The River Roader.Edited by John A. Murray, $30 The Lyons Press, 1998. This first in a series of anthologies from The Nature Conservancy Nature Conservancy, nonprofit organization established in 1951 to preserve or aid in the preservation of natural environments. It protects wilderness areas in the United States and Canada and is affiliated with similar groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. and Lyons Press seeks to "bring readers the finest nature writing from the past and present," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. editor John Murray Not to be confused with John Murry. There have been several important people by the name of John Murray (roughly in chronological order):
Wesley was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. , William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 — July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, the son of John Bartram. Bartram was born in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania. He accompanied his father on many of his travels, to the Catskill Mountains and Florida, and was noted at a young age for the , and Meriwether Lewis; and several exciting new writers. Some contributors recall quiet times along familiar rivers, others tell of daring adventures of exploration and discovery. Though very different in style, the essays reveal the authors' love of rivers as an intimate part intimate part Sexology Any primary genital area–groin, inner thigh, buttock or breast. See Boundary violation. of life. Editor Murray writes, "When I think of my life I think of it as a river, with the headwaters in childhood and the culmination in that distant sea the poets call eternity." Although the essays span a hundred years, the emotional experiences of the adventurers seem timeless. John Wesley Powell describes his feelings about having survived his perilous journey through the Grand Canyon: "The river rolls by us in silent majesty; the quiet camp is sweet; our joy is almost ecstasy." This book affirms the important place nature writing has in our lives both individually and as a nation. As Murray writes in the introduction, it reminds us that "words have power, that books can make a difference, and that even a small group of people working together can change the world, if only one river at a time." |
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