Shaped by Wind and Water: Reflections of a Naturalist

by Ann Haymond Zwinger

Overview

Known for her observant and beautifully illustrated books on the rivers, deserts, and mountains of the West, Ann Haymond Zwinger focuses here on her guiding principles as a naturalist as she "looks" with notebook and pencil, believing that "to know the world intimately is the beginning of caring."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571312402
Publisher:	Milkweed Editions
Publication date:	06/08/2000
Series:	The World As Home
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

The Credo series offers contemporary American writers the opportunity to discuss their essential goals, concerns, and practices. To examine her work, Colorado naturalist Zwinger (The Nearsighted Naturalist) spent a week at a retreat for women writers. The short book that resulted is divided into seven parts, each representing a morning of her week in Puget Sound. She admits to a discomfort with introspection and a preference for natural-history writing, which dictates an outward focus, not an inward one, and her uneasiness continually hampers her narration. Any attempt at self-analysis quickly lapses into the factual jargon of the scientist, presenting details of mundane mornings, observations of surroundings, and facts about the flora and fauna. Her paragraphs move from one subject to another in a hodgepodge style, lacking continuity or harmony. Series editor Scott Slovic concludes this volume with a lengthy biographical portrait of Zwinger and a bibliography of works by and about her. While this book may appeal to her ardent fans, it offers little attraction to others. Ilse Heidmann, San Marcos, TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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