written/compiled by Zachary Bos and Cat Dossett
Some New & Recommended Reading

What we've been reading recently on the theme of "man and nature"...

• Sophie Cunningham's essay collection City of Trees is more than a walk in the woods, raising questions of how society should respond to the threats of deforestation, ecological disruption, and climate change. (An eloquent review by Johanna Leggatt appears online in the May 2019 issue of Australian Book Review.) Text Publishing, 2019: $24.95
• In "Oh, No, Not Knotweed!", Henry Grabar commits more than 4,000 words telling the story of the Great British Knotweed Panic, from the history of the plant's introduction to Western horticulture, its introduction in the British Isles and the United States, and the environmental and economic devastation the plant has wrought where it has been introduced, despite the best efforts of homeowners and scientists. Published on Slate.com in May 2019. (Note: persons interested in doing their part to mitigate the damage of this vegetal invasion might call up the folks at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant in Tarrytown, NY where knotweed is a featured seasonal dish on the menu.)
• Wilderness: A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska, the first book by the American artist Rockwell Kent, describes the seven months he spent living with his nine-year-old son on Fox Island in Alaska. Surrounded by lonely wilds in an outsize landscape, the two chink their cabin walls with moss; chop wood for the winter; and climb peaks to stand "in wonder looking down and out over a smooth green floor of sea and a fairyland of mountains, peaks and gorges." Several editions are available; we had our hands most recently on a reprint edition sold through Amazon's in-house Createspace fulfillment platform. Though this edition is a facsimile of the richly illustrated 1930 Modern Library printing, the cover art chosen by the reprint publisher is from Kent's travels in Tierra del Fuego; so goes editorial sloppiness in the modern era. Pathfinder Books, 2017: $12.95. (In August 2018, Sarah Laskow returned to this little-known classic for Atlas Obscura.)
• In Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene, editor Jessica Cory gathers essays, poetry, histories, and fiction which variously celebrate nature and landscape, and express concern with overdevelopment, extractive energy industries, and climate crisis. Cory's introduction provides a valuable overview of the nature writing tradition in the Appalachian region, and urges readers to consider this volume "in light of what the Anthropocene might mean for ourselves, our communities, and our world." West Virginia University Press, 2019: $22.62.
• If you were impressed by the sustainable methods in use at Polyface Farm in Virginia, as described in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, should pick up a copy of One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture by Stephanie Anderson. According to a review by Katrina Gersie-Spronk for The Hopper, “Anderson effectively traces . . . the conventional farmer’s role as producer rather than steward . . . back to larger forces such as globalization . . . industrialization . . . and capitalism... One Size Fits None leaves us with hope, however, as the reader absorbs Anderson’s profiles of those who are quietly and bravely breaking out of this unsustainable system.” University of Nebraska Press, 2019: $15.11. (And for more about Polyface, dig up a copy of The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer, Joel Salatin’s 2010 self-published book about the people and principles behind the farm.)
• "Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children," begins The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane. From Hamish Hamilton comes this beautifully illustrated children's book celebrating lyric and nature, the forms of animal and word. The book is met with praise and accreditation and continues to capture the minds of young and old readers alike.
• An Anthology of Intriguing Animals by Ben Hoare showcases animals with full-color photographs and whimsical illustration. A modern bestiary for the budding naturalist.
• Sabina Radeva's colorful adaptation of On the Origin of Species marks the 160th anniversary of Charles Darwin's original publication. Diagrams, maps, and illustrations detail evolution for young readers.
  

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #7: Summer 2019, Volume 4 Number 1