A dedicated naturalist and a writer’s writer, David Petersen spends a lot of time outdoors in the Rocky Mountain West. Whether in the aspen groves of the forests around his cabin in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, or watching grizzlies in Montana, or visiting the hidden desert grave of his friend and mentor, Edward Abbey, Petersen goes places many of us will never see—except through his words. He writes with great clarity and elegance of expression, while constantly renewing and reexamining his relationship to nature. "The Nearby Faraway" is an abridged autobiography of the author’s life and travels (both geographical and spiritual) in the American West—a rich and moving collection from one of the West’s most thoughtful, honest, and down-to-earth writers.
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About the Author
David Petersen is an experienced outdoorsman and the author of several books and many articles about the natural history of the American West. His most recent books include "Ghost Grizzlies" and "A Hunter’s Heart." He lives near Durango, Colorado.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some 3 star essays, some 5 star essays,
By pullrich "pullrich" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Nearby Faraway: A Personal Journey Through the Heart of the West (Paperback)
This book is a collection of essays, some may be familiar to the readers of Backpacker magazine. Petersen writes about places in the West and the people that love those places. Many of the essays read like travelogues, for better or worse. Some of his essays bring you right next to the campfire, sipping whiskey at night or strong coffee in the morning, sleeping under the stars awash in desert incense. Perfection. Other essays weren't as moving (I'm thinking of the pacific northwest essays) and read rather flat. Another gripe: Peculiar analogies pop up in every second essay or two, e.g., elk bugling being described as the equivalent to "Yo momma, sucker!", a feeding hawk is termed a "feathered dracula", an adobe doorpost is as thick as a bodybuilders bicep, and finally, views are sometimes described as "million dollar" or "billion buck" rather than *really* described. Still, this book should be read by those who like to read about outdoor activity, especially those with an interest in the west. Loads of interesting anecdotes about Ed Abby and crew. Excellent ranting versus development and threats to the environment.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tepid essays from Abbey wanna-be,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Nearby Faraway: A Personal Journey Through the Heart of the West (Paperback)
A collection of essays - part nature writing, part travelogue. While the intent of the writer is admirable, you can shelve this collection with other "friends of Ed"; that is Ed Abbey, the master of this genre. Name dropping appears to be the focus of many of the essays.As far as the travel essays, this area has been covered better by others, though the essay on the relatively unknown Owyhee country was well done. Another note of irritation is Peterson's continuous railing of "urban refugees" sticking "a dagger in the heart of the wilderness". Yes, we would all love to be the only ones hiking up our favorite trail or to have a lonesome cabin at the end of a dirt road, but Peterson doesn't seem interested in any sharing of the wilderness.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
I'M MOVING QUIETLY through a parklike grove of quaking aspens in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, a couple of miles from my year-round home. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
grizzly sow, elk calf, canyon wren, cow parsnips Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North Cascades, Comb Wash, Edward Abbey, Granite Park, Rio Grande, Forest Service, Starvation Gulch, Milagro Man, Neal Wedum, New Mexico, New York, Sonoran Desert, Timber Hill, Doug Peacock, Loop Trail, North America, American Southwest, Blue Lake, Ernest Wilkinson, Monte Vista, San Juans, Weaver's Needle, Fish Creek Canyon, Four Corners, John Nichols New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I'M MOVING QUIETLY through a parklike grove of quaking aspens in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, a couple of miles from my year-round home. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
grizzly sow, elk calf, canyon wren, cow parsnips Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North Cascades, Comb Wash, Edward Abbey, Granite Park, Rio Grande, Forest Service, Starvation Gulch, Milagro Man, Neal Wedum, New Mexico, New York, Sonoran Desert, Timber Hill, Doug Peacock, Loop Trail, North America, American Southwest, Blue Lake, Ernest Wilkinson, Monte Vista, San Juans, Weaver's Needle, Fish Creek Canyon, Four Corners, John Nichols New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 23
books:
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8
books
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- The Monkey Wrench Gang (Perennial Classics) by Edward Abbey on page 84, page 94, and page 135
- Ghost Grizzlies by David Petersen in Front Matter, page 101, and Back Matter
- Confessions of a Barbarian by Edward Abbey in Front Matter, page 84, and page 125
- Ghost Grizzles: Does the Great Bear Still Haunt Colorado? by David Petersen in Front Matter, and page 101
- The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie Jr. in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 23 books this book cites
- Writing Naturally: A Down-To-Earth Guide to Nature Writing by David Petersen in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Heartsblood: Hunting, Spirituality, and Wildness in America by David Petersen in Front Matter
- Heartsblood by David Petersen in Front Matter
- On the Wild Edge: In Search of a Natural Life by David Petersen in Front Matter
- Arches National Park (True Books: National Parks) by David Petersen in Back Matter
See all 8 books citing this book
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