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Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2009
272 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
In Summer World: A Season of Bounty, Bernd Heinrich brings us the same bottomless reserve of wonder and reverence for the teeming animal life of backwoods New England that he brought us in Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. Now he is focusing on the animal kingdom in the extremes of the warmer months, with all its feeding, nesting, fighting, and mating.
Whether presenting disquisitions on ant wars, the predatory characteristics
of wasps, the mating rituals of woodpeckers, or describing an encounter with a
road full of wood frogs, Summer World never stops observing the
beautifully complex interactions of animals and plants with nature, giving
extraordinary depth to the relationships between habitat and the warming of the
earth. How can cicadas survive—and thrive—at temperatures pushing 115°F? Do
hummingbirds know what they're up against before they migrate over the Gulf of
Mexico? Why do some trees stop growing taller even when three months of warm
weather remain? With awe and unmatched expertise, Heinrich explores hundreds of
questions like these.
Exquisitely illustrated with dozens of the author's own drawings, Summer
World is Bernd Heinrich's most engaging book to date, a fascinating work
from one of our very best science writers.
"Heinrich...delights with the surprising activities of local flora and fauna - and his own scientific antics." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred Review. Heinrich presents natural science at its engaging best." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Starred Review. Heinrich notices everything around him in the woods and sets out to investigate; his skillful writing and delight in the season and nature are obvious." - Library Journal.
"This lovely book, meticulously etched and based on impassioned but exacting scientific research, illustrate why Bernd Heinrich is generally regarded as the most truly Thoreauvian of modern natural history writers." - Edward O. Wilson.
"Bernd Heinrich's books open my eyes and help me see the wonder of the natural world...I love the fascinating details of his drawings, the lyricism of his observations, the way he unveils not only the physical workings of nature but the stories and dramas within it." - Amy Tan.
"It is possible there is a better guide to the world around us than Bernd Heinrich, but I've not come across him. This is the book that will get you out the door into the season!" - Bill McKibben.
This information about Summer World was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Bernd Heinrich is the author of many bestselling and award-winning books. He is a professor of biology at the University of Vermont, and he divides his time between Vermont and Maine.
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