USVLT Reads - April
Check out April's list of titles suggested by board member Lindsay Kafka. Most books can be found at your local library or bookstore!
A must-read for anyone who cares about the roots of American conservation, this book - written by an African-American professor of sociology and environmental science at Yale - provides a social history and even-handed discussion of the movement’s motivations, achievements, practices, and contradictions, from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 20th century.
2. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard
A personal narrative of nature, up close and personal; based on a year the author spent living in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia.
A terrific peek into the lives, work and adventures of the professional trail crew working in the White Mountains for the Appalachian Mountain Club during that group’s first 100 years, written by former crew members and now married couple Natalie Beittel and Kyle Peckham. As a bonus, Natalie and Kyle, the farmers behind @hosacfarm in Cornish, Maine.
A close examination of the under-appreciated role that wetlands play in preserving our environment, and a call to action to preserve the resources that remain, by Pulitizer-Prize winning author Annie Proulx.
5. Look to the Mountain - LeGrand Cannon Jr.
An epic story of two settlers forging a life in the foothills of the White Mountains at the outset of the Revolutionary War. Written in the 1940s and nominated for the Pulitizer Prize.
6. Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl - Jonathan C. Slaght
Field science and conservation combine to provide a fascinating glimpse into the landscape of Far Eastern Russia and the lives of the enigmatic and enormous Blakiston Fish Owl.
7. The Birds of Heaven, Travels with Cranes - Peter Matthiessen
A stunning chronicle of the author’s travels across 5 continents to learn about the umbrella species of cranes, and the devastating ecological loss it would be for these birds to disappear.
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