Overview

When the American poet and naturalist John Burroughs opened his door to observe the world around him, his written findings became an inspiration to people all across the country. His published work was both widely read and acclaimed, and Slabsides, his home in the Catskills, became a favorite meetinghouse for such illustrious visitors as Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir. The only biography about Burroughs available for young readers, this abundantly illustrated book is replete with historical anecdotes and engaging details, and offers an intimate look at the life and work of an environmental pioneer.

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9780395778302

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Wadsworth pays tribute to an icon of the environmental conservation movement. . . Burroughs' work remains a landmark of environmental awareness and much of it is still being reprinted.

@lt;DIV@gt; Wadsworth pays tribute to an icon of the environmental conservation movement. . . Burroughs' work remains a landmark of environmental awareness and much of it is still being reprinted. Kirkus Reviews with Pointers@lt;/div@gt;

Wadsworth (John Muir, 1992, etc.) pays tribute to an icon of the environmental conservation movement, a popular nature writer of the last century and friend to the likes of Walt Whitman, John Muir, and Teddy Roosevelt. An inveterate keeper of notebooks, Burroughs seems to have recorded his every deed and thought, and while he's not quoted extensively here, included are somewhat trivial details: the name of his cow, the kinds of books he bought on a particular occasion, how many barrels of butter his father once sold. Nonetheless, Wadsworth offers a good sense of Burroughs's gregarious personality (he particularly enjoyed the company of younger women) and almost sensuous writing style: The apple . . . I toy with you; press your face to mine, toss you in the air, roll you on the ground, see you shine. His personal life is sketched but not idealized, his influence on his own and succeeding generations clearly laid out, and a generous selection of black-and-white photographs captures his shaggy-bearded presence, benevolent but magisterial. Burroughs's work remains a landmark of environmental awareness and much of it is still being reprinted: Back this capable biography up with the compilation John Burroughs' America (1997). (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Ginger Wadsworth is the author of many nonfiction titles for young readers, including, for Clarion, Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers, which was named a Nonfiction Honor Book by VOYA and received the Western Writers of America Spur Award. She lives in Orinda, California. You can learn more about her at www.gingerwadsworth.com.

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