Did anyone say Paul Rezendes, yet? I don’t like that he mentions his cat being outside but other than that he’s an interesting read if you’re especially into tracking.
Speaking of Richard Powers, he talks about some of his favorite nature writers/books in this article from a couple of days ago: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/books/review/by-the-book-richard-powers.html
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I really enjoyed Where Song Began by Tim Low (I am in Australia), as well as E. O. Wilson and Gerald Durrell.
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Thanks for the link–it’s a great interview.
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Also Bernie Krause’s writings and nature sound recordings are fascinating.
I remember my Mum reading me Gerald Durrell when I was young - I wonder if that was a factor in me getting so into animals as I grew up?
My favourite book I’ve read recently is called The Invention of Nature” by Andrea Wulf. It’s a biography of the naturalist Alexander Humboldt, and it’s incredibly inspiring - it makes you want to get out there and explore!
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My favorites:
- Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Tristan Gooley
- Samuel Thayer
- Jean Craighead George
- Nick Baker
- Charles Darwin
A few years ago I read “The Compleat Angler” by Isaak Walton first published in 1653. I got this book on Kindle because it was free. I thought it might be heavy going, but from the first page I was enthralled. Walton gives an in depth summary of British freshwater fish species. As well as discussing bait worms, otters and describing various rivers and streams. I was surprised to learn that the people of the time had already learned that Atlantic salmon returned to the river where they were spawned. They found this out by tagging juvenile salmon with threads of coloured silk.
When we read the history of 17th century Britain we learn about wars, plague and witchcraft trials. This book reminds us that people also took the time to enjoy the natural beauty of pre-industrial England. His description of fishing trips with his friends, staying at an inn where the landlady perfumed their beds with rosemary made me wistfully envious. In another scene Isaak and his companion give their day’s catch to two milkmaids tending cattle. In exchange they ask the women to sing them a song. What makes the book even more poignant is Walton died the year after it was published.
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I am now inspired to write a better history book.
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One you read sand county almanac the way you look at everything around you changes
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Just for that, I have to mention Elisabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and Their Culture. You’ll never view cats the same way again.
Most of the authors I had in mind, people already mentioned, but if we’re including writers of the “old guard,” I will add Euell Gibbons. He was instrumental in shaping my relationship with nature in my formative years.
Please let’s not forget Herbert S. Zim. His field guides may seem woefully inadequate to the serious taxon expert, but for a kid discovering the wonders of nature, they let me put names to what I saw and realize how diverse nature is.
Janisse Ray has been a favorite for a long time.
“Ecology of a Cracker Childhood recounts Ray’s experiences growing up in a junkyard… in the book she surveys the ecological web she experienced as a child; including plant species (Longleaf Pine, Cypress Swamp, Wiregrass, Meadow Beauty, Liatris, Greeneyes), and animal species (Flatwoods salamander, Bachman’s sparrow, Pine Warbler, Carolina Wren, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Brown-Headed Nuthatch, Yellow Breasted Chat, Red-headed woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, and more)… along with how she fits into this world as part of the human species. The book interweaves family history and memoir with natural history writing—specifically, descriptions of the ecology of the vanishing longleaf pine forests that once blanketed much of the Southern US.”
You can read more about her here.
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Sy Montgomery is one of my favorites! She has written a lot of books, one of my favorites is The Hummingbird’s Gift, and I also love The Hawk’s Way.
The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre is a fun collection of stories and observations.
Helen Macdonald: Vesper Flights (a book of essays). Very good.
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is almost always
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As a kid I enjoyed The Durrels of Corfu a lot, and read many books from Cousteau, with a lot of pictures (“commandant” Jacques-Yves Cousteau).
Any recommendation about a serious book describing all the different species, their behavior, ecology, etc.? Even from a different author. I’ve only seen my first free sea turtle not long ago, the most common Green ridley, I could even touch it, and now I’m curious about them…
Jane Goodall and Jean George were formative for me in developing interest in nature, and Ranger Rick and National Wildlife magazines.
David George Haskell, The Forest Unseen is amazing and his other book on trees is good too.
Diane Ackerman, The Genius of Birds is excellent.
Thoreau.
Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation.
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