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This is the first anthology of nature writing that celebrates California, the most geographically diverse state in the union. Readers—be they naturalists or armchair explorers—will find themselves transported to California's many wild places in the company of forty noted writers whose works span more than a century. Divided into sections on California's mountains, hills and valleys, deserts, coast, and elements (earth, wind, and fire), the book contains essays, diary entries, and excerpts from larger works, including fiction. As a prelude to the collection, editor Steven Gilbar presents two California Indian creation myths, one a Cahto narrative and the other an A-juma-wi story as told by Darryl Babe Wilson.
Familiar names appear in these pages—John Muir, Robert Louis Stevenson, John McPhee, M.F.K. Fisher, Gretel Ehrlich—but less familiar writers such as Daniel Duane, Margaret Millar, and John McKinney are also included. Among the gems in this treasure trove are Jack Kerouac on climbing Mt. Matterhorn, Barry Lopez on snow geese migration at Tule Lake, Edward Abbey on Death Valley, Henry Miller on Big Sur, and Joan Didion on the Santa Ana winds. Gary Snyder's inspiring Afterword reflects the spirit of environmentalism that runs throughout the book. Natural State also reveals the many changes to California's landscape that have occurred in geological time and in human terms. More than a book of "nature writing," this book is superb writing about nature.
Familiar names appear in these pages—John Muir, Robert Louis Stevenson, John McPhee, M.F.K. Fisher, Gretel Ehrlich—but less familiar writers such as Daniel Duane, Margaret Millar, and John McKinney are also included. Among the gems in this treasure trove are Jack Kerouac on climbing Mt. Matterhorn, Barry Lopez on snow geese migration at Tule Lake, Edward Abbey on Death Valley, Henry Miller on Big Sur, and Joan Didion on the Santa Ana winds. Gary Snyder's inspiring Afterword reflects the spirit of environmentalism that runs throughout the book. Natural State also reveals the many changes to California's landscape that have occurred in geological time and in human terms. More than a book of "nature writing," this book is superb writing about nature.
Price: $30.95
Pages: 400
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
28 April 1998
ISBN: 9780520920330
Format: eBook
Foreword
Introduction
THE CREATION
Cahto Myth
The Creation
Darryl Babe Wilson
Grampa Ramsey and the Great Canyon
THE MOUNTAINS
Joaquin Miller
An Elk Hunt
Joseph LeConte
Ramblings in Yosemite
Mark Twain
Lake Tahoe
Jack Kerouac
Climbing Matterhorn Peak
Harold Gilliam
A Mount for All Seasons
Ann Zwinger
Trumpets of Light
David Rains Wallace
The Fourth Dimension
Daniel Duane
Climbing Half Dome
THE HILLS AND VALLEYS
William H. Brewer
Into the Valley
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Sea Fogs
Jack London
On Sonoma Mountain
John Steinbeck
Flight
M. F. K Fisher
Spirits of the Valley
Barry Lopez
A Reflection on White Geese
David Darlington
In Condor Country
David Mas Masumoto
Winter's Fog
Hildegarde Planner
A Vanishing Land
Wallace Stegner
Remnants
THE DESERT
John Daniel
Desert Walking
Edward Abbey
Death Valley
Susan Zwinger
Overlooking Carrizo Gorge
Gary Paul Nabhan
The Palms in Our Hands
THE COAST
J. Smeaton Chase
Gaviota Coast Trails
Lawrence Clark Powell
Where the Mountains Meet the Sea
Henry Miller
Big Sur
T. H. Watkins
The Sundown Sea
Russell Chatham
A Certain Moment
Ken Nunn
Tapping the Source
Gretel Ehrlich
Santa Rosa
John McKinney
Lost Coast
EARTH, WIND, RAIN, AND FIRE
James D. Houston
Continental Drift
John McPhee
The San Andreas Discrepancy
John Muir
A Wind-Storm in the Forest
Joan Didion
The Santa Ana
Mary Austin
Nurslings of the Sky
Jane Hollister Wheelwright
The Storm
Margaret Millar
After the Fire
Afterword: Coming into the Watershed
Gary Snyder
Further Reading
Acknowledgments
Introduction
THE CREATION
Cahto Myth
The Creation
Darryl Babe Wilson
Grampa Ramsey and the Great Canyon
THE MOUNTAINS
Joaquin Miller
An Elk Hunt
Joseph LeConte
Ramblings in Yosemite
Mark Twain
Lake Tahoe
Jack Kerouac
Climbing Matterhorn Peak
Harold Gilliam
A Mount for All Seasons
Ann Zwinger
Trumpets of Light
David Rains Wallace
The Fourth Dimension
Daniel Duane
Climbing Half Dome
THE HILLS AND VALLEYS
William H. Brewer
Into the Valley
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Sea Fogs
Jack London
On Sonoma Mountain
John Steinbeck
Flight
M. F. K Fisher
Spirits of the Valley
Barry Lopez
A Reflection on White Geese
David Darlington
In Condor Country
David Mas Masumoto
Winter's Fog
Hildegarde Planner
A Vanishing Land
Wallace Stegner
Remnants
THE DESERT
John Daniel
Desert Walking
Edward Abbey
Death Valley
Susan Zwinger
Overlooking Carrizo Gorge
Gary Paul Nabhan
The Palms in Our Hands
THE COAST
J. Smeaton Chase
Gaviota Coast Trails
Lawrence Clark Powell
Where the Mountains Meet the Sea
Henry Miller
Big Sur
T. H. Watkins
The Sundown Sea
Russell Chatham
A Certain Moment
Ken Nunn
Tapping the Source
Gretel Ehrlich
Santa Rosa
John McKinney
Lost Coast
EARTH, WIND, RAIN, AND FIRE
James D. Houston
Continental Drift
John McPhee
The San Andreas Discrepancy
John Muir
A Wind-Storm in the Forest
Joan Didion
The Santa Ana
Mary Austin
Nurslings of the Sky
Jane Hollister Wheelwright
The Storm
Margaret Millar
After the Fire
Afterword: Coming into the Watershed
Gary Snyder
Further Reading
Acknowledgments