Round River (Galaxy Book, 372) [Paperback]

Aldo Leopold (Author), Luna B. Leopold (Editor), Charles W. Schwartz (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195015630 | ISBN-13: 978-0195015638 | Publication Date: March 30, 1993 | Edition: 1st

To those who know the charm of Aldo Leopold's writing in A Sand County Almanac, this collection from his journals and essays will be a new delight. The journal entries included here were written in camp during his many field trips--hunting, fishing, and exploring--and they indicate the source of ideas on land ethics found in his longer essays. They reflect as well two long canoe trips in Canada and a sojourn in Mexico, where Leopold hunted deer with bow and arrow. The essays presented here are culled from the more contemplative notes which were still in manuscript form at the time of Leopold's death in 1948, fighting a brush fire on a neighbor's farm.
Round River has been edited by Leopold's son, Luna, a geologist well-known in the field of conservation. It is also charmingly illustrated with line drawings by Charles W. Schwartz. All admirers of Leopold's work--indeed, all lovers of nature--will find this book richly rewarding.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Leopold celebrates the wilderness, stressing the need to preserve this precious legacy."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

"We can be grateful for the opportunity...to spend another pleasant and profitable hour in the company of a man who was perhaps the most provocative student of land and wildlife conservation that our country has produced."--The New Yorker

"Aldo Leopold laid the foundation upon which current wildlife conservation policies rest....Leopold's writing is a mine of metaphor containing gems that are often quoted...A highly recommended gift for the outdoosperson or the lover of nature and wildlife."--Steve Brock, Internet Book Reviewer

"A rejuvenating visit with the father of all natural resources workers."--Wildlife Review

"An observant, poetic volume."--The Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Aldo Leopold was born in Iowa in 1887. He was the author of A Sand County Almanac and was posthumously awarded the John Burroughs Medal in 1978 for his lifetime achievement. At the time of his death he was an advisor on conservation for the United Nations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 173 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st edition (March 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195015630
• ISBN-13: 978-0195015638
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Field Experience, March 14, 2005

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MZ (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Round River (Galaxy Book, 372) (Paperback)

If your only other exposure to Aldo Leopold is through his Sand County Almanac, this book will likely be a departure from your perception of him.

Aldo Leopold was a practicing conservationist; he sustainably extracted valuable things from the land, and gave back to the land in other ways to repay his debt. With the possible exception of wilderness protection, he didn't subscribe to the "hands-off" approach of environmentalism that is often advocated today. He used to say any experience that reminded us of our "dependency on the soil-plant-animal-man food chain" was a valuable one.

Through his journal entries, the reader will follow Aldo on hunting and fishing trips. His entries here are more direct and less philosophical than his Almanac entries. They are the sharp and admiring field observations of a man taking part in all that the land has to offer. It is campfire talk with the most influential conservationist of our time.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heart of Aldo Leopold, October 8, 2000

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mason sinclair - See all my reviews

This review is from: Round River (Galaxy Book, 372) (Paperback)

Leopold's essay, "Goose Music" is a classic must read. Too bad this chapter was left out of the anniversary edition of Leopold's Sand County Almanac.

10 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Sand County Almanac" is a better combination of essays, May 30, 2002

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Round River (Galaxy Book, 372) (Paperback)

I tend to throw all the naturalists/conservationists/environmentalists into one big group and think of them in similar terms. I temporarily forgot that Aldo Leopold came to the field with a hunting background. And even though he writes about being forever affected by the regretable dying fire in a she-wolf's eyes in _Sand County Almanac_, none of that feeling is conveyed here. There's a lot of hunting in this book. A lot. Part II is one camping trip after another, with a fair amount of innocent animals providing food along the way. If you're like me and would rather not witness the carnage, read just four or five of the selections: "A Man's Leisure Time," "Country," "Natural History," and all of Part III. You probably won't miss anything crucial by doing so, and you'll get the gist of Aldo Leopold's ideas about conservation and the land ethic. His philosophic musings make for worthwhile reading. It's too bad more of them don't appear here.