Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark

by Leigh Ann Henion

Overview

From a New York Times bestselling nature writer comes a celebration of what goes on outside in the dark, from blooming moon gardens to nocturnal salamanders, from glowing foxfire and synchronous fireflies that blink in unison like an orchestra of light. 

In this glorious celebration of the night, New York Times bestselling nature writer Leigh Ann Henion invites us to leave our well-lit homes, step outside, and embrace the dark as a profoundly beautiful part of the world we inhabit. Because no matter where we live, we are surrounded by animals that rise with the moon, and blooms that reveal themselves as light fades. Henion explores her home region of Appalachia, where she attends a synchronous firefly event in Tennessee, a bat outing in Alabama, and a moth festival in Ohio. In North Carolina, she finds forests alight with bioluminescent mushrooms, neighborhood trees full of screech owls, and valleys teeming with migratory salamanders. Along the way, Henion encounters naturalists, biologists, primitive-skills experts, and others who’ve dedicated their lives to cultivating relationships with darkness. 
 
Every page of this lyrical book feels like an opportunity to ask: How did I not know about this before? For example, we learn that it can take hours, not minutes, for human eyes to reach full night vision capacity. And that there are thousands of firefly species on earth, many with flash patterns as unique as fingerprints. In an age of increasing artificial light, Night Magic focuses on the amazing biodiversity that still surrounds us after sunset. We do not need to stargaze into the distant cosmos or dive into the depths of oceans to find awe in the dark. There are dazzling wonders in our own backyards. And readers of World of Wonders, Entangled Life, and The Hidden Life of Trees will discover joy in Night Magic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643756196
Publisher:	Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook

About the Author

Leigh Ann Henion is the New York Times bestselling author of Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, and a variety of other publications. Henion’s articles have been cited as notable in The Best American Essays, The Best American Travel Writing, The Best American Sports Writing, and The Best American Science & Nature Writing. She has received four Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers, and her work has been supported by the Alicia Patterson Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Henion lives in the mountains of North Carolina.
 

Editorial Reviews

07/22/2024

In this lyrical account, nature writer Henion (Phenomenal) spotlights the nocturnal wildlife she’s observed around her home in western North Carolina. Explaining that spotted salamanders live underground except for a few nights each spring when they emerge to mate, Henion recounts assisting a college biology class transport salamanders across a road that cut the amphibians off from their breeding grounds. Humans benefit when they live in harmony with nature, she contends, discussing how she planted trees and put up “bat houses” (slender bird boxes) to shield bats from light pollution and habitat loss while they, in turn, stemmed the proliferation of mosquitos and the pathogens they carry. Elsewhere, she discusses attending a moth-watching festival, hunting for bioluminescent fungi, and watching jasmine tobacco’s nocturnal blooms. The science intrigues (“Moth scales resonate at frequencies almost perfectly matched” to bats’ echolocating calls, “muffling echoes that might have otherwise revealed” the moth’s location), but Henion’s greatest gift is her ability to evoke the sense of wonder that follows from tuning in to the natural world: “Slowly, entire constellations of fireflies rise from the coal-black earth around me, twinkling with oxygen. I attempt to align with their rhythm: Inhale, light. Exhale, dark. We are breathing, in sync, on this complicated planet.” This will fill readers with awe. Agent: Heather Carr, Friedrich Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"A dazzling reminder of what it means to take stock of our planet's night wisdom, and a prescient reminder to let your vision ripen at night. And if you do—you'll understand why we need more evenings full of foxfire and ‘mothapaloozas.’ In this vivid book, Henion renders our night world with profound care and discovery. Prepare to be enchanted. Prepare to love the darkness.”
 —Aimee Nezhukumatathil, New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders

“Night Magic is an illuminating exploration of the dark. Beautifully written, often moving, and full of wonder.”
 —Richard Louv, international bestselling author of Last Child in the Woods and Our Wild Calling

"Leigh Ann Henion has illuminated the natural treasures that live by night. Moths, fireflies, owls, and much more are brought to attention in these pages with the hope that we can put aside our fear of the dark and experience what happens during a full half of our stay on earth. Night Magic is a beautiful journey."

—Douglas W. Tallamy, New York Times bestselling author of Nature’s Best Hope and Bringing Nature Home

“A thrilling exploration of a world that waits for us behind the lights.”
 —Tristan Gooley, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs and How to Read a Tree

“Brilliant. Leigh Ann Henion is an inspiring and wise guide not only to the biological marvels of night, but also to the communities of people who celebrate and protect the rich life of the dark. Beyond fear of the dark is wonder, vividly evoked in these pages.”—David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest Unseen

Praise for Phenomenal:

“What a cool and fascinating ride. Leigh Ann Henion has tackled one of the great questions of contemporary, intelligent, adventurous women: Is it possible to be a wife and mother and still explore the world? Her answer seems to be that this is not only possible, but essential. This story shows how. I think it will open doors for many.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love

"A moving and original memoir about the search for transcendence in moments both large and small." 
— Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation

“Leigh Ann Henion’s exhilarating book (and life!) is everything the title suggests and more. Reading Phenomenal will give you courage—courage to explore the world we live in, and further, courage to explore your self. With moments of breath-stealing beauty, wild intelligence, and unrelenting honesty, Phenomenal is a true gift for everyone who’s ever been curious.”
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness——

"The science intrigues...but Henion’s greatest gift is her ability to evoke the sense of wonder that follows from tuning in to the natural world. This will fill readers with awe." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2024-06-11
A lyrical, fascinating story about exploring the secret world of darkness and the remarkable creatures within it.

In today’s hectic, digitally focused world, writes Henion, we have become too used to an excess of illumination: the unblinking screen, the persistent streetlight, the overbright room. Furthermore, we have lost a sense of the presence of darkness and an understanding of what happens there. The author explored this idea in her 2016 bookPhenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World, but in her latest, she dives deeply into a world that is unknown to most readers. She begins with fireflies, which are plentiful in the mountains of North Carolina, where she lives, as well as glowworms and night-traveling salamanders. She chronicles her travels through her area and further afield, encountering guides and naturalists who are studying nighttime creatures. The animals and birds that come out at night can be difficult to spot, but Henion finds that her eyes and spirit can slowly adapt to the darker, more natural world. She also describes the plants that bloom under the moonlight, often with strange structures and rich perfume to attract moths and insects. In a striking chapter, the author examines the luminous fungi known as foxfire, which has a beauty all its own. She recounts her experience of making fire from natural materials as evening gathered and how she felt connected to the long line of humanity. There is a sense of renewal throughout, and she realizes the importance of occasionally escaping from the world of unrelenting, artificial light: “It is only by the power of light and the grace of darkness that we’re able to rest and rise, then rest and rise again.”

Henion writes with poetic grace, blending her journey of discovery with the natural wonders in our own backyards.

Kirkus Reviews