The Art of Seeing Things [Paperback]

Charlotte Zoe Walker (Editor), John Burroughs (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An American essayist and naturalist, Burroughs wrote 28 books between 1867 and 1922; his career was a product of turn-of-the-last-century America's desire for a steady diet of nature writing. This selection from Syracuse's complete set of his works is divided into eight sections "Perception and the Natural World," "Farming and Rural Life," "Far from Home," "Science and Field Study" and "Autobiography" among them. Many of the earlier essays present us with Burroughs's direct observations of the natural world, the lives of animals in the wild and those on and around his farm in particular. The title essay exhorts readers to drop out, turn on and tune in without abusing any substances. Burroughs's childhood on a dairy farm (circa 1840), his attempt to hear the song of the nightingale while on a trip to England in 1882 and a fascinating description of icebergs forming from an Alaskan glacier figure in elsewhere. And he writes with the enthusiasm and boldness of his friend Whitman's Song of Myself. But while buffs of the period will find a lot to like here, most readers will find long stretches tedious, and the particular selections not really substantiated. But the gems, when they turn up, make for worthwhile period reading. (Apr.)Forecast: University libraries, particularly those serving schools with naturalism and ecology programs, will find this book a convenient way to have some Burroughs without committing to the full set. Smaller and specialty stores in rural areas might also keep the paperback on hand for weekenders and others.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815606788
• ISBN-13: 978-0815606789
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,252,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burroughs at his best!, March 8, 2001

By 

Edward Kanze (Bloomingdale, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Seeing Things: Essays (Hardcover)

This is the anthology readers and scholars of John Burroughs (1837-1921) have been waiting for. Charlotte Walker, a professor of English at the State University of New York at Oneonta, has gathered selections from Burroughs's vast oeuvre and assembled them in a handsome volume. The words are set in modern type, and the subject matter is as fresh and timely as ever. Burroughs is often remembered as a naturalist, but he was much more than that: a perceptive and accessible literary critic, a philosopher, a radical thinker who advocated the overthrow of traditional religions in favor of an open-eyed nature worship steeped in science and wonder. Earlier anthologies of Burroughs's work have tended to ignore or suppress his thorny and provocative side, but Walker gives us the man in all his dimensions. As the author of a concise biography of Burroughs, I was pleased to open this collection and find it crowded with favorites---philosophical essays such as "Faith of a Naturalist," travel pieces such as "A Hunt for the Nightingale," an excerpt from "Our Rural Divinity" (about the dairy cow!), perceptive criticism of Emerson and Thoreau, studies of Catskill farm life, and more. This book makes a fine addition to any library and offers the best intorduction to Burroughs in print. Bravo! Highly recommended!