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Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent's Natural Soul
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 578.097
EAN: 9780865476882
ISBN: 0865476888
Label: North Point Press
Manufacturer: North Point Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: November 09, 2005
Publisher: North Point Press
Release Date: October 20, 2005
Studio: North Point Press
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Editorial Review:
In 1953, birding guru Roger Tory Peterson and noted British naturalist James Fisher set out on what became a legendary journey-a one hundred day trek over 30,000 miles around North America. They traveled from Newfoundland to Florida, deep into the heart of Mexico, through the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and into Alaska's Pribilof Islands. Two years later, Wild America, their classic account of the trip, was published. On the eve of that book's fiftieth anniversary, naturalist Scott Weidensaul retraces Peterson and Fisher's steps to tell the story of wild America today. How has the continent's natural landscape changed over the past fifty years? How have the wildlife, the rivers, and the rugged, untouched terrain fared? The journey takes Weidensaul to the coastal communities of Newfoundland, where he examines the devastating impact of the Atlantic cod fishery's collapse on the ecosystem; to Florida, where he charts the virtual extinction of the great wading bird colonies that Peterson and Fisher once documented; to the Mexican tropics of Xilitla, which have become a growing center of ecotourism since Fisher and Peterson's exposition. And perhaps most surprising of all, Weidensaul finds that much of what Peterson and Fisher discovered remains untouched by the industrial developments of the last fifty years. Poised to become a classic in its own right, Return to Wild America is a sweeping survey of the natural soul of North America today.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A Note of Hope and Optimism
It was March 6, 2008, 11:30 PM and about 15 degrees. Scott Weidensaul and I and two others were peering into the dark at a nearby white spruce tree. The flashlight had died a while ago. There was a Boreal Owl - a life bird for Scott - singing in that tree, and we purely could not see it. Scott had to be exhausted. It was 3:30 in the morning by his internal clock, he had given an outstanding, impassioned presentation to the Alaska Bird Conference that night. And he was scheduled to be in Denali National ... Read More
Rating:  - Not a book for the clueless
The book does imbue one with a sense of moral responsibility towards the wild spirit of Earth. There are still some wildplaces left on the North American continent, but not for long if everyone goes there. Read about the areas, and help them stay wild.
Rating: - It's refreshing to read about successes as well as struggles
In 1953 birder Roger Tory Peterson and British naturalist James Fisher journeyed for a hundred days covering some thirty thousand miles around North America, noting their discoveries in WILD AMERICA: here on the 50th anniversary of their trip naturalist Scott Weidensaul retraces their steps and tells of his findings in RETURN TO WILD AMERICA: A YEARLONG SEARCH FOR THE CONTINENT'S NATURAL SOUL. Many changes have taken place in the areas covered in WILD AMERICA: this documents both sad changes and hopeful ... Read More
Rating: - nature writing at its best
Scott Weidensaul has written another spectacular book. In his tour across wild America, he shares how much of our natural heritage we've lost and gained in the past 50 years. The book is beautifully written and it keeps you interested all the way through. Most importantly, it leaves the reader with a message of hope. Although we've lost a lot and we have a long way to go, there have been many environmental success stories in the past 50 years.
Rating: - As important as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring"
This book has been a walk in the park. Almost literally. Needing nothing more technological than sunlight and, for some of us, a pair of spectacles, reading "Return to Wild America" is the closest thing to "being there." Mr. Weidensaul's prose carries us over the rivers and through the woods. His descriptions allow us to see, hear, feel and occasionally smell the magnificence of nature. It is a wonderful and elating trip. For birders, I am sure that there is the added bonus of familiarity with the beautiful ... Read More
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