Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness [Hardcover]

Lyanda Lynn Haupt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2009

There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both an indicator of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. CROW PLANET reminds us that we do not need to head to faraway places to encounter "nature." Rather, even in the suburbs and cities where we live we are surrounded by wild life such as crows, and through observing them we can enhance our appreciation of the world's natural order. CROW PLANET richly weaves Haupt's own "crow stories" as well as scientific and scholarly research and the history and mythology of crows, culminating in a book that is sure to make readers see the world around them in a very different way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Haupt, former raptor rehabilitator and seabird researcher, embarks on an urban ornithological expedition to defend the honor of the crow, the ubiquitous bird whose corvid family precedes Homo sapiens by several million years and whose symbolic and actual role as a scavenger and œliaison between life and death evokes reactions ranging from revulsion to awe. Attracted to the sight of the birds nesting in her backyard, the author follows them as they forage in the moss along neighborhood streets and cavort in a nearby wildlife preserve. Her forays into Seattle's œtenacious wild demonstrate evidence of the crow community's social complexity, their extensive vocabulary and fierce loyalty to their mates and species, Haupt enlivens her observations with tidbits from crow mythology and history, discovering that their bad press dates to the 14th-century outbreak of the bubonic plague when the birds scavenged the dead bodies lying in the streets, œbeginning, horribly, with the eyeballs. Despite some awkward prose, Haupt succeeds in humanizing the object of her naturalist obsession and affection. (July)
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Review

"A completely charming and informative book on the pleasures of keeping one's eyes open." (David Sedaris )

"In a lyrical narrative that blends science and conscience, Haupt mourns the encroachments of urbanization, but cherishes the wildness that survives." (New York Times )

"A personal book, one that uses [Haupt] and her fondness for crows to cast its interests toward large concepts such as conservation, the environment, and learning to live more thoughtfully."-Seattle Times

"With her sensitivity, careful eye and gift for language, Haupt tells her tale beautifully...immersing us in a heady hybrid of science, history, how-to and memoir."-Los Angeles Times

"If you live in a city and want to expand your awareness of the natural world, CROW PLANET would be a compelling and inspirational book. If you love or hate or are mystified by crows, it is an essential one."-The Oregonian

"A delightful meditation on our role in the natural world...[Haupt] provides a rich context for exploring the relationship between humans and nature."-Library Journal, Starred review

"Haupt writes gracefully about the interactions between crows and humans in the urban landscape and what those interactions portend for the future of the zoöpolis. A fresh take on conscious living in the everyday world." (Kirkus Reviews )

"Haupt enlivens her observations with tidbits from crow mythology and history [and] succeeds in humanizing the object of her naturalist obsession and affection."--Publishers Weekly



"If you picture Henry David Thoreau as a young mother and scientist in suburban Seattle, you can begin to imagine the literate elegance of Crow Planet. Lyanda Haupt has spun the natural life of neighborhoods, and most poignantly the surpassing intelligence of crows, into the kind of gold only the most gifted writer and naturalist could fashion. Crow Planet is a small treasure, a conversion experience of truth, wit, and re-enchantment that remakes the world and our place within it."--Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest and Natural Capitalism

"Haupt captures crows wonderfully in elegant prose and weaves a thoughtful tale that connects them from St. Benedict's philosophy of lecti divina of 480 CE to our growing awareness of our kinship to, and dependence on, the rest of life."--Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven

"Lyanda Haupt observes crows with a naturalist's eye and discovers that they are smart, social, and disturbingly like us...Your strolls around your neighborhood will be much more interesting after you read this book."--Denis Hayes, national coordinator for the first Earth Day and President and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation

"The fiction (sometimes the hope!) that you can escape from nature by living in the city is as sad as it is widespread. This book will remind you to open your eyes to the mundane--it will make the city a far richer place for you."--Bill McKibben, author of The Bill McKibben Reader

"Crow Planet gently confronts us with the desperate need for mindfulness as we go about our daily lives in the urban wilderness so that evolution may continue and we may stem the loss of our humanity."--Maggie Ross, author of The Fire of Your Life: A Solitude Shared

"Haupt creates an amalgam of ornithology, mythology, philosophy, and advice on how to engage with­--and some warnings about our effects on­--nature; the result is an engaging book-long essay on the interconnectedness of life."--Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D., author of Alex and Me

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (July 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316019100
• ISBN-13: 978-0316019101
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #593,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lyanda Lynn Haupt is an award-winning author, speaker, and naturalist based in Seattle. Her latest book Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness was published by Little, Brown in July 2009, was awarded the 2010 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, and is currently available in paperback. She blogs at www.TheTangledNest.com.

Lyanda's first book, Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds (Sasquatch, 2001), explores the relationship between humans, birds, and ecological understanding, and is a winner of the 2002 Washington State Book Award. Her second book, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks, was published by Little, Brown to nationwide acclaim, and continues to resonate with audiences interested in natural history, Darwin, birds, and their intersection.

Lyanda has created and directed educational programs for Seattle Audubon, worked in raptor rehabilitation in Vermont, and as a seabird researcher for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Utne, LA Times, Image, Open Spaces, Wild Earth, and Conservation Biology Journal. She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter, and their mixed backyard chicken flock.

Lyanda is available for keynotes and speaking engagements on the themes she addresses in her writing, as well as book readings and signings, and classes about writing creative non-fiction. Upcoming events are listed on her website at LyandaLynnHaupt.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone has a crow story August 31, 2009

By Howard Clark Jr.

Format:Hardcover

Haupt has written a much needed book for today's busy lifestyle. We all hear about nature and how we need to respect it, but often we don't know how, or even where to begin. Haupt tackles this problem by simply focusing on one animal, the crow. It's a bird common to most people and easy to spot, unlike most songbirds that stay in the trees and are hard to study. Crows are out in the open and, being members of the corvid family, are intelligent and lively. Crows and other corvids are problem-solvers; they enjoy manipulating items and seem to think about what they are doing.

Haupt uses the crow as a communication tool to open the reader to the world of nature and observation. The book is filled with interesting stories about crows, and is solid with information on crow behavior, ecology, and general biology. Haupt has done her homework, not just on crow ecology, but also how to relate this ecology to philosophy and everyday thinking about global issues. In the book we see the journey crows take between life and death, and how we should relate to these concepts in our own lives.

Haupt brings up a topic about which I have strong feelings. There seems to be a void in the lives of our children regarding nature. It seems that young folk would rather stay indoors and fi ddle with electronic devices than venture outside and poke around in shrubbery and trees or lift rocks to discover the small worlds within. My daughter is two years old and is allowed, under supervision of course, to freely explore nature. As we pull weeds in the back yard, or work in the garden, she observes insects and toads, and I teach her that these things are alive and interesting. With this sort of exposure at a young age, I hope she will grow up to be an optimistic steward of the planet, doing her part to give nature the respect it deserves.

Haupt concludes with a meaningful thought. Instead of being wholeheartedly melancholy over the ecological state of the earth, she chose to dwell in possibility, as Emily Dickinson suggested, "...we cannot predict what will happen but we make space for it ... and realize that our participation has value." Haupt explains that this is grown-up optimism, "where our bondedness with the rest of creation, a sense of profound interaction, and a belief in our shared ingenuity give meaning to our lives and actions on behalf of the more-than-human world."

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspire your inner Urban Naturalist August 19, 2009

By Karen R. Kuhar

Format:Hardcover

An inspired choice for any bird lover or reading group, Crow Planet is the author's personal journey to better understand nature in the urban landscape in which we live. Her work is a conversation with the reader pondering questions like: What is nature? How do we effect it and it us? And how can we better understand the ecology of the neighborhood surrounding us?

Crows are the gateway into her growth as an Urban Naturalist and we are invited along to wonder at their intelligence and adaptability.

There is a breezy style to Haupt's prose that is thought provoking, wistful, comforting; like reminiscing with an old friend late into the night. In Crow Planet Haupt is equal parts Environmentalist, Biographer and Naturalist, inspiring us to discover more about our own corner of the world. A Great Read!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for a lifetime November 22, 2009

By B. Hosey

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I ordered the book on the recommendation of a friend and am more than happy with the selection. This is the kind of book that friends will be telling their friends about for years to come. Though I finished the book months ago, I keep turning the ideas and questions it raised over and over in my head. What is nature? What does it mean in relation to my very urban surroundings? And just what *are* those crows up to anyway?

The author takes us along on an urban naturalist's journey and through it we gain insights into the web of living things in which we are all enmeshed. Grim environmentalism this is not. If you're looking for the harsh statistics and glum forecasts of doom that pervade our media, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a dry and dusty reference manual to the genus Corvus, keep browsing. If however you hunger for a celebration of nature (and crows!) and something to bring the joy back to caring about and living in our environment, then this is the portable feast you need.