From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands: An Audubon Naturalist Reader - Tapa blanda

"The 436-page book has something for everyone―birders, hikers, hunters, green activists, and local historians included... A handy introduction to some of the genre's luminaries―... Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, Roger Tory Peterson, John Burroughs, Tom Horton, William Warner... If you're a local outdoors lover, you can't help but take pride in knowing that these nature-writing aces have done some of their finest reporting on this region... Read their selections and you'll not only be entertained, you'll have a clearer idea of the natural assets of this region―how they've been savored and squandered and rejuvenated and protected."

"This region of ours is a jewel. If there be any doubt, read these authors. Their voices will fuel not only many future journeys but also explorations of the mind... The readings brim with lyrical prose and memorable lines."

"An extraordinary book that looks through time and space―and through changing perceptions―at the nature of the mid-Atlantic region... The book makes accessible a tremendous and eclectic range of fine regional writing―not only selections from lesser-known authors, but also lesser-known pieces of the many famous writers included."

From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands offers the first collection of nature writing to focus specifically on the attractions of the central Atlantic region. The selections draw on all the outdoor experiences that have brought people closer to the land: exploration, science, travel, country life, conservation, hunting, fishing. Here are Walt Whitman's musings on bird migrations at midnight; John Lederer's account of the first recorded expedition, with native guides, to the summit of the Blue Ridge mountains; Pendleton Kennedy's reflections on a nineteenth-century fishing trip to Blackwater River; and Tom Horton on serious dangers the Potomac continues to face. From the awe and wonder of the first explorers to cries for conservation from contemporary writers, From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands gathers examples of our changing views of the natural world and the values we place upon it.