The Sense of Wonder [Hardcover]

Rachel Carson (Author), Nick Kelsh (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 1998

First published more than three decades ago, this reissue of Rachel Carson's award-winning classic brings her unique vision to a new generation of readers. Stunning new photographs by Nick Kelsh beautifully complement Carson's intimate account of adventures with her young nephew, Roger, as they enjoy walks along the rocky coast of Maine and through dense forests and open fields, observing wildlife, strange plants, moonlight and storm clouds, and listening to the "living music" of insects in the underbrush.

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder." Writes Carson, "he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." The Sense of Wonder is a refreshing antidote to indifference and a guide to capturing the simple power of discovery that Carson views as essential to life.

In her insightful new introduction, Linda Lear remembers Rachel Carson's groundbreaking achievements in the context of the legendary environmentalist's personal commitment to introducing young and old to the miracles of nature.

Kelsh's lush photographs inspire sensual, tactile reactions: masses of leaves floating in a puddle are just waiting to be scooped up and examined more closely. An image of a narrow path through the trees evokes the earthy scent of the woods after a summer rain. Close-ups of mosses and miniature lichen fantasy-lands will spark innocent'as well as more jaded'imaginations. Like a curious child studying things underfoot and within reach, Kelsh's camera is drawn to patterns in nature that too often elude hurried adults'a stand of beech trees in the springtime, patches of melting snow and the ripples from a pebble tossed into a slow-moving stream.

The Sense of Wonder is a timeless volume that will be passed on from children to grandchildren, as treasured as the memory of an early-morning walk when the song of a whippoorwill was heard as if for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Not long before she died in 1964, the noted environmental writer Rachel Carson wrote an essay for Woman's Home Companion magazine called "Helping Your Child to Wonder." In that essay--reprinted here, with photographs of natural subjects by Nick Kelsh--Carson urged parents to take their children to wild places in order to introduce them to the astonishing variety of life that exists all around us: to study birds, listen to the winds, and observe the stars. Too much of the child's subsequent education, she warns, will be devoted to dimming that "clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring" with which children are born; it is the parent's task to be an adult guide who can in turn rediscover the "excitement and mystery of the world we live in." Carson's words are timely, and this beautifully illustrated edition makes a fine gift for new and prospective mothers and fathers. --Gregory McNamee

Review

“Carson hoped her book would inspire adults and children alike to experience the sensory and emotional in nature, and knew that if they did they would have less appetite for those activities that threatened the living world. . . . The inspiring blend of Rachel Carson’s prose and Nick Kelsh’s photographs is ideally suited to accomplish her goal.”—CNN Entertainment

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006757520X
• ISBN-13: 978-0067575208
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Essays

More About the Author

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) spent most of her professional life as a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the late 1950s, she had written three lyrical, popular books about the sea, including the bestselling The Sea Around Us, and had become the most respected science writer in America. She completed Silent Spring against formidable personal odds, and with it shaped a powerful social movement that has altered the course of history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure of a book, May 15, 2001

By 

dragonfly333 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sense of Wonder (Hardcover)

This book was recommended to me by a friend some years ago. She told me that she had read this book in her youth and it had changed her life. At the time, the book was still out of print, but I managed to find a well-read copy through inter-library loan. After reading it, I can well understand how this little book can transform a person's way of thinking. In a very personal and lyrical remembrance, Rachel Carson shares her vision of the natural world and the wonder it inspires. "A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood," Rachel Carson writes. And this book, filled with its sage and poetic insight, and illustrated with luscious photographs of the natural world is a first step toward rediscovering that amazing sense of wonder within. I particularly love her thoughts about one starry summer night when she muses, "if this (the starry sky) were a sight that could be seen only once in a century...this little headland would be thronged with spectators. But it can be seen many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they will never see it." This wisdom is both a gift to the young and the old alike. I only wish I had read it sooner. When I found the book in print again, I promptly bought it, and have read it over and over. It is a treasure that will be enjoyed for years.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Renew your Sense of Wonder, January 17, 2002

By 

Rosemary B. Rideout (Gilroy, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sense of Wonder (Hardcover)

I loved this book. Not only was Carson's essay wonderfully thought-provoking, but it was poetic as well. Her message is simple, if you love nature, share that love with a young person...so that they, too, might one day pass it along. By sharing your love of nature, you help carry hope that we will begin to take a little better care of our mother earth.

The book includes photographs which compliment Carson's words. Thank you for reminding us to share our love of the natural world.

This would be a wonderful gift for a new parent or new grandparent.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This essay is a gift for the future, for the next generation, April 6, 1999

By 

Shinji Iwamasa ([e-mail]) (Tokyo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sense of Wonder (Hardcover)

Few people in English speaking countries do not know the name, Rachel Carson, the author of "Silent Spring", which shocked the world and made her a pioneer of environmental protection in the 1960's.�@You may find her name on the White House official home page, where vice-president Gore warns of environmental crisis, quoting extracts from Carson, and notes her important contributions in this connection.�@ She already knew of her coming death from cancer while writing the book.�@"The Sense of Wonder" is an unfinished essay dedicated to her orphaned nephew Roger, and written while struggling with her deadly illness.�@In contrast to Silent Spring, which has been translated into many languages and is a best seller throughout the world, this essay has been out of print for a long time, even in the United States. I think it is meaningful to publish this essay again at this point in history.�@More than 35 years have passed since "Silent Spring", however, I wonder if we've listened to her warnings.�@There has been a massive increase in the effects of garbage, air pollution, global warming, and chemicals which markedly affect our eco-system, including the human beings.�@ This essay is a gift for the future, for the next generation of people who will have to discover their human nature in a world where nature has been diminished and degraded.