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	<title>The Well-read Naturalist</title>
	
	<link>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com</link>
	<description>The Natural History Book Review</description>
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		<title>Princeton University Press Launches Princeton Global Science</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/RfvKeYVBIck/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/09/princeton-university-press-launches-princeton-global-science/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Princeton]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In furtherance of their stated mission "to acquire and publish the most innovative and meaningful titles from today’s leading scholars," Princeton University Press has launched Priceton Global Science.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In furtherance of their stated mission &#8220;to acquire and publish the most innovative and meaningful titles from today’s leading scholars and most importantly, to make it accessible to you,&#8221; Princeton University Press has launched <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/princeton-global-science-2/">Priceton Global Science</a>. This exciting new program brings together the expertise and experience of Princeton&#8217;s top science editors from various areas of study in order to provide readers with not only a continuously expanding range of interesting new titles but also to offer insight into all the work that goes into the production of these works.</p>
<p>In the run-up to the launch, the <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog" target="_blank">Princeton University Press blog</a> published interviews with all the Princeton Global Science editors: <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5365" target="_blank">Robert Kirk</a>, <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5477" target="_blank">Vickie Kearn</a>, <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5757" target="_blank">Ingrid Gnerlich</a>, <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5747" target="_blank">Alison Kalett</a>, <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5811" target="_blank">Eric Schwartz</a>, and <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/blog/?p=5693" target="_blank">Anne Savarese</a>. These interviews are both interesting as well as highly illuminating; needless to state &#8211; they are all well worth the time to read in their entirety.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Recently Noted Reviews</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/TOKEOJYT9B8/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/08/recently-noted-reviews/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past week has been a relatively active one in regard to commentary and reviews of recently published natural history books.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This past week has been a relatively active one in regard to commentary and reviews of recently published natural history books.</p>
<p>Grant over at <em>The Birder&#8217;s Library</em> has a new review of Bridget Stutchbury&#8217;s <em><a href="http://www.birderslibrary.com/reviews/books/biology_behavior/private_lives_of_birds.htm" target="_blank">The Private Lives of Birds: A Scientist Reveals the Intricacies of Avian Social Life</a></em>  (<a href="http://www.walkerbooks.com/">Walker &amp; Co</a>.).</p>
<p>Over at <em>The Drinking Bird</em>, Nate reviewed one of the most recent additions to The Princeton Illustrated Checklist series, in this case <em><a href="http://thedrinkingbirdblog.com/2010/08/06/review-birds-of-the-westindies">Birds of the West Indies</a></em> by Normon Arlott.</p>
<p>Ian at <em>The Birdbooker Report</em> has overviews of <a href="http://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-and-recent-titles_30.html" target="_blank">three new titles</a> concerning, respectively, geese, raptors, and marine mammals.</p>
<p>Ian has also teamed up with GrrlScientist at <em>Mantiraptora</em> to publish a <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/grrlscientist/2010/08/birdbooker_report_132.html" target="_blank">Birdbooker Report on that site</a> (#132 in the series). This present edition provides commentaries on new titles that discuss petrified forests, the dinosaur mural at Yale, the dating of fossils, vetebrate fossils of Florida, and, in a bit of a divergence from the theme, the bats (not fossilized but presently existing ones) of Florida.</p>
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		<title>Win Free Natural History Books!</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/1OCeiHtPQJs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/08/win-free-natural-history-books/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:02:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contest]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=804</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["Win free natural history books!" Now there's a sentence that surely gets my attention and I expect yours as well.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a rel="powells-9780691134284" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691134284?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780691134284.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="187" /></a>&#8220;Win free natural history books!&#8221; Now there&#8217;s a sentence that surely gets my attention and I expect yours as well; which is no doubt why the good people at <a href="http://press.princeton.edu">Princeton University Press</a> are holding the contest that is so succinctly summarized by that vocative exhortation. Nevertheless, it is a sentiment that we can all certainly join together in pronouncing laudable.</p>
<p>The premise is quite simple. Either visit the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/PrincetonUniversityPress?ref=ts" target="_blank">Princeton University Press Facebook page</a> and indicate your positive feelings toward it and the fine publishing institution it represents (or in Facebook lingo – “like” it), or activate your favorite Twitter-monitoring application and add <a href="http://twitter.com/PrincetonUPress" target="_blank">Princeton University Press</a> to the roster of those you “follow.”</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780691134260" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691134260?p_cv"><img class="alignright" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780691134260.jpg" alt="" /></a>Should you be selected this coming Friday, August 27, 2010, from all of Princeton University Press’ admirers and followers, you will receive two of their recently published books: <em><a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8996.html" target="_blank">Birds of Western North America: A Photographic Guide</a></em> by Paul Sterry and Brian E. Small, and <em><a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8995.html" target="_blank">Birds of Eastern North America: A Photographic Guide</a></em>, also by Messrs. Sterry and Small.</p>
<p>Good luck to all, and should you find yourself so inclined, please don’t hesitate to also <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wellreadnaturalist" target="_blank">“like&#8221; the Facebook page</a> of The Well-read Naturalist and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wellreadnaturalist" target="_blank">“follow” it on Twitter</a>. It won&#8217;t increase your chances to win in the least but I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ll hold it against you either (no guarantees though), and it would certainly do a world of good for this publication&#8217;s Internet footprint.</p>
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		<title>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/zIwTXZ4_5Mc/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/08/the-evolution-of-calpurnia-tate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=786</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Calpurnia Tate is the child all naturalists wish they were as children: endlessly curious, possessing of boundless energy, and most important of all, beginning their explorations of the natural world at an age when the mind has not yet been conditioned to repress questions because they might seem silly or pointless to others.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until they went home.</em></p>
<p>Thus declares eleven and three quarters year old Calpurnia Tate in defense of the life of independent learning and discovery she intends to lead upon achieving the age of majority. Sadly, and as she comes to learn, in the Texas countryside of 1899, just because a girl grows up to be a woman does not mean she will necessarily be able to control her own destiny. However to fix one’s attention on this single thread of the exquisite narrative braid that Jacqueline Kelly’s novel <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780805088410" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780805088410?p_ti"><em>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</em></a> weaves for the reader would be akin to missing the splendor of a field of wildflowers for the sake of a single bud.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/calpurnia_tate_500x250.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-847" title="calpurnia_tate_500x250" src="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/calpurnia_tate_500x250.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="250" /></a></p>
<p>Born into a solidly middle-class farming family in post Civil War Texas, where although the land has since healed the people who inhabit it still bear tender and very visible scars, Calpurnia “Callie Vee” Tate finds herself in the summer of 1899 standing not only at the edge of adolescence but upon the edge of a new century as well – a century that will be dominated not by horses and wagons but by combustion engines and telephones. Distances will shorten, time will be compressed, and vast possibilities will open up for many who never dared dream of them before. Yet as seen through the eyes of a young girl in Fentress, Texas, the world is very much as it likely has always been and shall likely always be.</p>
<p>That is unless said young girl one day notices that there seem to be two different types of grasshoppers to be found in the fields near her family’s pecan orchard surrounded home. Even more importantly that merely noticing this curious fact, she asks the crucial question upon which all scientific investigation, all experimentation, all human activity that seeks to shine the light of knowledge and understanding through the darkness of ignorance and fear rests: “Why?”</p>
<p>Asking this one simple and seemingly innocent question and setting out to discover its answer leads her to a host of other wholly unexpected discoveries, from the writings of Charles Darwin and the fears his work brought to the surface in many who preferred their world unexamined and unexplained, to her mysterious and solitary grandfather, the history of her own family, and the often unpleasant realities existing just beneath the surface of her seemingly well-ordered world. Yet perhaps even more important than her discoveries are her questions (recorded as a recurring stream of asides that make the novel’s first person narrative so marvelously authentic) not only about the world around her but about herself and her place in it.</p>
<p>In the hands of a writer of less skill and a smaller imagination, Calpurnia’s story might easily be spun out in a series of treacle-sweet and over-wrought vignettes populated by cliché characters (the novel is intended for “young adult” readers after all). Fortunately Callie Vee sprung from the mind of Jacqueline Kelly, a writer of sublime skill and superb creativity who through the application of her talent enables the story to transcend the boundaries of conventional “young adult” fiction and attain that seldom-achieved level of story-telling that defies categorization. Because of this, Calpurnia’s adventures, her discoveries, and even her failures are recounted with a straight-forward honesty of spirit that brings the beauty and wonder of a budding naturalist’s mind to the reader with such clarity that personal association, especially for those of a naturalist mind themselves, is unavoidable.</p>
<p>Calpurnia Tate is the child all naturalists wish they were as children: endlessly curious, possessing of boundless energy, and most important of all, beginning their explorations of the natural world at an age when the mind has not yet been conditioned to repress questions because they might seem silly or pointless to others. It is devotedly hoped that <em>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</em> will be read by young and old alike, to inspire, remind, or rekindle, as the case may be, in the reader the spirit of open and honest inquiry about the world around them and the myriad forms of life inhabiting it – including the people living right alongside them in their own homes.</p>
<p><em>In 2010, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was selected as a Newberry Honor Book by the by the American Library Association.</em></p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780805088410" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780805088410?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780805088410.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="180" /></a>Title: <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780805088410" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780805088410?p_ti" target="_blank">The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</a></p>
<p>Author: Jacqueline Kely</p>
<p>Publisher: <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/theevolutionofcalpurniatate" target="_blank">Henry Holt and Co.</a></p>
<p>Date of Publication: May 2009</p>
<p>ISBN: 978-0-8050-8841-0</p>
<p><em>In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was purchased by the reviewer.</em></p>
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		<title>Recommended Books for Birders Visiting Panama</title>
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		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/07/recommended-books-for-birders-visiting-panama/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:28:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ornithology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chicago]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cornell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geographic]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[panama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Princeton]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Regardless of where your travels might take you in this world (and if Sir Richard Branson is successful in his venture, any other) it&#8217;s always a good idea to read-up on your destination before you go. For travelling naturalists and wildlife photographers, such preliminary study is not just a good idea, it&#8217;s of paramount importance. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Regardless of where your travels might take you in this world (and if Sir Richard Branson is successful in <a href="http://www.virgingalactic.com/">his venture</a>, any other) it&#8217;s always a good idea to read-up on your destination before you go. For travelling naturalists and wildlife photographers, such preliminary study is not just a good idea, it&#8217;s of paramount importance. That&#8217;s why, from the moment I confirmed that my trip to Panama was a &#8220;go,&#8221; I walked directly to my bookshelves and began taking down the volumes that I would need either to read in advance or to take with me on the journey.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9781426201462" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9781426201462?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9781426201462.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="194" /></a>First and foremost, even if you are travelling for the purpose of viewing or photographic wildlife, you will still be encountering people who call your destination home. If your travels have led you to a country other than the one in which you reside, you may find youself needing to understand customs (not to mention languages) with which you are not familiar. Therefore a good overview written by someone possessing extensive familiarity with your destination is essential. For my trip to Panama, I have in the past relied upon <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9781426201462" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9781426201462?p_ti"><em>National Geographic Traveler: Panama</em></a> by Christopher P. Baker (<a href="http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/category/books;jsessionid=09A4C2B8802C05EF50146281077DE288?navAction=pop">National Geographic</a>). Long the gold standard when it comes to providing explanations of peoples and cultures to interested readers, Baker&#8217;s Panama volume does a fine job of maintaining that publisher&#8217;s well-deserved reputation. Beginning with a brief overview of Panamanian history followed by a section on the nation&#8217;s natural history, the remainder of the book is given over to a region by region commentary, pointing out places of both importance and interest, and as always richly augmented by superb photographs and maps (this is a National Geographic publication after all).</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780801474231" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780801474231?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780801474231.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="184" /></a>Next, if bird watching is to be your principle activity while in Panama, spending some time prior to your journey consulting George Angehr, Dodge Engleman, and Lorna Engleman&#8217;s <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780801474231" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780801474231?p_ti"><em>A Bird-Finding Guide to Panama</em></a> (<a href="http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu">Cornell University Press</a>) will be time well spent indeed. A cornerstone of essential travel literature for bird watchers visiting Panama, this book contains a wealth of information and advice that will be of inestimable value in finding not only the best places to see birds while in the country and even provides helpful lists of the birds likely to be found in those areas. Of particular interest to more advanced bird watchers are the insider tips that can help to find those out-of-the-way locations that can provide the best views of some of the hard-to-see species that might otherwise be missed. Even if you are staying in such a world-famous bird-watching lodge such as <a href="http://www.canopytower.com">Canopy Tower</a> and are exploring under the masterful leadership of their expert guides, <em>A Bird-Finding Guide to Panama</em> will help you to discover the essentials about the areas in which you will be watching birds so that you might consult your field guides prior to your trip to study the significant potential species to be seen. As the book contains driving directions and accessibility information, those venturing through Panama on their own are very much advised to take a copy of the book along with them on their journey.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780691025124" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691025124?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780691025124.jpg" alt="" /></a>This then brings up the topic of field guides that explain and depict the birds of Panama. The principle guide for the country has long been Robert S. Ridgely and John A. Gwynne Jr.&#8217;s <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780691025124" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691025124?p_ti"><em>A Guide To the Birds of Panama, with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras</em></a> (<a href="http://press.princeton.edu/birds/">Princeton University Press</a>). Now in its second edition, this massive tome provides extensive information on just about everything that the bird watcher visiting Panama would wish to know about the birds that make the area either their part of full-time home. In addition to the basic format by which information on each species&#8217; description, similar species, status and distribution, and range are presented, entries on many species also include important and useful information about that species&#8217; habits (crucial information, to be sure, for all photographers wanting to set up a shot in advance). Illustrations of many of the species discussed in the text are provided in centrally located color plates with additional black and white drawings interspersed among the text itself. Unfortunately, this book does not include any range maps so all geographic references must be extracted from the information presented in the individual species profiles. It is also quite large (534 pages on heavy stock paper) and thus not ideal for carrying on the field. Thus while it is virtually without peer in terms of the information it can provide about the birds to be seen in Panama, a smaller, more visually-oriented guide for carrying into the field should also be acquired for the trip.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780691120706" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691120706?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780691120706.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="181" /></a> When it comes to visually-oriented field guides to popular bird and wildlife watching locations throughout the world, few can reasonably claim to do better than the <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/catalogs/series/pic.html">Princeton Illustrated Checklists</a>, which is why I wouldn&#8217;t think of visiting Panama without this series&#8217; volume covering the <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780691120706" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691120706?p_ti"><em>Birds of Mexico and Central America</em></a> (<a href="http://press.princeton.edu/birds/">Princeton University Press</a>) by Ber Van Perlo. Superbly designed to present as much visual information about the species included in as small and portable a format as possible, Van Perlo is able to cover the more than 1,500 bird species occurring in Central America within a remarkable 98 full color plates. Textual information is kept to a minimum &#8211; only the most essential points that would be needed in the field are included to save space. In addition, the last portion of the guide is devoted entirely to range and distribution maps. Now admittedly, fitting all this information in to a 336 page book printed on the high quality of paper stock suitable for the full color depiction of some of the world&#8217;s most vibrantly colored birds, and keeping it to a length and width that allow it to be carried comfortably in a field vest pocket did require a little shrinking of both the individual bird images as well as the maps. However, most anyone going into the field with an intended purpose that warrants carrying this book will certainly have either a small magnifying glass, or a binocular that can be turned upside down to serve as a field macroscope, on hand should it occassionally be found necessary to get a more detailed look at either an illustration or a map that is just a little too small to be viewed comfortably with the unaided eye. A small price to ask, really, for the capability to instantly reference each and every bird you might possible see in any of the bird-rich countries covered by the book. Needless to write &#8211; this book will be a constant companion to me while I am in Panama.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780691009742" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691009742?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780691009742.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="181" /></a>Finally, for those who really want to &#8220;go deeper&#8221; in pursuit of an understanding of the natural history not only of Panama itself but of the tropics in general, two books in particular are recommended. The first is a work that if it is not already a classic of natural history then it is certainly on its way to becoming so. In such high regard is it held that the American Birding Association&#8217;s <a href="http://www.aba.org/bex/">Birders&#8217; Exchange</a> program published a Spanish translation of it in 2007 and has since distributed thousands of copies throughout Latin America in an effort to help enlighten the local residents there about their respective region&#8217;s biological systems and importance thereof to the world. I mean, of course, John Kricher&#8217;s <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780691009742" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780691009742?p_ti"><em>A Neotropical Companion: An Introduction to the Animals, Plants, and Ecosystems of the New World Tropics</em> (Second Edition)</a> (<a href="http://press.princeton.edu/birds/">Princeton University Press</a>) From the plants and animals to the geography and climate of the tropical band between North and South America, Kricher&#8217;s book covers it all in a manner that is as applicable to those just approaching the natural history of the area for the first time as it is to seasoned biologists seeking commentary on this fascinating region of the world.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780226468280" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780226468280?p_cv"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: #4c290d 1px solid;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780226468280.jpg" alt="" /></a>Then, if your wish is to expand the horizon of the subject to all the tropical areas of the world, Marco Lambertini&#8217;s <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780226468280" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780226468280?p_ti"><em>A Naturalist&#8217;s Guide to the Tropics</em></a> (translated by John Venerella and published by <a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu">The University of Chicago Press</a>) is an absolute must-read. I took this book with me on my first visit to Panama and I&#8217;m bringing it along once again for reading on the flight as well as for a &#8220;before bed&#8221; read while in the country. Lambertini, the Chief Executive of <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/index.html">BirdLife International</a>, takes the largest possible view of his subject in the book and in so doing enlightens the reader not simply about the tropical regions of one particular geographic area but explains how tropical regions throughout the world hold certain similarities to one another that make them both extraordinarily rich in diversity of life and extraordinarily ecologically fragile. Replete with helpful illustrations (both black and white as well as color), maps, diagrams, charts, and tables, this book provides an wonderful overview of tropical natural history for the interested amateur as well as enlightening reading for the professional who may not previously have considered the subject on so large a scale, <em>A Naturalist&#8217;s Guide to the Tropics</em> has been one of my favorite natural history books since I first read it some years ago (it was originally published in 2000) and I look forward to another reading of it filling my hours in the air during the trip.</p>
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		<title>Butterfly Photographer’s Handbook</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/j612R2lX77I/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/06/butterfly-photographers-handbook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entomology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[butterfly]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[folsom]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technique]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[From their spectacularly colorful wings that can be maddeningly difficult to get into proper focus to their flighty feeding habits that cause them to move to another flower a split second before the shutter release button is depressed, butterfly photography can test photographic skills in ways few other nature subjects can.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Of all the popular photographic subjects in nature, few can rival butterflies in terms of color, variety, and charisma; however few subjects also present the photographer with more technical challenges. From their spectacularly colorful wings that can be maddeningly difficult to get into proper focus to their flighty feeding habits that cause them to move to another flower a split second before the shutter release button is depressed, butterfly photography can test photographic skills in ways few other nature subjects can. Therefore if one is to embark upon any serious attempt, be it amateur or professional, artistic or scientific, at digitally recording images of butterflies, the availability of a wise and experienced teacher who has mastered the techniques needed to do sosuccessfully is invaluable. William B. Folsom is such a teacher and his <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9781584282471" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9781584282471?p_ti"><em>Butterfly Photographer&#8217;s Handbook: A Comprehensive Reference for Nature Photographers</em></a> is just such a collection of wisdom and experience.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/butterfly_photographers_cover-e1282708751378.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-834" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" title="butterfly_photographers_cover" src="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/butterfly_photographers_cover-e1282708751378.jpg" alt="" width="193" height="250" /></a>As an understanding of one’s photographic subject is essential for any nature photographer, Folsom’s handbook begins with a presentation of the natural history of butterflies, including basic explanations of their anatomy, biology, and the basic groupings within the two butterfly taxonomic superfamilies Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. (In keeping with the book’s title, discussions of and references to moths are essentially non-existent; a good choice on the part of the author as photography of this larger portion of the Lepidoptera requires a significant number of additional and highly specialized techniques likely to be of little interest or use to any but specialists.)</p>
<p>From this overview of the subjects themselves Folsom transitions into more detailed explanations of the life cycle and daily habits of butterflies, framing the information in reference to the utility of such knowledge to the photographer. He also includes some very useful information on how the photographer should behave around his or her intended subjects – such as explaining effective methods of close approach through the use of the “fright” and “flight” zone structure, and the use of the move and focus technique.</p>
<p>Finally, Folsom covers the various technical aspects of photographing butterflies, including his recommendations for selecting the right equipment for the task. While not formally endorsing Nikon, Folsom is candid as to his personal use of that brand of camera bodies and lenses, thus his references to particular lens configurations are most often given in reference to Nikon models (users of other camera brands should have little trouble translating these references to similar products in their own preferred brand’s product line). One particular equipment recommendation he makes, that of using telephoto zoom lenses over dedicated macro lenses, might initially strike some readers as unusual; however Folsom’s rationale for this choice is well reasoned and explained so effectively that some readers already possessing dedicated macro lenses might find themselves suddenly contemplating the purchase of a new addition to their camera bags.</p>
<p>Even more important that the selection of the right equipment, of course, is the knowledge of how to use it most effectively for the purpose at hand, and in this area Folsom’s experience and wisdom truly shine. From advice on selecting the right settings to use for the best results to instruction on techniques he has discovered to provide the greatest chances for success in the field, most every reader from the novice to the professional is likely to find something here that was previously unknown to them. One particularly useful technique Folsom explains concerns a very handy field method of determining the appropriate ISO settings for the lighting conditions under which the photographic session is taking place. Another concerns finding the best location on which to position the focal point of the image for best results (it’s not necessarily what many people might think).</p>
<p>Just as with any type of nature photography, photographing butterflies can be challenging and guarantees of success are never possible – even for the most experienced of photographers. However the time spent in reading William B. Folsom’s <em>Butterfly Photographer’s Handbook</em>, taking note of what it presents, and practicing the techniques it describes will very likely be found to have been more than worth the while in increasing the photographer’s chances of success in the field – both in regard to increasing the overall number of useable images recorded and in elevating the level of quality to be found in those images themselves.</p>
<p>Title: <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9781584282471" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9781584282471?p_ti"><em>Butterfly Photographer&#8217;s Handbook: A Comprehensive Reference for Nature Photographers</em></a></p>
<p>Author: <a href="http://wfolsom.com">William B. Folsom</a></p>
<p>Publisher: <a href="http://www.amherstmedia.com">Amherst Media</a></p>
<p>Format: paperback, 125 pages</p>
<p>ISBN: 9781584282471</p>
<p><em>In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.</em></p>
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		<title>The Green Bible</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/EhdTz9f_s8E/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/06/the-green-bible/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:30:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darwin]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Ecology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[naturalist]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=748</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is too easily forgotten that some of the world’s greatest naturalists were also devoutly religious. None other than Charles Darwin himself studied to be a clergyman prior to his sailing on the H.M. S. Beagle. His very journals written during this history-changing voyage are replete with references drawn directly out of his wrote knowledge of the Christian scriptures.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For roughly 2.1 billion people around the world, the printed tome that combines the Hebrew and Greek Testaments to tell the story of a Semitic-speaking people inhabiting the Middle East from the beginning of its (and many believe, all of our collective) history through the life, death, and resurrection of its Messiah is understood as the significant guide by which one’s life is to be governed. While interpretations of its inerrancy, how it is to be understood, and by what means its teachings are to be enacted differ among the many Christian denominations, one things is abundantly clear – as a book, it has had and continues to have more influence on human life than any other written work known to mankind. Naturally, this includes all the fields of study categorized under the general term natural history.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/greenbible-e1282709722591.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-841" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" title="greenbible" src="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/greenbible-e1282709722591.jpg" alt="" width="165" height="250" /></a>It is too easily forgotten that some of the world’s greatest naturalists were also devoutly religious. None other than Charles Darwin himself studied to be a clergyman prior to his sailing on the H.M. S. Beagle. His very journals written during this history-changing voyage are replete with references drawn directly out of his wrote knowledge of the Christian scriptures. Sadly, in our own present day, while passages from the Bible are still frequently cited in discussions and debates on topics ranging from the minutiae of cellular research to the expansive theories of global ecology, all too often these citations are made by those opposing the investigations of scientists and defending the idea that mankind was intended to hold dominion over the natural world and put its resources to whatever purposes we see fit. Often repulsed by the more reactionary forms of contemporary Christian dogma, too many modern naturalists eschew the contemplation of the Bible; thus what was once a cornerstone of the accumulated knowledge of all educated people has too often become an impenetrable wall dividing two groups who are rapidly losing a common contextual language through which communication is possible. For this last reason, the recent publication of <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780061627996" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780061627996?p_ti"><em>The Green Bible</em></a> by HarperOne is a most welcome development as it presents the cornerstone scriptures of Christianity in a manner that also offers those whose interests lay more in questions of taxonomy than theology, in nature rather than The Nativity, a reason to consider them and what they teach about mankind’s relationship to the natural world.</p>
<p>Following in the tradition of some Bible publishers who print the direct quotations of Jesus found in the Greek (or New) Testament in red so as to emphasize them or make them easier to locate, <em>The Green Bible</em> renders all verses and passages found in both the Hebrew (or Old) as well as the Greek Testaments “that speak to God&#8217;s care for creation” in green. The result is quite effective; however the reasoning behind the selection of some green-printed passages is not always clear.</p>
<p>For example, while the passage “For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20) clearly reflects the editors’ explanation of their green criteria (as do a great number of the passages from the Hebrew Testament that are printed in green text), others, such as John 18:27 (“Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed”) require stretching the rules a bit more than might seem reasonable. Additionally, some passages are curiously left in black text that would be thought quite obvious to anyone seeking references to care for creation – Ecclesiastes 3:2, “a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” being only one such example.</p>
<p>In addition to the full text of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, <em>The Green Bible</em> includes a number of other elements to help the reader better understand the concept of reading the Bible as a source of ecological as well as theological guidance. Foremost among these is forward by The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu and numerous introductory essays that discuss the relationship between Christians and the natural world (including discussions of the emerging Creation Care movement) drawn from the publications and speeches of such eminent clergy and theologians as His Holiness Pope John Paul II and Dr. Ellen F. Davis. There is also an unfortunately titled but very helpful personal reflection and group discussion guide, recommendations for personal actions (both religious and ecological), and a list of further resources offered by a wide variety of Christian denominations and organizations that may be consulted for additional guidance. An extensive subject index on all the topics given green highlighting in the text concludes the work.</p>
<p>As a physical reflection of the thematic form given to <em>The Green Bible</em>, HarperOne has incorporated just about every expected ecologically-minded production element into it; it is printed in the U.S.A. on recycled paper, using soy-based ink, and bound in a cotton and linen blend cover. Even the <a href="http://greenletterbible.com">website supporting it</a> is declared to have been “made without using paper.” Indeed, the printed book is physically and visually consistent with both its theological and ecological messages. To those accustomed to Bibles bound in fine leather and trimmed with gold leaf, <em>The Green Bible&#8217;s</em> off-white paper, soft tones of black and green ink, and homespun-appearing, dusty tan woven cover may come as a bit of a shock; however more than simply being intellectually consistent, all these physical elements may well elicit a reconsideration on the part of many readers as to just how much more closely tied to the land and to things produced by hand rather than machines were the original authors of the works therein contained.</p>
<p>In the final assessment, this in itself might be the single greatest value to <em>The Green Bible</em> over and above more traditionally edited and published editions – to prompt a re-examination of the stories and teachings generally assumed to be well-known and understood. Thus while there may indeed be occasional touches of particular theological and political leanings in the choice of some passages for highlighting, as well as perhaps a bit of marketing ingenuity in publishing <em>The Green Bible</em> at a time when “green” products are in the ascendancy, the potential benefits of the work – its ability to encourage discussion on the part of believers as to just what messages their scriptures may hold for them beyond those they already knew, its presentation of prominent clergy and theologians as both religious leaders as well as ecologically-minded thinkers, and its potential to provide a common point of reference that may help to bridge the gap between too-often vitriolically opposing sides in matters of what mankind’s relationship to the natural world is and how to act as a result of this – far outweigh any political or commercially-focused criticisms, and as such the book should be understood, purchased, read, and discussed as the remarkable communicative bridge that it has the tremendous potential to be.</p>
<p>Title: <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780061627996" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780061627996?p_ti"><em>The Green Bible</em></a></p>
<p>Editors: Michael G. Maudlin, Maureen Baer, et al.</p>
<p>Imprint: <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/imprints/index.aspx?imprintid=517991">HarperOne</a></p>
<p>Publisher: <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/index.aspx">HarperCollins</a></p>
<p>ISBN-10: 0061627992</p>
<p>ISBN-13: 978-0061627996</p>
<p><em>In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.</em></p>
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		<title>New A&amp;C Black Website and Blog</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/XjdJ4ZlrrW4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/04/new-ac-black-website-and-blog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:57:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A&C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[black]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[publishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=739</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A&#38;C Black, a division of The Bloomsbury Group and one of Europe’s premiere publishers and distributors of natural history titles, has recently updated their website and established a new blog – ACBWildlife’s Blog. The revisions to the site make it much easier to locate the firm’s many titles; it also highlights their Species Profile and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A&amp;C Black, a division of The Bloomsbury Group and one of Europe’s premiere publishers and distributors of natural history titles, has recently updated their <a href="http://www.acblack.com/naturalhistory/">website</a> and established a new blog – <em><a href="http://acbwildlife.wordpress.com/">ACBWildlife’s Blog</a></em>. The revisions to the site make it much easier to locate the firm’s many titles; it also highlights their Species Profile and RSPB Corner pages. The new blog, while still in its early stages, provides readers with in-depth essays on titles and topics relevant to the firm’s natural history publishing activities. Additionally, they have established a <a href="http://twitter.com/ACBlackbooks">Twitter feed</a> so that users of that social networking application can keep up-to-date with developments from the firm (although it must be noted that this feed is much more topically wide-ranging than natural history alone).</p>
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		<title>The Earwig’s Tail</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/YIEWI5vrrD0/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2010/04/the-earwigs-tail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entomology]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[arthropod]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berenbaum]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[tale]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=592</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to the stuff of which nightmares are commonly made, it’s difficult to find a more commonly employed foundation material than the creatures contained in the Phylum Arthropoda, particularly those included in the Classes Insecta and Arachnida; in common parlance – insects and spiders. Different from us in so many ways – number [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When it comes to the stuff of which nightmares are commonly made, it’s difficult to find a more commonly employed foundation material than the creatures contained in the Phylum <em>Arthropoda</em>, particularly those included in the Classes <em>Insecta</em> and <em>Arachnida</em>; in common parlance – insects and spiders. Different from us in so many ways – number of appendages and location of the skeleton respective to the vital organs being only two of the most obvious – arthropods present the average person with a near-perfect conundrum: living, autonomously mobile creatures whose perceptions, habits, and motivations are all but a complete mystery. From this lack of understanding has sprung fear and a willingness to accept even outlandish explanations to fill the void. For this reason, the popular understanding of the natural histories of those species living in closest proximity to us has long been heavily burdened by incorrect information. Fortunately, May R. Berenbaum’s <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780674035409" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780674035409?p_ti"><em>The Earwig&#8217;s Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-Legged Legends</em></a> greatly lightens the load of entomological ignorance under which so many of us unknowingly labor.</p>
<p>In <em>The Earwig’s Tail</em>, <a href="http://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/faculty/berenbaum.html">Dr. Berenbaum</a>, Professor and Head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, presents the reader with a collection of short essays that are at once erudite and entertaining. Far from dry and pedantic refutations of the popular mythology surrounding insects, these essays are written in an easy-going, personal manner that will be thought collegially conversational by the dedicated entomologist or naturalist while also being welcomed as clear and intelligible to those not ordinarily disposed to taking up works of natural history and who in this case may have done so merely out of sheer curiosity (or fascination with <a href="http://www.jayhosler.com/jshblog/?p=111">Jay Hosler’s</a> delightful illustrations that illuminate both the essays as well as the book’s cover). Indeed, while Professor Berenbaum is most certainly an accomplished entomologist whose writing conveys the easy confidence of one long established as an expert in her field, she as often as not makes her strongest points (backed up by solid science, to be sure) through the use of eminently human stories and experiences – some of which even betray her own misadventures with her topic subjects.</p>
<p>Take, for example, her transition from a discussion of a species of Solifugae (sun scorpions) commonly known as the Iraqi Camel Spider – the subject of many a hair-raising story told by soldiers serving in the Middle East – to the life cycle of the common Cat Flea; two species otherwise quite remote from one another but in this single essay bound together in their relationship to humans by a simple band of chemical-impregnated vinyl; the ubiquitous flea collar. To divulge the nature of this relationship here would be to spoil the story. Suffice it to note that in the reading of this single essay, more is likely to be learned on a variety of topics than in many other entire books. Other essays investigate the truth or lack thereof behind a number of other arthropod myths – from the inability of bees to fly to the vitality of headless cockroaches.</p>
<p>When it is considered that <em>The Earwig’s Tail</em> contains twenty-six such essays, all successful in their goal of debunking with both intelligence and good humor the accumulated erroneous information that has been heaped upon most of the common arthropod species or genera with which we are all familiar, it is easy to understand why this book is one that should be read by all regardless of previous scientific background or interest in natural history. Arthropods are, at all times, all around us (whether we know it or not) and in numbers that best our own by multiple orders of magnitude. It would indeed be a shame for anyone to continue to misunderstand such a vast quantity of life forms when so much corrective truth about them can so easily and enjoyably be discovered through the reading of a single book such as this.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780674035409" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780674035409?p_cv" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: 1px solid #4c290d;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780674035409.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="180" /></a>Title: <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780674035409" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780674035409?p_ti"><em>The Earwig&#8217;s Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-Legged Legends</em></a></p>
<p>Author: May R. Berenbaum</p>
<p>Publisher: <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/index.html">Harvard University Press</a></p>
<p>Format: hardcover, 194 pages</p>
<p>ISBN: 9780674035409</p>
<p><em>In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.</em></p>
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		<title>Anthill</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thewellreadnaturalist/~3/gzh-4qohVOM/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:02:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Riutta</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anthill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dominionism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ecology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insect]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[norton]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Wilson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/?p=725</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To borrow a well-used old phrase and write that Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, “wrote the book” on ants is neither to exaggerate nor employ a metaphor; it was written in scholastic partnership with his long-time scientific collaborator Bert Hölldobler, titled The Ants, and published in 1990. In 1991 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>To borrow a well-used old phrase and write that Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, “wrote the book” on ants is neither to exaggerate nor employ a metaphor; it was written in scholastic partnership with his long-time scientific collaborator Bert Hölldobler, titled <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9783540520924" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9783540520924?p_ti"><em>The Ants</em></a>, and published in 1990. In 1991 it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (the second so awarded to a work written by Dr. Wilson). Three more of the dozen additional books he would write in the twenty years that followed also featured ants as their subject. Therefore it likely came as a surprise to no one familiar with either Dr. Wilson or his scientific accomplishments that his first novel, published in his eightieth year, would be titled <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780393071191" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780393071191?p_ti"><em>Anthill</em></a> and feature elements from the natural history of these remarkable creatures in its plotline. However rather than the wooden, fact-laden prose that might be commonly expected from a world-renowned scientist turning a late-in-life hand toward fiction, <em>Anthill</em> is an entertaining as well as compelling story told in an intelligent yet unaffected style that lovers of fiction and natural history enthusiasts alike will find appealing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/anthill.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-860" title="anthill" src="http://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/anthill.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="250" /></a></p>
<p>Were any other writer to attempt to weave together the natural history of the ant colonies inhabiting a south Alabama longleaf pine forest, a <em>bildungsroman</em> featuring a bright young boy growing up in a small and somewhat “unreconstructed” southern town, a novel within a novel, and a modern power struggle between real estate developers, conservationists, and religious Dominionists (those who believe the preservation of nature is against the will of God as their interpretation of the Bible tells them that the Earth was created for man’s use above all else), the result would have most certainly been unfortunate at best. However Dr. Wilson, drawing upon his extraordinary breadth of scientific knowledge, his insightful and nuanced philosophical imagination, and his superb skill as a story-teller not only manages to weave all these seemingly disparate narrative threads together into a coherent whole, he does so in a way that draws the reader deeply into the interlaced worlds he creates as few other modern novelists can be said to do.</p>
<p>Narrated by an aging professor from Florida State University, <em>Anthill </em>unfolds the story of the youth and education of Raphael (Raff) Semmes Cody, the son of a blue-collar father and a mother from a prominent “old South” family. Raff’s tale of growing up trying to balance the conflicting influences of his family’s disparate lineages would make for a compelling novel all on its own; however it is the tripartite presentation of the lives of ants, men, and the larger world around both these groups that really makes <em>Anthill </em>the remarkable work that it is. In developing Raff’s childhood around his curiosity and investigations of the tract of woodland not far from his Clayville, Alabama home, Dr. Wilson is able to interweave extended and meaningful passages depicting the lives of the ants and other creatures that Raff discovers during his boyhood rambles and then uses the information provided in these same passages to illuminate the motivations and actions of the people in his story as well.</p>
<p>There is an old Latin proverb that proclaims <em>natura in minima maxima</em>, which translates as “nature is the greatest in the smallest things.” It is a message Dr. Wilson conveys with particular effectiveness in the novel within the novel entitled &#8220;The Anthill Chronicles.&#8221; Presented as the essential narrative of events upon which Raff’s undergraduate honors thesis was written, this embedded novel employs a technique that reaches back as far as Shakespeare’s plays to present a much smaller story in a far grander style; the effect of which is not only brings the reader face to face with what Raff has observed, understands, and which underpins his life-directing passion for the preservation of nature in its remaining wild places, but also illuminates the essential dynamics and universal realities of power as exercised by one group over another.</p>
<p>It is greatly to be hoped that Dr. Wilson’s <em>Anthill </em>will be read by those of the widest possible scope of opinion on matters of land use, conservation, species preservation, and mankind’s relationship to the world as a whole. The arguments he presents in the telling of the story are never simplistic; even the Dominionists, as non-rational and often self-contradictory as their professed ideas may be, are portrayed as acting from a deeply and honestly-held set of beliefs that propel them, along with all the other characters, toward the story’s unexpected and thrilling climax. Make no mistake – <em>Anthill </em>is not an ecological sermon couched as a novel. It is first and foremost a compelling tale enjoyable by all who appreciate a well-told story. However for those who seek something more than simple entertainment from the works of fiction they read, who appreciate a well-argued philosophical point, keen social observation, or an informative natural history reflection, something very much to their liking will be discovered in <em>Anthill </em>as well.</p>
<p><a rel="powells-9780393071191" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780393071191?p_cv" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; border: 1px solid #4c290d;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780393071191.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="182" /></a>Title: <a title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780393071191" href="http://www.powells.com/partner/34406/biblio/9780393071191?p_ti"><em>Anthill</em></a></p>
<p>Author: Edward O. Wilson</p>
<p>Publisher: <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/index.aspx">W. W. Norton &amp; Co.</a></p>
<p>Format: hardcover, 378 pages</p>
<p>ISBN: 978-0-393-07119-1</p>
<p><em>In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copy of the book read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.</em></p>
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