Customer Reviews

A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I would give the actual ORIGINAL version of the text a 5 star rating, and indeed do so for the Oxford University Press edition. That version is slightly more expensive in Paperback, but has a better introduction and, more importantly, is actually printed as originally written by Leopold. The Ballantine version has been censored by the publisher to remove several sentences which either explcitly use the word "evolution" or which imply it.

Granted, these are only a few sentences out of the entire book. But it makes this work something other than the work which is seminal in the field of environmental philosophy and naturalism, and such censorship is intrinsically objectionable-note also that the publisher nowhere in this book tells you that such alterations have been made nor is this version described as an abridged or edited version. Further, this change makes this version unacceptable for use in teaching science courses where censorship because of ideology or market share is beyond the pale.

If you find any hint of evolution to be distracting (for one reason or another) from the fine naturalistic writing in which Leopold engages (evolution is not central to his argument or description), or are too cash-strapped to shell out an extra few bucks for the OUP edition or something at your local used book store or don't have the time to go to the library, by all means purchase this version. It is similar in most ways to Leopold's written work. But this is not to be mistaken for that work in its entirety.

This is a profoundly insightful and important book that ranks among the most significant American books of the Twentieth Century. It would be a mistake to describe this book as "nature writing" per se, or of that genre. It is a series of essays in wonderful prose in which nature, outdoor settings or situations provide the backdrop. But it is not written as a naturalist droning about the wonders of some aspect of nature. It is an inspired and deeply insightful description, by a man who clearly has a deep understanding of how nature works, about the ethical dimensions of our relationship with the land and our environment generally. Despite the simple elegance of the writing style, it can be seen (and I know from biographical information) the author draws from a vast experience and knowledge far outside the confines of the wildlife management, which was his professon. The ideas expressed, and the many quotable passages are a treasure trove for anyone interested in broad ideas, not to mention readers whose professions involve recreation, wildlife, natural resources management, the environment, and the teaching of these disciplines as well as ethics, philosophy, and english literature. In sum, this is a must read for virtually anyone who wishes to be familar with important American literature, as well as those with a particular interest in the environment, environmental ethics and philosophy.

Aldo Leopold's brief book is a lyrical and poeitic expression of the passion and reverence that the author had for the natural world. Just a piece of wasteland, an old farm, is transformed for the reader into the magic place it was to Leopold. "...I am glad that I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map." expresses Leopold's wish for the preservation of wild places of solitude where nature abounds. A Sand County Almanac has provided me with a wealth of wonderful quotes for my environment and biology classes.

Long considered the first book on conservation, this should be read by everyone. The author's love of land, wildlife and nature are fully expressed. Those thoughts are followed by philosophizing on conservation - ethics, practice, economics, etc. Written in the nascent stages of conservation in this country, a time when it was more thought than practice, the issues still resonate today. One sees the difficulties both in expanding environmental conservation as well as the pitfalls and errors made in the area (with all good intent) since the forties when Leopald wrote.

Interestingly, especially to me as someone who hunts, much is written in the context of hunting. He also has some insightful words about why people do hunt as a connection to nature. As only a hunter can, he identifies the hunter's reverance for the land and nature.

Portions of this were assigned when I was in college. Now, 28 years later, the entirety means much more. It should be required reading for everyone, especially lovers of the outdoors.

The "Almanac" has been published several ways during the past fifty years, I strongly recommend the book published by Oxford University Press. It includes Thinking like a Mountain, The Land Ethic, and other important essays.
From Leopold's Sketches: "Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language."
Scientist, educator, forester, philosopher, writer -- Aldo Leopold appears to many as something of an enigma. In his earlier writings, Leopold was a very different man than we find in this volume. In Leopold's own words: "I was young then, and full or trigger-itch." This insightful classic is a gentle, scholarly, fatherly collection of essays, observations and stories. Like Thoreau's Walden, it is revered, loved and widely imitated. Leopold: "Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf. ... The cowman who cleans his range of wolves does not realize that he is taking over the wolf's job of trimming the herd to fit the range. He has not learned to think like a mountain. Hence we have ... rivers washing the future into the sea."

This review does not relate directly to the information in the book which has been discussed in detail in many excellent reviews. This book is truly for the person who loves the outdoors and is in itself 5 stars
My comments relate to the quality of the materials and format of the book. A good friend of mine gives this book to many of his friends so that they can become more aware of the environment and world around them. I thought that this was a great idea since we are so busy with HDTV, IPODS, Blackberrys and cell phones. I purchased one copy of the Galaxy (Oxford)publication and several of the Ballantine. There is no comparison. The Ballantine is a typical, cheap paperback. The Galaxy (White cover with Geese) is much nicer and makes a much better gift. It is definitely worth the extra money. When one considers the information deleted from the Ballantine edition (see review by Reiheld), it makes the argument even more compelling. My final comments --enjoy the reading, but spend the extra dollar or so and really enjoy the book.

There are few books on conservation, wildlife and nature that haven't been quickly obsoleted, are hoplessly trapped in period pop cultural amber, are fronts for naive political extremism or are simply irrelevant.

Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" is one of those few; composed of illuminating vignettes dealing with practical knowledge of and experience in the North American wilderness, thoughtful critiques of today's accepted notions of wildlife and land "management," and the realistic acceptance of the human role as a predator within nature's massive food chain. Leopold believed humanity's ever-increasing physical and psychological isolation from full but equal participation in all parts of the natural world's reality--its beauty and wonder as well as its cruelty and danger--has been to its severe detriment.

This trend, to him, is leading us to environmental carelessness, colossal misuse and waste of natural resources, and, worst of all, gives rise to an aberrant social ideology reveling in the fatuous cartoon fantasy of nature being a big, happy, perpetually peaceful commune if only humans weren't there. After looking at our sad record of pollution, repeated habitat destruction, poaching, overfishing and listening to the endless, arrogant prattle of government bureaucrats, pop conservationists and so-called animal rights activists, it seems Leopold is indeed a prophet for our times

The best recommendation I can find for this book comes from another (one star) anti-review - entitled "Nature Lovers Only":

"This book has no value to the everyday person"

The reviewer is one of those everyday persons, a person who has become utterly disconnected from the land, and the ecosystem from which she has emerged. Leopold's book is about nature as experienced by those who live in it - not by those who see it from a car, or on the Discovery Channel. If you are an every day person, living in a suburban box, enjoying nature in officially sanctioned parks (closed at 11pm of course), fogging the area with Raid so that you can eat your macaroni salad, then you will not enjoy this book.

If, like me, you are trapped in this suburban nightmare, and have this feeling that something is TERRIBLY wrong, then this book will help you to understand WHY you feel so miserable: We live on a planet, and share the planet with an enormous, pervasive ecosystem of plants and animals - kept only temporarily at bay by our sheetrock and asphalt barriers. Leopold describes this world with stunning insight derived from a near infinite patience in the observation of the natural world. He goes out on his walks and expeditions into a slightly younger America, and reports back on the world as it is - the world "out there" - in a way that few have done before or since. Read this book and step out of your "every day person" life. No walk in the woods will ever be the same again!

A wildlife ecologist friend recommended this to me, and being in the social sciences, I couldn't figure why until I actually read it. Sociologists, economists, psychologists, anthropologists and political scientists have a great deal to learn about our connections with nature and what it really means to be a part of a community. This is the best place to start.

If you have ever loved a wild place, or a secret place, or a place which calmed and sheltered you from the hustle of modern life, you must read Aldo Leopold's classic "A Sand County Almanac." Leopold, a noted conservationist, puts forth a sort of collection of musings, essays, arguments, and general thoughts on anything and everything having to do with nature. He covers water conservation, the migration of seeds and spores, hunting, the crumbling of a tree into loam from which another tree will eventually grow. At his very best, Leopold raises both the level of discourse and the level of writing to something that can stand with the finest literature:

"Within a few weeks now, Draba, the smallest flower that blows, will sprinkle every sandy place with small blooms. He who hopes for spring with upturned eye will never see so small a thing as Draba. He who despairs of spring with downcast eye steps on it, unknowing. He who searches for spring with his knees in the mud finds it, in abundance. Draba asks, and gets, but scant allowance of warmth and comfort; it subsists on the leavings of unwanted time and space. Botany books give it two or three lines, but never a plate or portrait. Sand too poor and sun too weak for bigger, better blooms are good enough for Draba. After all, it is no spring flower, but only a postscript to a hope."

When Leopold can describe a tiny nothing of a plant with such delicacy, beauty, and restraint, you know that you are reading the work of a rare and informed writer. I could quote from the book forever, as the gorgeous passages are many, but I urge you to read it yourself instead and discover an enduring voice in defense of the American wilderness.