Strange Encounters: Adventures of a Renegade Naturalist

by Daniel B. Botkin

A collection of anecdotal adventures through the natural world includes descriptions of the author's experiences of rebuilding a New Hampshire mill, researching a protein food source for space travel, and working in a radioactive forest on an early Cold War research project.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Memoir, Natural History, Science

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Daniel Botkin is a scientist, biologist, ecologist, physicist, professor, author and journalist. Renowned for his scientific contributions in ecology and environment, he has also worked as a professional journalist and has degrees in physics, biology, and literature. He is best known for the development of the first successful computer simulation in ecology, a computer model of forest growth that has developed into a sub-discipline in this field, with more than 50 versions in use worldwide. Botkin has also been a pioneer in the study of ecosystems and wilderness and the application of advanced technology to ecology. He has helped develop major national programs in ecology, including the National Science Foundation’s Long-term Ecological Research Program and NASA’s Mission to Earth. He has directed research on wilderness and natural parks around the world and is a leader in the application of environmental sciences to solve complex environmental problems.

Botkin has been a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 1979. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been President and Founder of The Center for the Study of the Environment, a non-profit research and educational corporation. He serves on the board of the Environmental Literacy Council, the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has also been a fellow at the Rockefeller Bellagio Institute in Italy and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Among his awards are the The 2012 The Honorable John C. Pritzlaff Conservation Award; Astor Lectureship, Oxford University; The 2004 Tex and Academic Authors Association Texty Award for best textbook of 2003; The Fernow Award for Outstanding Contributions in International Forestry; and the Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable Development.

For more information visit www.danielbotkin.com or follow him on Twitter @danielbotkin.

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read a lot of his books that were far more researched based. While this book did include some research, it was far more simplified. This book maintained his lyrical writing style, however, it just didn't seem to have the same pizzazz as his others. It seemed more like a book of his ruminations. It seemed to be far more of an essay collection, than an actual book. I read a few and then lost interest to really complete the book. I may pick it up again, when I don't have as much on my plate.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipped the introduction, and then gave up after the first chapter. I found it nonsensical. It was easy to see what kind of book he wanted to write in terms of tone and content. But, it was just as clear, he was never going to get there.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange Encounters: Adventures of a Renegade Naturalist by Daniel B. Botkin (Tarcher/Penguin 2003) (333.72). Here is a gentle collection of essays by a deep-thinking naturalist. Some of the titles spoke with immediacy to me: “The Ecology of Splitting Wood,” “Winds of a Condor's Wings,” and “Kill the Sea Lions, Save the Salmon.” Unfortunately, none of these twenty-eight essays, however cleverly titled, would I ever wish to read again. I'm ready to cut ties with this volume; I'll sell my copy back to McKay's; I paid $1.50 for a like-new hard-back copy. My rating: 5/10, finished 7/26/16. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of repetitive information regarding the authors past experiences that I found annoying. Almost as if it wasn't meant to be put into prose but a journal or magazine of some sort. Also even though it seemed to be one of the lessons that he seemed to want to instill on the reader I found that he stated information that I felt had no quantitative data to support it. Overall it's one guys opinions, some of which I agree with whole heartedly on nature and how it has affected his life.