The Bottom Line
- Broad diversity of subject matter
- Helpful illustrations
- Easily understandable for general audience
- Functions as both a natural history reader and reference text
- Detailed index
- Softcover only
- Some essays have northeast regional focus
- No color illustrations
Description
- 168 short essays on natural history
- Topics include: birds, mammals, insects, plants, reptiles, fungi, native American history and folklore, and meteorology
- Cost $22.95 + shipping
- Softcover only
- 181 pages
- Purchase a copy
Guide Review - Nature's Way - Observations of a Good Earthkeeper
"Nature's Way - Observations of a Good Earthkeeper" is a collection of short essays written between 1986 - 2001 and published in "The Independent", a twice-weekly newspaper out of Columbia County, New York State. The essays cover a wide swath of natural history topics from fungi to bears, and just about everything in between. Each essay investigates a mystery of nature, which the author covers in a concise, informative, and entertaining manner. The essay are cleverly grouped according to which of the four seasons they pertain.
One could certainly read the book from cover to cover, but the best way to savor "Nature's Way" would be to read it in a piecemeal fashion - one essay at a time - just as the original columns were published. Nature's Way makes for a great coffee table book, waiting room book, or even bedtime story book because each essay tells a concise, complete, interesting, and entertaining story. Once you're done reading the essays, the book serves as an excellent reference text, thanks in part to the helpful index.
In addition to the essays, "Nature's Way" also contains compelling and heart-warming biographical information about the author. The biography recounts how the author rediscovers her true vocation as a naturalist later in life, and who is enthusiastically accompanied in her pursuit of nature's mysteries by her loving husband. In order to gain full appreciation for the essays, I recommend first reading the remarkable biography of Marion Dusoir Ennes in the "Fore Ward" and "After Ward" sections of the text.
