The Nature reader

A splendid anthology that began as a sellout issue of Antaeus more than a decade ago, this completely revised and expanded edition is larger by half than its forebear - reflecting the virtual explosion of great writing on nature that has taken place in the interim. Twenty-seven writers from a wide range of disciplines have added to the original roster of contributors. Whether it's Julia Blackburn describing the disappearance of a paradise called St. Helena's between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, David Quammen describing twentieth century "Rattlesnake passion," David Abrams introducing us to local magic in Indonesia, or Terry Tempest Williams locking horns with her family over the Endangered Species Act, the subject of Nature is no longer limited to contemplative pastorales. Without a doubt, some of the most exciting work being written late in the twentieth century is about nature and natural history, as we begin again to assess the serious question of how humankind is part of nature, and how nature expresses itself through us.