Uncommon Wealth: Essays on Virginia's Wild Places

by Robert M. Riordan (Editor)

Twenty of Virginia's finest nature writers, essayists, and journalists immerse themselves in 20 different wild places. In essays that range from natural history to social commentary to childhood memories, their tone varies from reflective to outraged to humorous, each one uniquely personal. The editor is director of communications for the Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

About The Nature Conservancy --
Introduction / Jennifer Ackerman --
Barriers (on the Barrier Islands) / Christopher Camuto --
A Bright and Shining Swamp (on the Blackwater River) / Ellen Dudley --
Fist-Cloud at Laurel Fork (on Laurel Fork) / Jack Wennerstrom --
Christmas with Eagles: A Holi-day in Four Parts (on Mason Neck) / Judith Kahn --
Into the Great Dismal (on Great Dismal Swamp) / Stefan Bechtel --
Loss and Recompense at the Pinnacle (on the Pinnacle, Clinch River) / Garvey Winegar --
Forest Children (on Fan Mountain) / Susan Tyler Hitchcock --
Escape to North River Gorge (on North River Gorge) / Deane Winegar --
Seasons of Life (on False Cape and Back Bay) / Paul Clancy --
The Forest Returns (on Bottom Creek Gorge) / Jim Crawford --
A River Good Enough: On the Merits of Modest Water (on the Moormans River) / Donovan Webster --
I Write from a Mountain Farm (on the Clinch River) / Richard Cartwright Austin --
To Love a Place (on Cross Mountain) / Chris Bolgiano --
Prime Mountain Real Estate: "Best Views in the World" (on Shenandoah National Park) / Eric Seaborg --
A Mountain Retrospective: Revisiting Southwest Virginia (on Southwest Virginia) / Curtis J. Badger --
Only in the Land of Goshen (on Goshen Pass) / Katie Letcher Lyle --
Wild in the City: The Urban James River (on the James River) / Elizabeth Seydel Morgan --
Where Rare Plants Dwell (on the North Landing River) / Mary Reid Barrow --
In the Blood (on the Rappahannock River) / Walter Nicklin

216 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

I book with articles written about different natural settings in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The book is the work of the Nature Conservancy which is a group that works with all groups including liberals and business and does so effectively. They do good work and the book is about some of the special settings in Nature in Virginia.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very peaceful and relaxing read, especially for someone who grew up in Virginia and has many fond memories of its natural places.

[Kp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of essays about natural areas in Virginia. Many places I know and have seen, others I hope to visit. The writing, for the most part, was good. All authors are nature writers from Virginia. Some high caliber writing and some not so much. The piece about the Moorman River was one of my favorites.. for its writing. Donovan Webster. A piece about the James River provided good factoids about the James that every Virginian should have under their belt... It runs seven miles through the city of Richmond, dropping 105 feet in this span. It runs 225 miles from the headwaters to Richmond and another 110 miles to the Chesapeake Bay.