(A Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of 2009) The writer, naturalist, and artist David Carroll illuminates the ecology and life histories the tree frogs, hawks, foxes, and the increasingly rare wood and spotted turtles he has been tracking for decades with the precision and passion that won him a 2006 MacArthur "genius" award. Following the Water is the intensely observed chronicle of Carroll s annual March-to-November wetlands immersion from the joy of the first turtle sighting in March to the gorgeously described, vibrant trilling of tree frogs ("lichen with eyes") in late May to the ancient sense of love and loss Carroll experiences each autumn when it is time once again to part with open water. Illustrated with the author s fine pen-and-ink drawings, Following theWater is a gorgeous evocation of nature, an utterly unique "admission ticket to a secret corner of the world" (Bill McKibben). </DIV></DIV>
Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this sensuous nature journal, MacArthur genius award winner Carroll (The Year of the Turtle) follows the inhabitants of his local New Hampshire wetlands through a season of turtle life from March thaw, when the turtles wake from hibernation, to November, when ice puts them back to sleep, along the way celebrating such personal holy days as the Return of the Red-winged Blackbird. Wearing camouflage and waders, he meets wildlife on its own terms. At the sudden appearance of a red doe, he wonders, to have those senses—would I trade my thinking, dreaming, imagining mind for them for one full day... would I ever want to come back? He watches a thirsty turtle hatchling encountering water for the first time: he extends his neck full length, immerses his head, closes his eyes and drinks for 21 minutes. Accompanied by Carroll's own exquisite drawings, this poetic recording of his season of loving observation is subdued by Carroll's dread of habitat destruction and nostalgia for a boyhood when I entered waters that, if not alive themselves, were so filled with light and life that my binding with them was as much metaphysical as physical. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
In this sensuous nature journal, MacArthur "genius" award winner Carroll (The Year of the Turtle) follows the inhabitants of his local New Hampshire wetlands through a season of turtle life from March thaw, when the turtles wake from hibernation, to November, when ice puts them back to sleep, along the way celebrating such personal "holy days" as "the Return of the Red-winged Blackbird." Wearing camouflage and waders, he meets wildlife on its own terms. At the sudden appearance of a red doe, he wonders, "to have those senses-would I trade my thinking, dreaming, imagining mind for them for one full day... would I ever want to come back?" He watches a thirsty turtle hatchling encountering water for the first time: he "extends his neck full length, immerses his head, closes his eyes" and drinks for 21 minutes. Accompanied by Carroll's own exquisite drawings, this poetic recording of his season of loving observation is subdued by Carroll's dread of habitat destruction and nostalgia for a boyhood when "I entered waters that, if not alive themselves, were so filled with light and life that my binding with them was as much metaphysical as physical." --Publishers Weekly
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By jd103
Format:Hardcover
It's lines like that one, along with the lines of his excellent detailed artwork, which make me love the books of David M. Carroll so much. His latest, Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook, shows and tells his annual observations from the first breaks in the ice through its reforming in a New Hampshire wetland.
The evocative opening page describes his winter pathways in his old house, amidst overflowing bookcases and paintings and art supplies. The words which follow, whether in the forty page title essay in which he describes his route through the wetland, a route you can follow on his detailed map inside the covers, or in a chapter consisting of a single paragraph, are like paintings themselves. You'll want to savor them with the same method he uses in his walks/wades: very slowly, with frequent stops.
Turtles are his first love, and there are many of them here: Spotted, Wood, Blanding's, Snapping, Painted. The early chapters are filled with more suspense than you might expect in such a book as he finds the first turtles of the year. He beautifully mixes his own emotions regarding individual animals he's observed for years with reflections on the never-ending processes of evolution and species interactions. His pain, anger, and despair result not from what occurs in nature but from the modern gods of "development" and "progress".
But it's not only turtles he observes and records. Many fish, insects, birds, frogs, snakes, and plants are also found in these pages.... Read more ›
The evocative opening page describes his winter pathways in his old house, amidst overflowing bookcases and paintings and art supplies. The words which follow, whether in the forty page title essay in which he describes his route through the wetland, a route you can follow on his detailed map inside the covers, or in a chapter consisting of a single paragraph, are like paintings themselves. You'll want to savor them with the same method he uses in his walks/wades: very slowly, with frequent stops.
Turtles are his first love, and there are many of them here: Spotted, Wood, Blanding's, Snapping, Painted. The early chapters are filled with more suspense than you might expect in such a book as he finds the first turtles of the year. He beautifully mixes his own emotions regarding individual animals he's observed for years with reflections on the never-ending processes of evolution and species interactions. His pain, anger, and despair result not from what occurs in nature but from the modern gods of "development" and "progress".
But it's not only turtles he observes and records. Many fish, insects, birds, frogs, snakes, and plants are also found in these pages.... Read more ›
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By bkluvr
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
To those who know his work, David Carroll needs no review. But if you are new to this amazing naturalist's writing and art, this is as good a place to start as any. All of his books are inimitable slices of one man's passion for his slice of the world. When he writes about slogging through just barely thawed muck in April, I felt my toes getting numb with cold. When he finds his turtles wounded, I want to cry. And as he perseveres, and finds more to love than grieve in his world, I too am inspired to find the same. It seems only natural that he be nominated for the National Book Award, and disappointing, but in no way a reflection on the quality of his work, that the book didn't win. If you love the natural world, read David Carroll.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Surely, David Carroll's "Swampwalker's Journal" is among my very favorite books. Now, that book has been joined by "Following the Water," his latest collection of essays arranged as observed in the order of the seasons. In this more personal, more introspective book, Carroll retraces some of the same wet ground that he has covered in his previous books, but he includes broader observations as well.
After finishing its 186 pages, I found that I was left a little sad. I think that the precarious nature of the natural wetlands Carroll knows and loves so intimately came across in his earlier works, but the threat seems less veiled and more immediate in "Following the Water." Furthermore, on a personal level, Carroll seems fully aware of the increasingly short time he has remaining to continue to explore the wet world he loves so much, and he conveys that growing sorrow admirably.
Nevertheless, Carroll's writing remains as lyrical, poignant, and engaging as ever, and his stand on behalf of the biosphere has never been firmer.
This four-line poem by Wang Wei, which precedes the short essay entitled "Oxbow Meander," summed up the book for me:
Often on impulse, I walk out by myself:
Magnificent scenes, I alone know;
Walk to the source of the stream
And sit down to watch the clouds rise.
After finishing its 186 pages, I found that I was left a little sad. I think that the precarious nature of the natural wetlands Carroll knows and loves so intimately came across in his earlier works, but the threat seems less veiled and more immediate in "Following the Water." Furthermore, on a personal level, Carroll seems fully aware of the increasingly short time he has remaining to continue to explore the wet world he loves so much, and he conveys that growing sorrow admirably.
Nevertheless, Carroll's writing remains as lyrical, poignant, and engaging as ever, and his stand on behalf of the biosphere has never been firmer.
This four-line poem by Wang Wei, which precedes the short essay entitled "Oxbow Meander," summed up the book for me:
Often on impulse, I walk out by myself:
Magnificent scenes, I alone know;
Walk to the source of the stream
And sit down to watch the clouds rise.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Although much can be said of the technical knowledge that David Carroll has of the wetland systems of the Northeast, reading his books is like taking a walk in those magical wetlands with a good friend. He manages to retain the intimacy of the natural setting while carefully teaching you things that you didn't know about them. I find in his books exactly what I find missing in most nature shows, and that is the sensual connection with the woodlands that I have enjoyed through my life.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Himri
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Being here has brought me to a knowledge both tangible and ineffable, of a world apart, completely distinct, from that of my own kind. - David M Carroll, Following the Water.
The 'here' is the waterlands that the author has been wading in at certain times every year for almost 2 decades, watching and documenting the various turtles. Since most of them are the same ones, there is a meaning to his work, resulting in a study.
He overlooks the color blue of the sky in the water,to see what is under that. Much is being done by the way of conserving nature and wildlife, but we, the general public should find that 'world apart'.
The 'here' is the waterlands that the author has been wading in at certain times every year for almost 2 decades, watching and documenting the various turtles. Since most of them are the same ones, there is a meaning to his work, resulting in a study.
He overlooks the color blue of the sky in the water,to see what is under that. Much is being done by the way of conserving nature and wildlife, but we, the general public should find that 'world apart'.
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