Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Most Anticipated Books of 2025!

Summary and Reviews of A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Almanac

And Sketches Here and There

by Aldo Leopold
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 1, 1949, 240 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2020, 240 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Few books have had a greater impact than A Sand County Almanac, which many credit with launching a revolution in land management.

Written as a series of sketches based principally upon the flora and fauna in a rural part of Wisconsin, the book, originally published by Oxford in 1949, gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; a final section addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. Beloved for its description and evocation of the natural world, Leopold's book, which has sold well over 2 million copies, remains a foundational text in environmental science and a national treasure.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

The problem of removing apex predators like wolves and grizzly bears, and the long destructive march of habitat loss in all North American regions, are chronicled with sadness but loving memories, like in any good eulogy. Leopold was also one of the first writers to capture the paradox of creating parks to conserve wilderness that then becomes overdeveloped and overcrowded: "Parks are made to bring the music to the many, but by the time many are attuned to hear it there is little left but noise." Leopold articulates his concerns about how we perceive and interact with the land, and he argues that wilderness is valuable not because of anything humanity gets from it, but just for its own sake. This "land ethic" that he calls for will sound familiar to today's readers, as heirs of the environmental movement and victims of climate change. But in the context of the breakneck growth of the American economy of the mid-20th century, this was a revolutionary re-thinking of humanity's relationship with nature: that landscapes and living things should be treated with respect, not as resources for economic gain...continued

Full Review (906 words)

This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today.

(Reviewed by Rose Rankin).

Media Reviews

Shepherd Express
Reborn for Earth Day 50, the 2020 edition includes an introduction by author and conservationist, Barbara Kingsolver. 'A land ethic,' Leopold wrote, 'enlarges the boundaries of the community' to include not only humans, but also soils, waters, plants, and animals.' Leopold promoted values based on caring ― for people, for land, and for all the connections among them.

The Guardian
One of the most influential books about the natural world ever published

The Well Read Naturalist
For those who may not yet have read this remarkable work of twentieth-century American nature writing, the publication of this new edition of A Sand County Almanac is the perfect opportunity to remedy that oversight. And for those who already have, and perhaps have worn out their present copy from repeated readings, the release of this new edition offers a convenient (to justify...) opportunity to replace the older one.

Reader Reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book



The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

Color illustration of male and female passenger pigeons, showing the male with a more vivid red breast and neck When we think about how pioneers changed the American frontier — or if we think about it — we may picture the hunting of bison herds as one of the biggest environmental changes wrought by settlers. The grainy photographs of thousands upon thousands of bison skulls piled unimaginably high, a near-extermination that seems mind-bogglingly cruel and ill-considered.

But extinction of the bison was caught in time, and today there are still herds roaming the Great Plains, albeit in very reduced numbers. A much less-known destruction that was even more massive and permanent was that of the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) in the second half of the 19th century.

In his seminal environmental book, A Sand County Almanac...

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked A Sand County Almanac, try these:

  • Crossings jacket

    Crossings

    by Ben Goldfarb

    Published 2024

    About this book

    An eye-opening account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from the award-winning author of Eager.

  • Becoming Earth jacket

    Becoming Earth

    by Ferris Jabr

    Published 2024

    About this book

    A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life.

Read-Alikes are one of the many benefits of membership. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Let's Call Her Barbie
    by Renée Rosen
    She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.
  • Book Jacket
    The Wager
    by David Grann
    From the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a gripping story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.
Book Club Giveaway!
Win Help Wanted

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

From the best-selling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

Enter

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Beast of the North Woods
    by Annelise Ryan

    When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature.

  • Book Jacket

    Harlem Rhapsody
    by Victoria Christopher Murray

    The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance.

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the L

and be entered to win..