Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife.Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife Marie Winn Marie Winn's tale of adventures in Central Park begins with darkness. She explores the cultural and literary associations between night and death, and the backstory back·sto·ry n. 1. The experiences of a character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or narrative of a literary, cinematic, or dramatic work: of why humans are afraid of the dark. But, for her, curiosity and logic override fear--these days more crime occurs in the park during the day. So Winn sets off and running on a nighttime safari through the 800-plus acres that make up one of the world's most fabled green spaces. Screech owls, slugs See State and local government series. , beetles and bats are among the wonders Winn and her compatriots stalk during 11 years of forays. Winn delves into each species' natural history, including not only information gleaned from field guides and scientists, but also quotes from Thoreau, Shakespeare and Ogden Nash Noun 1. Ogden Nash - United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (1902-1971) Nash . Her tone is conversational and infused with enthusiasm. The reader is a listener at a cocktail party, and Winn's stories are peppered with asides. She references her moods and those of her companions, which include a group of amateur astronomers Famous astronomers and astrophysicists include: Directory: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
A writer for the Waft Street Journal and author of Red-Tails in Love, Winn interweaves hard facts with narratives. City dwellers and visitors will appreciate the precise descriptions of specific benches, trees or outcrops where Winn saw a silver-haired bat The Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family. It is found in Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Source
n. Any of several large noctuid moths of the genus Erebus of the southern United States and tropical America. [From its nocturnal habits.] . The book may well prompt more people to abandon their fears and visit Central Park in the dark. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008, 304 p., $25. |
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