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Catalog

AWARD WINNERS

John Burroughs Medal

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

The Sea Around Us

The Sea Around Us

by Rachel Carson

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

The beautifully illustrated edition of Carson's hugely popular, influential paean to the sea, featuring 130 luminous color photographs. (OCE05, $75.00)

The Desert Year

The Desert Year

by Joseph Wood Krutch

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

Joseph Wood Krutch celebrates the austere beauty, rugged plants and many animals of American Southwest in this classic account of his first year in Arizona, winner of the 1954 John Burroughs Medal for a Distingushed Book of Natural History -- and as enchanting today. With 33 original illustrations by Rudolf Freund. (USW652, $19.95)

A Naturalist in Alaska

A Naturalist in Alaska

by Adolphe Murie

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 302 PAGES

Engaging, informative stories of wildlife encounters and observations by Denali's premier naturalist. Murie writes with wide-eyed wonder at the cycle of animal life in Denali in this charming account, first published in 1961 and still an excellent introduction to the park. (ALA44, $19.95)

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

by Aldo Leopold

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1968
  • PAPER
  • 228 PAGES

Leopold memorably opens this much-loved, essential collection of essays on land, nature and his farm in Wisconsin, first published in 1948, with the statement: "there are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot." The book has lost none of its power or beauty over the years. The book is also available in a commemorative hard cover gift edition (NAT111, $40.00) with 85 color photographs. (NAT02, $15.95)

Of Wolves and Men

Of Wolves and Men

by Barry Lopez

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 302 PAGES

This eloquent, powerful book is an outstanding overview of the wolf, as well as a survey of wolf mythology and its relationship to human society. First published in the 1980s, it has been reprinted with a new afterword by the author. (BST31, $20.00)

The Klamath Knot

by David Rains Wallace

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER

The 20th-anniversary edition of Wallace's celebrated meditation on the natural history, myth and meaning of the Klamath mountains of northern California and southern Oregon. (CAL251, $24.95)

Cry of the Kalahari, Seven Years in Africa's Last Great Wilderness

Cry of the Kalahari, Seven Years in Africa's Last Great Wilderness

by Mark Owens | Delia Owens

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

The story of a family thrown out of Botswana for its stance on conservation. While their approach to conservation is controversial, there's no doubt that the Owens are dedicated to the wildlife of southern Africa -- and are very good writers. (SAF13, $16.00)

Gathering the Desert

by Gary Paul Nabhan

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 209 PAGES

An ecologist with a particular interest in the origins of foodstuffs, Nabhan interweaves ethnography, biochemistry, natural history and journalism in this well-written account of desert cultures and botany in the American Southwest. (USW120, $22.95)

The Island Within

The Island Within

by Richard Nelson

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 284 PAGES

A beautifully written tribute to the Pacific Northwest. Drawn from the author's journals, this is an account of the natural and cultural history of an island in the waters of Haida Strait, with emphasis on the relationship between people and the land. (ALA17, $17.00)

The Control of Nature

The Control of Nature

by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

In the classic McPhee tradition, these sparkling essays explore our generally feeble attempts to combat all-powerful nature, including valient efforts by Icelanders to control the flow of a volcano across the harbor at Heimaey in the Westman Islands. (NAT01, $16.00)

The Crystal Desert

The Crystal Desert

by David Campbell

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 308 PAGES

A biologist with the heart of a poet, Campbell focuses on fossils, glaciers, history and wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula in these vivid essays. (ANT01, $20.95)

Into Africa, With a New Postcript

Into Africa, With a New Postcript

by Craig Packer

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 292 PAGES

Packer writes of a year in the field, from studying primates at Gombe to the lions of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. (EAF77, $27.50)

Water, Ice and Stone, Science and Memory on the Antarctic Lakes

Water, Ice and Stone, Science and Memory on the Antarctic Lakes

by Bill Green

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 283 PAGES

This lyrical memoir of life and work in Antarctica is an excellent introduction to the 1,000-square-mile McMurdo Dry Valleys and modern research. (ANT42, $15.95)

The Song of the Dodo

The Song of the Dodo

by David Quammen

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 700 PAGES

Clearly written and engaging, Quammen narrates his adventures on the trail of natural wonders in Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Galapagos and Komodo and explains complex evolutionary phenomena with humor, wit and understanding. (CON05, $22.00)

Eye of the Albatross, Visions of Hope and Survival

by Carl Safina

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 377 PAGES

A passionate tribute and clarion call for the albatross. (BRD14, $18.99)

The Singing Life of Birds, The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong

The Singing Life of Birds, The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong

by Donald E. Kroodsma

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 482 PAGES

An account of a life in the field organized around an illuminating, personal analysis of the songs of 30 North American birds (with accompanying CD). With line drawings, tables, charts and sound spectrograms. (BRD22, $16.95)

Eating Stone, Imagination And the Loss of the Wild

Eating Stone, Imagination And the Loss of the Wild

by Ellen Meloy

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Meloy writes endearingly of her time spent studying bighorn sheep in the canyonlands of Utah. (SWU219, $15.00)

The Fragile Edge, Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific

The Fragile Edge, Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific

by Julia Whitty

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Whitty illuminates coral reefs, their inhabitants and the pleasures of diving in this memoir of underwater adventures in Rangiroa, Tuvalu and Moorea. Winner of the 2008 Kiriyama Prize and John Burroughs Medal. (PAC173, $14.95)

Sand, The Never-Ending Story

Sand, The Never-Ending Story

by Michael Welland

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 343 PAGES

Deserts, dunes, tides, storms, sand in our lives -- and between our toes -- is all covered in this digressive, surprisingly absorbing John Burroughs Medal-winning series of essays. (NAT200, $21.95)

 

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.