Sign-In
Cart
Of Prairie, Woods, & Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing
Paperback
Fiction AnthologiesNature Writing
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0226306615
ISBN13: 9780226306612
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: Apr 1 2008
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.29
Height: 0.92 Width: 6.13 Depth: 8.86
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780226306612
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: Apr 1 2008
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.29
Height: 0.92 Width: 6.13 Depth: 8.86
Language: English
In the literary imagination, Chicago evokes images of industry and unbridled urban growth. But the tallgrass prairie and deep forests that once made up Chicago's landscape also inspired musings from residents and visitors alike. In Of Prairie, Woods, and Water, naturalist Joel Greenberg gathers these unique voices from the land to present an unexpected portrait of Chicago in this often charming, sometimes heart-wrenching anthology of nature writing.
These writings tell the tale of a land in transition-one with abundant, unique, and incredibly lush flora and fauna, a natural history quite elusive today. Drawing on archives he uncovered while writing his acclaimed A Natural History of the Chicago Region, Greenberg hand-selected these first-person narratives, all written between 1721 and 1959. Not every author is familiar, but every contribution is distinctive. From a pioneer's hilarious notes on life in the Kankakee marsh to Theodore Drieser's poignant plea for conservation of the Tippecanoe River to infamous murderer Nathan Leopold's charming description of a pet robin he kept in prison, the sources included are as diverse as the nature they describe.
The excerpts conclude with insightful biographical essays and traverse a wide area of greater Chicagoland, from the Illinois River to southwest Michigan, from southern Wisconsin to the Limberlost swamp of northeastern Indiana. A fascinating record of Chicago's changing environmental history, Of Prairie, Woods, and Water captures the natural world in a way that will inspire its continued conservation. Errata: We have learned the title of a book by the Chicago ecologist and writer May Theilgaard Watts has been incorrectly rendered in the selections attributed to Mrs. Watts. The correct title of her book is Reading the Landscape of America (Nature Study Guild Publishers, see http: //naturestudy.com). This will be corrected in the next printing. We very much regret the error.
The excerpts conclude with insightful biographical essays and traverse a wide area of greater Chicagoland, from the Illinois River to southwest Michigan, from southern Wisconsin to the Limberlost swamp of northeastern Indiana. A fascinating record of Chicago's changing environmental history, Of Prairie, Woods, and Water captures the natural world in a way that will inspire its continued conservation. Errata: We have learned the title of a book by the Chicago ecologist and writer May Theilgaard Watts has been incorrectly rendered in the selections attributed to Mrs. Watts. The correct title of her book is Reading the Landscape of America (Nature Study Guild Publishers, see http: //naturestudy.com). This will be corrected in the next printing. We very much regret the error.
Also in
Nature Writing
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Paperback
From $12.99
The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present
Brusatte, Steve
Hardcover
$33.25
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate--Discoveries from a Secret World
Wohlleben, Peter
Paperback
$17.06
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Hardcover
$38.00
To Catch a Fish: Essays on the Joy, Frustration, Curiosity, and Allure of Fishing
Kurlansky, Mark
Hardcover
$23.75
The Fullness of Time: Marking the Day by Birdsong, Blooms, Shadows, and Stars
Haynes, Cathy
Hardcover
$28.80
I Have This Thing for Flowers: Essays on the Roots of Relationships
Sawchyn, Alysia Li Ying
Hardcover
$26.09
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Paperback
$18.00
In the Range of Fire and Ice: A Human and Natural History of Washington's Cascades
Williams, David B.
Hardcover
$28.45
Exploring the Maine Woods - The Hardy Family Expedition to the Machias Lakes
Hardy Eckstorm, Fannie
Carbone, Tommy
Paperback
$18.00
Outsider Animals: How the Creatures at the Margins of Our Lives Have the Most to Teach Us
Zuk, Marlene
Hardcover
$26.96
The Shortest History of Our Universe: The Unlikely Journey from the Big Bang to Us
Baker, David
Paperback
$16.10
Werner's Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts
Syme, Patrick
Werner
Hardcover
$41.24
The Language of Trees: How Trees Make Our World, Change Our Minds, and Rewild Our Lives
Holten, Katie
Paperback
From $12.99
The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, Revised Edition
Dennis, Jerry
Paperback
$18.00
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
Dolnick, Edward
Paperback
From $11.99
The Whispers of Rock: The Stories That Stone Tells about Our World and Our Lives
Khatwa, Anjana
Hardcover
$28.50
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
Williams, Florence
Paperback
From $10.99
The Call of the Honeyguide: What Science Tells Us about How to Live Well with the Rest of Life
Dunn, Rob
Hardcover
$28.80
Braiding Sweetgrass / Una Trenza de Hierba Sagrada: Sabiduría Indígena, Conocimiento Científico Y Las Enseñanzas de Las Plantas
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Paperback
$18.99
We Love You: An Optimistic Guide to Life on a Rock Floating Through Space
Sullivan, Thomas
Min, Andy
Hardcover
$22.49
First Adirondackers: 12,000 Years of Indigenous Peoples in the Adirondack Uplands
Fadden, David Kanietakeron
Stager, Curt
Paperback
$25.60
What Is Intelligence?: Lessons from AI about Evolution, Computing, and Minds
Aguera Y. Arcas, Blaise
Paperback
$35.10
Werner's Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts
Syme, Patrick
Hardcover
$15.15
Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science
Bergland, Renée
Paperback
$21.80
The California Naturalist Handbook, Second Edition
Merenlender, Adina
Edelman, Deborah
De Nevers, Greg
Paperback
$33.20
Bonefish Dreams: Stories, Facts, and Tips from Travels to the World's Best Destinations
Foster, Frank
Paperback
$24.95
Astonished by Beauty: A Field Guide to the Practice of Paying Attention
Fleischner, Thomas Lowe
Paperback
$16.10
House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest
Childs, Craig
Paperback
$21.84
Seashells: A Compendium of Five Thousand of the World's Species
Rosenberg, Gary
Callomon, Paul
Hardcover
$47.45
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Hardcover
From $12.99
Permafrost Is an Archive: And Other Inheritances from the Alaska-Yukon Borderlands
Cook, Corinna
Paperback
$21.84
Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis
Proulx, Annie
Paperback
$18.05
Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change
Hanson, Thor
Paperback
$18.99
Animal Diaspora: Decoding Ice Age Mysteries to Reveal the Future of Migration
Struzik, Edward
Hardcover
$30.40
Radically Wild: True Tales of Adventure, Wilderness Survival, and Hard Lessons
Sunderwald, Scott
Paperback
$24.22
The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks
Williams, Terry Tempest
Paperback
$20.90
Seabirds as Sentinels: Auklets, Puffins, Shearwaters, and the View from Destruction Island
Wagner, Eric
Hardcover
$31.30
National Geographic Backyard Guide to Edible Wild Plants
Wood Buzzard, Heather
Hernandez, Mimi Prunella
Paperback
$23.74
Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth and Ourselves
Johnson, Wendy, MD MPH
Paperback
$19.90
The Language of Trees (Special Edition): How Trees Make Our World, Change Our Minds, and Rewild Our Lives
Holten, Katie
Hardcover
$28.80
Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World's Most Poisonous Plants
Larsson, Sonny
Dauncey, Elizabeth A.
Hardcover
$35.15
The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
Childs, Craig
Paperback
$18.99