Page Three of CultureWatch, August 2010
Following the Water; A Hydromancer's Notebook
By David M. Carroll, x
Published by HMH Books, hardcover; © 2009, 186 pp
This book is a shining example of why books as paper and ink and bindings must prevail in the face of electronic convenience. It is nothing less than soul satisfying. Following the Water is actually poetry in prose, science as art, including philosophy and religion without confrontation. Carroll is a naturalist in a tradition of American letters that includes Thoreau, Emerson, Roger Tory Peterson, and Burroughs. No wonder he has been the recipient of the John Burroughs medal and a MacArthur genius award. To bring his reader to tears without a hint of anthropomorphism is a feat in itself. He is also a superb draftsman. The exquisite illustrations and endpapers accompanying his notebook entries and finished essays add to the pleasures to be found on every page.
When you can be made to live and/or relive what are for most of us far-too-rare experiences of the world we inhabit, and made to see nuances too subtle for most of us to perceive without guidance, you are transported in every sense of the word. If you have any interest at all in the beauty and mystery and forces beyond human control and too often beyond our interest, you need to enjoy this book.
Beginning in the spring and ending in autumn, from thaw to freeze, Carroll takes us on his searches for old acquaintances (who knew turtles had such long lives?) and ecological signals of the health of the habitat he describes with such precision it seems possible that a reader who has never seen any place like it could picture it. He shows every step from birth (or hatching) to death in fascinating detail. How has he learned so much about what is so cleverly hidden?
If you buy this book, you will keep it. May the one message left behind: Carroll's warning of the hazards to every living thing if we continue to settle for Conservation instead of insisting on Preservation stay with everyone who reads this wonderful record of a life lived in harmony with Nature.
— JLC
The New York Times Guide to Practically Everything; The Essential Companion for Everyday Life
Editors: Amy D. Bernstein & Peter W. Bernstein — by The New York Times and Amberstone Publishing;
St. Martin's Press
© 2009, 2006; Hardcover: 852 pp
This book has sat on my desk for a couple of months as I pondered (a) how to approach such a hefty work, mindful of its intimidating title, and (b) whether or not a review could begin to capture it whatever it is. When I started reading, however, I felt a little – well, all right, a lot – ashamed to have been so chicken.
There is a plethora of information Out There, everything from standard encyclopedias comprised of multiple volumes, to a whole lot of books of specialized subject matter like The Encyclopedia of Demons & Demonology, or Encyclopedia of the Harley Davidson, never mind websites like Wikipedia and Google. Somehow, I had trouble envisioning the need for one more compendium. Boy was I wrong.
As a handy, family-friendly guide, this just can’t be beat. Unlike websites that permit undocumented audience participation, or stuffy encyclopedias which use words the average teenager may not understand, The Practical Guide offers the erudition and reliability of The New York Times delivered in easily understood, accessible bits. Furthermore, those bits are indexed into twelve sections, with broad categories like:
- House & Garden
- Sports & Games
- Careers
- Education
- Science & Symbols
Each category has several sub (and sub-sub) headings like:
- Remodeling; How to pick a contractor; Decorating; Maintenance
- A Fan’s Guide; An Athlete’s Guide; Games & Puzzles
- Getting Hired; On the Job; Office Strategies
- Pre-K Through 12; College & Beyond; Strategies; Teaching Techniques.
- Weather & Geology; Stars & tides; Figures & Formulas.
The simplicity of the layout and the broadness of reach make this an especially fine resource for any young, busy family. The section on child-rearing alone would be useful to young parents, as would the chapter on First Aid & Survival. My own favorite is the section on “Sports & Games.” I love its subsection titled “A Fan’s Guide,” which includes an “Insider’s Guide to Baseball Parks;” “Stadium Eats;” a “Scalper’s Guide,” and – just, I am convinced, for us grandmothers –“How to Read the Football Ref’s Arms.” I may yet master enough of this to impress my sports-crazy sons and grandson. Another sub-section titled “An Athlete’s Guide” describes things like “How to Play Smart Tennis, or “Finding the Right Bike,” and I am reading those on the theory that it’s never too late to try something new.
Although this book is a treat for all who enjoy trivia, it is also a fine resource for those of us who like our information succinct, straightforward, and authoritative. It will make a cheerful house gift or holiday gift, because there is material to interest readers of all ages and persuasions. The editors have avoided the pedantic, pontificating tone of many reference books. This one is lively and fun, as well as being solidly-researched and carefully fact-checked.
We give it high marks.
— JS
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