A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac (Galaxy Books, #263)

by Aldo Leopold

First published in 1949 and praised in The New York Times Book Review as "a trenchant book, full of vigor and bite," A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.

Written with an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature, the book includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another part that gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was forty years ago.

Reviewed by Briana @ Pages Unbound on

4 of 5 stars

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Although Leopold sometimes has as much of a "message" about nature as writers such as Thoreau, he comes across as far more happy and pleasant. Being in nature isn't just something "good for you" for Leopold (though it is). He truly loves nature, happily waking up at 3 am to do something as simple as listening to bird songs.

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  • 17 October, 2012: Finished reading
  • 17 October, 2012: Reviewed