness Journeys: My Boyhood And Youth - First Summer In The Sierra - 1000 Mile Walk - Stickeen - Travels In Alaska (Canongate Classics #Vol. 67)
by John MuirFive works by the naturalist considered the father of the modern conservation movement, documenting the unspoiled beauty of nineteenth-century America. When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. —John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra The name of John Muir has come to stand for the protection of wild land and wilderness in both America and Britain. Born in Scotland in 1838, Muir is famed as the father of American conservation and the founder of the Sierra Club. This collection, including the rarely seen Stickeen, presents the finest of Muir&’s writings, painting a portrait of a man whose generosity, passion, and vision are an inspiration to this day. Combining acute observation, amusing anecdotes, and a sense of inner discovery, Muir&’s writings of his travels though some of the greatest landscapes on Earth, including the Carolinas, Florida, Alaska, and those lands that were to become the great National Parks of Yosemite and the Sierra Valley, raise an awareness of nature to a spiritual dimension. Includes an introduction by Graham White
Wilderness Management
by John C. Hendee Chad P. DawsonA new edition of this classic 30-year-old textbook.
The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
by Douglas Brinkley<P>In this groundbreaking epic biography, Douglas Brinkley draws on never-before-published materials to examine the life and achievements of our "naturalist president." <P>By setting aside more than 230 million acres of wild America for posterity between 1901 and 1909, Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a universal endeavor. This crusade for the American wilderness was perhaps the greatest U.S. presidential initiative between the Civil War and World War I. Roosevelt's most important legacies led to the creation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906. His executive orders saved such treasures as Devils Tower, the Grand Canyon, and the Petrified Forest. <P>Tracing the role that nature played in Roosevelt's storied career, Brinkley brilliantly analyzes the influence that the works of John James Audubon and Charles Darwin had on the young man who would become our twenty-sixth president. With descriptive flair, the author illuminates Roosevelt's bird watching in the Adirondacks, wildlife obsession in Yellowstone, hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains, ranching in the Dakota Territory, hunting in the Big Horn Mountains, and outdoor romps through Idaho and Wyoming. <P>He also profiles Roosevelt's incredible circle of naturalist friends, including the Catskills poet John Burroughs, Boone and Crockett Club cofounder George Bird Grinnell, forestry zealot Gifford Pinchot, buffalo breeder William Hornaday, Sierra Club founder John Muir, U.S. Biological Survey wizard C. Hart Merriam, Oregon Audubon Society founder William L. Finley, and pelican protector Paul Kroegel, among many others. He brings to life hilarious anecdotes of wild-pig hunting in Texas and badger saving in Kansas, wolf catching in Oklahoma and grouse flushing in Iowa. Even the story of the teddy bear gets its definitive treatment. <P>Destined to become a classic, this extraordinary and timeless biography offers a penetrating and colorful look at Roosevelt's naturalist achievements, a legacy now more important than ever. Raising a Paul Revere-like alarm about American wildlife in peril--including buffalo, manatees, antelope, egrets, and elk--Roosevelt saved entire species from probable extinction. <P>As we face the problems of global warming, overpopulation, and sustainable land management, this imposing leader's stout resolution to protect our environment is an inspiration and a contemporary call to arms for us all. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Wildest Alaska: Journeys of Great Peril in Lituya Bay
by Philip L. FradkinTwenty-five years ago Philip L. Fradkin read a book about a remote bay on the Gulf of Alaska coast. The noted environmental historian was attracted by the threads of violence woven through the natural and human histories of Lituya Bay. Could these histories be related, and if so, how? The attempt to define the power of this wild place was a tantalizing and, as it turned out, dangerous quest. This compelling and eerie memoir tells of Fradkin's odyssey through recorded human history and eventually to the bay itself, as he explores the dark and unyielding side of nature. Natural forces have always dominated Lituya Bay. Immense storms, powerful earthquakes, huge landslides, and giant waves higher than the world's tallest skyscrapers pound the whale-shaped fjord. Compelling for its deadly beauty, the bay has attracted visitors over time, but it has never been mastered by them. Its seasonal occupants throughout recorded history--Tlingit Indians, European explorers, gold miners, and coastal fishermen seeking a harbor of refuge--have drowned, gone mad, slaughtered fur-bearing animals with abandon, sifted the black sand beaches for minute particles of gold, and murdered each other. Only a hermit found peace there. Then the author and his small son visited the bay and were haunted by a grizzly bear. As an environmental writer for the Los Angeles Times and western editor of Audubon magazine, Fradkin has traveled from Tierra del Fuego to the North Slope of Alaska. But nothing prepared him for Lituya Bay, a place so powerful it turned one person's hair white. This story resonates with echoes of Melville, Poe, and Conrad as it weaves together the human and natural histories of a beautiful and wild place.
Wildfire: The Culture, Science, and Future of Fire
by Ferin Davis Anderson Stephanie Sammartino McPherson“Fire is part of nature. It’s just like the rain, the sunrise each day. It’s a natural occurrence, a part of nature necessary to complete lifecycles of different plants and animals.” –John Waconda, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Indigenous Partnerships Program “Every time you put a fire out, you’re just postponing it. You just increase the actual fuel load that is out there, so when it does happen you get these massive megafire events.” –Malcolm North, fire ecologist “Climate change is creating the perfect conditions for larger, more intense wildfires.” –Robert Scheller, professor of landscape ecology and associate dean of research at North Carolina State University Wildfire is a natural process that takes place worldwide. In dry conditions, a single spark can transform into a megafire that sweeps across the landscape, burning everything in its path. Despite fire’s deadly reputation, ecosystems such as forests and grasslands depend on it to clear out debris and promote new plant growth. Environmental scientist Ferin Davis Anderson and author Stephanie Sammartino McPherson examine how Indigenous people, farmers, and forestry departments have used fire to manage natural resources and how human development and climate change are impacting the frequency and intensity of wildfires. By delving into how fires start and burn, fire suppression and firefighting, and the ecological importance of burns, they explore people’s long relationship with fire and reflect on fire’s regenerative benefits and destructive capabilities alike. Discover the history of large-scale fire and what its future may look like in Wildfire.
Wildfire: A Reader
by Alianor TrueDuring the summer of 2000, Americans from coast to coast witnessed the worst fire season in recorded history. Daily news reports brought dramatic images of vast swaths of land going up in smoke, from the mountains of Montana and Wyoming, to the scrublands of Texas, to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where a controlled burn gone awry threatened forests, homes, and even our nation's nuclear secrets. As they have for centuries, wildfires captured our attention and our imagination, reminding us of the power of the natural forces that shape our world. In Wildfire: A Reader nature writer and wildland firefighter Alianor True gathers together for the first time some of the finest stories and essays ever written about wildfire in America. From Mark Twain to Norman Maclean to Edward Abbey, writers featured here depict and record wildfires with remarkable depth and clarity. An ecological perspective is well represented through the works of John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and John McPhee. Ed Engle, Louise Wagenknecht, and Gretchen Yost, firefighters from the front lines, give us exciting first-person perspectives, reliving their on-the-ground encounters with forest fires. The works gathered in Wildfire not only explore the sensory and aesthetic aspects of fire, but also highlight how much attitudes have changed over the past 200 years. From Native Americans who used fire as a tool, to early Americans who viewed it as a frightening and destructive force, to Aldo Leopold and other conservationists whose ideas caused us to rethink the value and role of fire, this rich collection is organized around those shifts in thinking. Capturing the fury and the heat of a raging inferno, or the quiet emergence of wildflowers sprouting from ashes, the writings included in Wildfire represent a vital and compelling addition to the nature writing and natural history bookshelf.