"Barnes reminds readers to take time out to pay full attention to their natural surroundings in this earnest and accessible how-to guide. Barnes offers sound advice and educational information. Informative and useful, his manual should prove a valuable resource for any novice nature-philes interested in reveling in the ‘wildness in us all.’"
Description
We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing.But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features numerous spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home.Mammals you never knew existed will enter your world. Birds hidden in treetops will shed their cloak of anonymity. With a single movement of your hand you can make reptiles appear before you. Butterflies you never saw before will bring joy to every sunny day. Creatures of the darkness will enter your consciousness. And as you take on new techniques and a little new equipment, you will discover new creatures and, with them, new areas of yourself that had gone dormant. Once put to use, they wake up and start working again. You become wilder in your mind and in your heart. Once you know the tricks, the wild world begins to appear before you.
Reviews
"Passionate, inviting, even lyrical. Barnes provides a companionable view of why we love birds, their lives, and futures." [praise for The Meaning of Birds]
"This fanciful yet grounded book is Barnes’s clarion call for rediscovering the wild world of nature through simple actions and a reframed perspective. The short chapters and approachable tone should appeal to any nature lover, but especially for the budding naturalist."
"Barnes infuses this playful, conversational exploration of the relationship of birds to humanity with a sense of well-informed wonder. He demonstrates patient attention to the world around him, combining thoughtful scholarship with a skill for conveying particulars in accessible language. A generous volume." [praise for The Meaning of Birds]
