The University of Wisconsin Press

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Literature and Criticism / American Studies / Environmental Science / Ecology

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Nature's Kindred Spirits Aldo Leopold, Joseph Wood Krutch, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, and Gary Snyder James I. McClintock Aldo Leopold, Joseph Wood Krutch, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, Gary Snyder—these writers have movingly recorded their encounters with nature. In Nature's Kindred Spirits James McClintock shows how their mystical experiences with the wild led to dramatic conversions in their thinking and behavior. By embracing the ecstasy of nature, they reject modern alienation and spiritual confusion. From Aldo Leopold, America's most important conservationist and author of the classic A Sand County Almanac, to Pulitzer Prize winners Annie Dillard and Gary Snyder and defenders of the desert Joseph Wood Krutch and Edward Abbey, these writers share a common vision that harkens back to Henry David Thoreau and John Muir. To nineteenth-century Romantic ideals, they add the authority of modern ecological science. Collectively they have elevated nature's importance in American culture, shaping the growth of the environmental movement and influencing American environmental policies. Widely admired among educated readers but relatively neglected by the literary establishment, these writers unite the experiential with the metaphysical, the ordinary with the sacred, the personal with the public, and the natural with the social. Using ecology as a touchstone, McClintock further draws connections among science, politics, religion, and philosophy to create an enlightening overview of the work of these "kindred spirits." "A superb book, informative and enjoyable, that will appeal to the many loyal readers of nature writers. But it will also find use in the many new courses that explore the cultural and literary aspects of environmental studies, for it furthers understanding of the development of modern environmental thought, of nature writing in general, and of these writers in particular."—Curt Meine, author of Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work James I. McClintock is distinguished professor of English and director of the American Studies Program at Michigan State University. He has also taught in science and technology programs. He is the author of White Logic: Jack London's Short Stories. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)

April 1994 LC: 93-038110 PS 200 pp.    6 x 9    7 line illus. Paper $19.95 x ISBN 978-0-299-14174-5 ADD TO CART

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