The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature [Hardcover]

David George Haskell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 15, 2012

Finalist for 2013 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction

Winner of the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award

Winner of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature.

A biologist reveals the secret world hidden in a single square meter of forest

In this wholly original book, biologist David Haskell uses a one- square-meter patch of old-growth Tennessee forest as a window onto the entire natural world. Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature's path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life.

Each of this book's short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring wildflowers. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands- sometimes millions-of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home.

Written with remarkable grace and empathy, The Forest Unseen is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Very much a contemporary biologist in his familiarity with genetics and population ecology, he also has the voracious synthetic imagination of a 19th-century naturalist. ...a sensitive writer, conjuring with careful precision the worlds he observes and delighting the reader with insightful turns of phrase." The Wall Street Journal.

"...as beautiful a book as I've read in years...I can't remember the last time I encountered so much spiritual wisdom, ecological intelligence and contagious love for the grandeur of life..." Chattanooga Times Free Press.

"Brimming with sensual details, when Haskell's modest patch of turf removes its glasses, it's as sexy as Marian the Librarian." Atlanta Journal and Constitution.

"An extraordinary, intimate view of life... Exceptional observations of the biological world..." Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review for "books of remarkable merit."

"Mixing poetry with natural history, he follows subtle scientific threads...to conclusions of gratifying breadth." Conservation Magazine.

 “Haskell leads the reader into a new genre of nature writing, located between science and poetry, in which the invisible appear, the small grow large, and the immense complex and beauty of life are more clearly revealed.”

(Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University )

 “In the style of Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and Thoreau, David Haskell has captured the beauty and intricacy of evolution in these pages. For those who are looking for inspiration to spend more time in the wild, this book is the perfect companion. Haskell’s vast knowledge of the forest and all its creatures is the perfect guide to exploring wilderness. The prose is a perfect match for the poetic tranquility found through the study of nature. A true naturalist’s manifesto.” 

(Greg Graffin, author of Anarchy Evolution )

 "David Haskell trains his eye on a single square meter of the Cumberland Plateau, and manages in the process to see the whole living planet as clearly as any writer in many years. Each chapter will teach you something new!"

(Bill McKibben, author Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet )

“…a welcome entry in the world of nature writers. He thinks like a biologist, writes like a poet, and gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist.” The New York Times

About the Author

David Haskell is a professor of biology at the University of the South and was named the Carnegie-CASE professor of the year in Tennessee in 2009. In addition to his scholarly work, he has published essays and poetry. He lives with his wife in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (March 15, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067002337X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670023370
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry
  • #22 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural History
  • #34 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural Resources

More About the Author

David Haskell's work integrates scientific and contemplative studies of the natural world. His research and teaching examine the evolution and conservation of animals, especially forest-dwelling birds and invertebrates. This research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Templeton Foundation. In addition to numerous scientific articles, he has published essays and poems about science and nature.

His classes have received national attention for the innovative ways in which they combine scientific exploration, contemplative practice, and action in the community. In 2009, the Carnegie and CASE Foundations named him Professor of the Year for Tennessee, an award given to college professors of who have achieved national distinction and whose work shows "extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching." The Oxford American featured him in 2011 as one of the southern U.S.'s most creative teachers and his teaching has been profiled in USA Today, The Tennesseean, and other newspapers.

Haskell holds degrees from the University of Oxford (B.A. in Zoology) and from Cornell University (Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology). He is Professor of Biology at the University of the South, where he has served both as Chair of Biology and as an Environmental Fellow with the Associated Colleges of the South. He is a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and was granted Elective Membership in the American Ornithologists' Union in recognition of "significant contributions to ornithology." He served on the board of the South Cumberland Regional Land Trust, where he initiated and led the campaign to purchase and protect a portion of Shakerag Hollow, where the book is set, a forest that E. O. Wilson has called a "cathedral of nature."

He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he and his wife, Sarah Vance, run a micro-farm.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The forest unseen, a year's watch in nature April 19, 2012

By Stephen P. Koury

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Outstanding, a joy to read. The story is presented as a series of daily observances of a small section of old growth forest. Each daily narrative is driven by what was taking place during each visit.The author clearly explains these goings on and how they effect the larger ecosystem, from season to season, fungus to large mammals.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Observation fosters a deeper love May 20, 2012

By Barbara Harris

Format:Hardcover

One of the best natural history oriented books I've read in the past several years. Using a one square meter patch of Tennessee old growth forest as the object of his contemplation, and returning to it frequently throughout the year, the author shows us natural phenomena we'd otherwise have overlooked. Haskell emphasizes the interconnectedness of humble organisms such as fungi and soil-inhabiting arthropods as well as the more familiar birds and mammals we're more likely to notice.You will be inspired to take a much closer look during your next outing into nature.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is a classic September 15, 2012

By Beth Maynor Young

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great book. I read, re-read and then bought the hard back copy to have one for the shelves. Will continue to re-read. Extremely well written and insightful. Each paragraph is charged with poetic information and deep understanding of the eco-system. I found the book absorbing.