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Of Men and Marshes
Standing with such environmental classics as Loren Eiseley’s The Immense Journey , his friend and mentor Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac , and Joseph Wood Krutch’s The Voice of the Desert , Paul Errington’s Of Men and Marshes remains an evocative reminder of the great beauty and intrinsic value of the glacial marshland. Prescient and stirring, steeped in insights from Errington’s biological fieldwork, his experiences as a hunter and trapper, and his days exploring the marshes of his rural South Dakota childhood, this vibrant work of nature writing reveals his deep knowledge of the marshland environments he championed.
Examining the marsh from a dynamic range of perspectives, Errington begins by inviting us to consider how immense spans of time, coupled with profound geological events, shaped the unique marshland ecosystems of the Midwest. He then follows this wetland environment across seasons and over the years, creating a compelling portrait of a natural place too little appreciated and too often destroyed. Reminding us of the intricate relationships between the marsh and the animals who call it home, Errington records his experiences with hundreds of wetland creatures. He follows minks and muskrats, snapping turtles and white pelicans, red foxes and blue-winged teals—all the while underscoring our responsibility to preserve this remarkable and fragile environment and challenging us to change the way we think about and value marshlands.
This classic of twentieth-century nature writing, a landmark work that is still a joy to read, offers a stirring portrait of the Midwest’s endangered glacial marshland ecosystems by one of the most influential biologists of his day. A cautionary book whose advice has not been heeded, a must-read of American environmental literature, Of Men and Marshes should inspire a new generation of conservationists.
Examining the marsh from a dynamic range of perspectives, Errington begins by inviting us to consider how immense spans of time, coupled with profound geological events, shaped the unique marshland ecosystems of the Midwest. He then follows this wetland environment across seasons and over the years, creating a compelling portrait of a natural place too little appreciated and too often destroyed. Reminding us of the intricate relationships between the marsh and the animals who call it home, Errington records his experiences with hundreds of wetland creatures. He follows minks and muskrats, snapping turtles and white pelicans, red foxes and blue-winged teals—all the while underscoring our responsibility to preserve this remarkable and fragile environment and challenging us to change the way we think about and value marshlands.
This classic of twentieth-century nature writing, a landmark work that is still a joy to read, offers a stirring portrait of the Midwest’s endangered glacial marshland ecosystems by one of the most influential biologists of his day. A cautionary book whose advice has not been heeded, a must-read of American environmental literature, Of Men and Marshes should inspire a new generation of conservationists.
- GenresNature
178 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2012
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March 18, 2013
Errington is a worthy entry in the canon of nature writing. Of Men and Marshes explores the complexity of humans' relationship to nature and contributes to an ongoing conversation about how we can coexist.
I had two issues with the book, however. First, unlike Aldo Leopold or Sigurd Olson, Errington does not go into great detail with his descriptions of wildlife. He describes animal habits and the ecological connections between different organism but fails to tell readers what certain things look like. He wanted to appeal to an audience without his hunter's, trapper's, and naturalist's experience, and I believe his assumption that readers can picture what he sees is why he did not experience as much success as his friend Leopold. Second, Errington's book is centered in the Iowa/South Dakota/Minnesota region, and his knowledge of marshes outside of that region is limited. Errington paid lip service to marshes as far south as Louisiana, as far west as Utah, and as far north as Canada, but never once enters the Great Lakes region. I think he needed to make a decision to either rigidly stay in the central region (like Leopold did with Wisconsin and Olson with Minnesota) or more inclusively explore other areas.
The illustrations are lovely.
I had two issues with the book, however. First, unlike Aldo Leopold or Sigurd Olson, Errington does not go into great detail with his descriptions of wildlife. He describes animal habits and the ecological connections between different organism but fails to tell readers what certain things look like. He wanted to appeal to an audience without his hunter's, trapper's, and naturalist's experience, and I believe his assumption that readers can picture what he sees is why he did not experience as much success as his friend Leopold. Second, Errington's book is centered in the Iowa/South Dakota/Minnesota region, and his knowledge of marshes outside of that region is limited. Errington paid lip service to marshes as far south as Louisiana, as far west as Utah, and as far north as Canada, but never once enters the Great Lakes region. I think he needed to make a decision to either rigidly stay in the central region (like Leopold did with Wisconsin and Olson with Minnesota) or more inclusively explore other areas.
The illustrations are lovely.
Displaying 1 of 1 review