Greatest Naturalists

I am totally immersed these days in the beauty of the wild and nature...trying to discover the secret behind my passion with this thing. I am reading now two stories on the subject; one is the "into the wild" and the other one is the "One man's Wilderness".

I find myself sharing exactly the same passion as the two. I really wonder what causes such love? why some people have this while other don't even care much about it?

I am trying to read more about those western great naturalists but I only know couple of names. Who should I consider beside John Muir and Henry David Thoreau?

Thanks

Mohsen, others will have other favorites, but here are a few of mine.

Barry Lopez, pretty much anything he writes, but specifically Crossing Open Ground; Desert Notes/River Notes; Field Notes; Arctic Dreams; and Of Wolves and Men.

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.

Wild Thoughts from Wild Places by David Quammen.

The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen.

And, as always, The Journals of Lewis and Clark, edited by Bernard DeVoto.

These are not all specifically Western American, but they all embody that tradition, and the westward explorations of Lewis and Clark at the dawn of the 19th century most publicly forged the way for the biggest westward pioneer expansion in America.

Abbey and Leopold write more simply and emotionally than the L&C journals, while Quammen and, in particular Lopez, are educated, thoughtful and dedicated to conveying the soul of nature.

Mattheissen's account of trekking to the heights of the Himalayas with biologist George Schaller is a classic combination of reverence for nature and the human spirit. Mattheissen, an American, won the National Book Award for The Snow Leopard.

Lopez, as you probably can tell from the list, is my all-time favorite. He won the American Book Award for Arctic Dreams. I can't tell you the number of times his ability to catch and deliver a mood with graceful words perfectly written has caused me to shake my head, put the book aside for a moment and just feel the wonderment of it all.

Which writers one prefers is quite a personal preference.

Hi Steve,

I do appreciate that list and I will give a deep look at every name you've mentioned.

Thank you very much.

This love and passion we have would by some be considered a sickness, I have it too. Ron

Adolf Murie

Many many good books mentioned here!

Wild America now has a sequel called, appropriately, Return to Wild America by Scott Weidensaul.

I just started The Humboldt Current which might not be about an American Naturalist still fits the bill and so far has been a very good book.

There is also Rachel Carson who is a naturalist/conservationist and wrote a very popular book called Silent Spring and a few others

If you are interested in reading about some naturalists I have read a few biographies that might be worth considering:

John James Audubon: The making of an American by Richard Rhodes

There is also a good one about Asa Grey although I gave it away and don't remember the title.

Good Luck, any pick from the lists given should be good reading. I have found that the more you get into this stuff the "sicker" you get.

Gary Snyder

I am sick and I know my cure. The wild.

Thank you all

Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim At Tinker Creek"

Several good ones listed already. I currently re-reading "The Anthology of Turquiose" by Ellen Meloy. Maybe not as well know as some of the classics, but I consider it an equal with a little bit of an artistic leaning for us color oriented folks.

Other folks have directed you to some terrific books; I'm particularly partial to Adolf Murie. But let me caution that some of us think that "Into the Wild" is, ahem, an over-romantic, error-riddled waste of time.

Enos Mills - founder of Rocky Mtn. National Park

Lots of his books are still available in print.
A good place to start: "Enos Mills - Citizen of Nature", by Alexander Drummond.

I agree with the majority mentioned here. My favorite writers who write with a clarity, curiosity, & passion for the natural world:
Terry Tempest Williams
Henry David Thoreau
Loren Eiseley
Barry Lopez
Scott Russell Sanders
Poets: Pattiann Rogers & Mary Oliver

Joni
Indiana

Oops! I forgot Henry Beston: The Outermost House

Joni
Indiana