Songbirds, Truffles, and Wolves: An American Naturalist in Italy
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Book Overview
By the winner of the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing "Gary Nabhan went to walk in old Italy like a pilgrim. . . . This is a story about moving from sad uncertainty to part-time joyousness. It is a great book."--William Kittredge "In part to ponder my Mediterranean roots and in part to learn of the land of my saint, San Francisco," Gary Paul Nabhan, one of America's finest nature writers and author of The Desert Smells Like Rain decided to walk the two hundred miles from Florence to Assisi. Along the way he met peasant farmers eager to share the love of their plants and seeds, recipes and customs. The fruit of this pilgrimage is writing that imaginatively traverses the boundary between nature and history.
"Unusual but important . . . entertaining and informative . . . the book afford[s] an evening retreat as satisfying as a shot of grappa with a plate of anisette cookies."--The New York Times Book Review
"Unusual but important . . . entertaining and informative . . . the book afford[s] an evening retreat as satisfying as a shot of grappa with a plate of anisette cookies."--The New York Times Book Review
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0140239723
ISBN13:9780140239720
Release Date:December 1994
Publisher:Penguin Publishing Group
Length:256 Pages
Weight:0.42 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.0" x 7.6"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Loved all but the ending
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
Mr Nabhan took us on an extrardinary journey through St Francis county. Entertaining and educating on each page. Then the big let down in the epilogue, as he rejects everything St Francis stood for. St Francis loved nature and the animals, but only because they are God's creation. St Francis's every moment was spent glorifing God. He loved all animals as an extension of his love for Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. Mr Nabhan totally misread St Francis.
HUMAN DISCOVERIES
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
If, one week ago, someone told me that I'd be reading & loving a book subtitled "An American Naturalist in Italy," I'd have laughed.This is a witty and charming book (a very quick read) which will get to you even if you are NOT a naturalist---even if, like I, you hardly know what a naturalist is or does! Nabhan, with a friend, hiked through the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside, interviewing natives and chronicling his discoveries and stories: an old farmer shares wine and his knowledge of how to find truffles simply because Nabhan was walking to Assisi and the farmer was named after Saint Francis; an elderly couple waltzes in a town square and becomes, in Nabhan's words, "the dance, itself;" another man explains to the author why grapes need to be trellised & how beautiful they are when alternated with maples; a woman explains how a she-wolf was tamed and fed by town residents. The tales are all about the land and the people who have lived there for centuries. And they are all fascinating.....simple, true stories that will help one believe, again, in the human race.This book is a perfect companion to that other fine book of Italian (i.e. human) discovery: "Under The Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes.
Delightful!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
I'm ordering several copies to give as gifts! This book touched my heart.
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