American Nature Writing 1999 [Paperback]

John A. Murray (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Nature Writing | Publication Date: January 1, 1999

The finest pieces of nature writing from the previous year presents 22 rich and varied selections from such celebrated nature writers as Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams and Rick Bass.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The sixth annual volume in this series (formerly published by Sierra Club Books) is an uneven collection of 18 essays, including a few gems. Series editor Murray, aiming for geographic diversity and alternating male and female voices, has uncovered some fresh talents: Ken Lamberton, who learns to embrace life by watching the birds around his prison cell ("Raptors and Flycatchers"); John Noland, whose "The Way of a River" evokes "the indelible markings of place in the blood"; and Franklin Burroughs, whose "Of Moose and a Moose Hunter" captures the nature of these "gangly and ungainly" beasts. Fans of earlier editions will welcome the return of Louise Wagenknecht, David Petersen and Marybeth Holleman but will mourn the absence of such well-established former contributors as Rick Bass, Terry Tempest Williams and Barry Lopez. Some of the essays fall short of the standard of excellence Murray sets for himself, while others, such as Gretchen Legler's "All the Powerful Invisible Things," convey personal catharsis but fail to evoke vividly the natural world. While a mixed bag, this book does highlight the next generation of American nature writers.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Sierra Club Books draws from recent books but much more from literary and general interest periodicals ranging from Antaeus to Esquire to amass the first in what promises to be an annual anthology of first-rate writing in a single genre. Like science fiction and fantasy annuals nowadays, this newcomer includes poetry, arguably with greater superficial justification, since nature writing could as well be in verse as in prose. There's no fiction--which does not mean no stories--herein, and the authors include, besides many less famous names, the late Edward Abbey (in a previously unpublished essay), Annie Dillard, Bob Shacochis, William Kittredge, and Barry Lopez. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Oregon State University Press; 1ST edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087071550X
• ISBN-13: 978-0870715501
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,789,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nature Writing Saved!, September 7, 2000

By 

Randall Barnhart (Earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Nature Writing 1999 (Paperback)

Nature writing has for too long been the exclusive preserve of the flower cutters. You know, those folks who sit in their back gardens, treating the natural world like God is some Almighty Gardener. All is right with the world and the lion will lie down with the lamb.

T'ain't so.

Nature is an inscrutable on-going event. Life and violent death are everywhere. We are not above it, looking down on Nature as if it were a clock-work automaton and we the appreciative audience. We are, in fact, part of it.

The writers Murray has selected for the 1999 edition of his annual masterwork all view nature from the inside. The make us feel we are there, sharing moments with them. What else could be better than that?