Soldiers Delight Journal: Exploring a Globally Rare Ecosystem (Pitt Series in Nature & Natural History) [Paperback]

Jack Wennerstrom (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pitt Series in Nature & Natural History | Publication Date: January 15, 1995

In this journal, the author describes his year-long walking adventures at the Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, a rare prairie remnant just seven miles northwest of Baltimore, Maryland. In his quest to make this wild place his “natural home” throughout the course of four distinct seasons, Wennerstrom examines and contemplates rocks and minerals, plants, animals, prairies, floodplains, woodlands, lakes, ponds, pastures, mines and mills, Indian artifacts, as well as local legends and folklore.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A reflective, descriptive and fact-filled account of one year in the life of a globally rare, 2,000-acre prairie remnant in northwest Baltimore county.”
—Baltimore Sun

About the Author

Jack Wennerstrom is a freelance writer and naturalist. He is the author of several books including Leaning Sycamores: Natural Worlds of the Upper Potomac.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (January 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822955504
• ISBN-13: 978-0822955504
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,625,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful portrait of a small ecological niche., January 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Soldiers Delight Journal: Exploring a Globally Rare Ecosystem (Pitt Series in Nature & Natural History) (Paperback)

Discount this review as you will; I must confess that I've known Jack for a number of years... Nonetheless, it's a beatutiful work. While some reviewers have compared him to Thoreau, I wouldn't go that far. But his love for the small deails of an eccosystm comes through exquisitly. As the title implies, Jack cronicles his frequent trips to Soldiers's Delight, a sort-of protected park near his home. It includes the geologic history of the area, as well as the history of human impact. And does a good job of riding the line between science and simple love for a place on the planet. It's clear to the reader that Jack loves the place, and his detailed, but not judgemental, descriptions of everything from the beauty of salamanders to piles of junk put you there. Maybe Jack isn't the next Thoreau. This book makes me think more of Hemmingway. A sort of restrained exuberance, and an economy of language that takes the reader into a place worth seeing. --del

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serpentine Prairie Almanac, May 14, 2010

By 

Howie (North by Northwest) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Soldiers Delight Journal: Exploring a Globally Rare Ecosystem (Pitt Series in Nature & Natural History) (Paperback)

This books records the author's observations and ruminations during the course of one year in a small natural reserve near Baltimore -- Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area. Written as a naturalist's journal, it easily reminds one of Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" or Joseph Wood Krutch's "Twelve Seasons", and several other such nature writings. It is especially of interest to me because the place is near where I live (although I have not yet visited this park).

The author's knowledge of the environment and the species that live in it is at once vast and intimate. I would undoubtedly overlook many of the animals and plants he describes so vividly in this book. Like the author said in the introduction, life is unutterably dull without the potential for discovery. It is amazing how much one can observe in and learn from just a small patch of land. It is sad that, of the once vast serpentine prairie, today only tiny and disconnected remnants such as Soldiers Delight remain. But it is also gratifying and uplifting that, after reading this book, we once again discover that many species still survive (if not thrive) in these fragile ecosystems.

This is not a field guide. It is a literary work in the tradition of Thoreau, Leopold and Krutch. But since it records the animals, plants and rocks of this area in intricate details and according to the time of the year, it can actually be used as a field guide. The illustrations in this book, though not many, are also of very fine quality, which makes is even more enjoyable. I am sure when I visit Soldiers Delight NEA, I will carry one in my backpack.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You read it...you live it, April 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Soldiers Delight Journal: Exploring a Globally Rare Ecosystem (Pitt Series in Nature & Natural History) (Paperback)

A very detailed look at a beautiful area of the world. The writing makes you feel like you have been there. Lots of research in this one. Relax and enjoy the get-away.