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Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley
In sixteen thoroughly engaging essays, naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales ventures far and wide among the richly diverse flora and fauna of his native Tennessee Valley. Whether describing the nocturnal habits of the elusive whip-poor-will, the pivotal role the hedge plant Osage orange played in a key Civil War battle, or the political firestorm that attended the discovery of a tiny fish dubbed the snail darter, Bales illuminates in surprising ways the complicated and often vexed relationships between humans and their neighbors in the natural world.
Accompanied by the author's striking line drawings, each chapter in Natural Histories showcases a particular animal or plant and each narrative begins or ends in, or passes through the Tennessee Valley. Along the way, historical episodes both familiar and obscure-the de Soto explorations, the saga of the Lost State of Franklin, the devastation of the Trail of Tears, and the planting of a “Moon Tree” at Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton-are brought vividly to life. Bales also highlights the work of present-day environmentalists and scientists such as the dedicated staffers of the Tennessee-based American Eagle Foundation, whose efforts have helped save the endangered raptors and reintroduce them to the wild.
Arranged according to the seasonal cycles of the valley, Bales's essays reveal the balance that nature has achieved over millions of years, contrasting it with the messier business of human endeavor, especially the desire to turn nature into a commodity, something to be subdued and harvested. Filled with delightful twists and turns, Natural Histories is also a book brimming with important lessons for us all.
Accompanied by the author's striking line drawings, each chapter in Natural Histories showcases a particular animal or plant and each narrative begins or ends in, or passes through the Tennessee Valley. Along the way, historical episodes both familiar and obscure-the de Soto explorations, the saga of the Lost State of Franklin, the devastation of the Trail of Tears, and the planting of a “Moon Tree” at Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton-are brought vividly to life. Bales also highlights the work of present-day environmentalists and scientists such as the dedicated staffers of the Tennessee-based American Eagle Foundation, whose efforts have helped save the endangered raptors and reintroduce them to the wild.
Arranged according to the seasonal cycles of the valley, Bales's essays reveal the balance that nature has achieved over millions of years, contrasting it with the messier business of human endeavor, especially the desire to turn nature into a commodity, something to be subdued and harvested. Filled with delightful twists and turns, Natural Histories is also a book brimming with important lessons for us all.
- GenresNonfiction
276 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2007
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About the author
Stephen Lyn Bales
8 books32 followersStephen Lyn reads and writes (and occasionally does arithmetic) tucked away in the Tennessee Valley near the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Most of the time he does it barefooted.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 27, 2016
This book is a "natural" for those who love nature and natural history. But I could also recommend it to readers who love thoughtful essays, and perhaps even those who like short stories. I recommend it to everyone who appreciates the craft of beautifully constructed, lyrical prose.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have come to know Stephen, and know him better for this book. He is as beautiful as a person as he is a writer. And a bonus for those who love nature art, he illustrates his books with his original drawings.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have come to know Stephen, and know him better for this book. He is as beautiful as a person as he is a writer. And a bonus for those who love nature art, he illustrates his books with his original drawings.
March 1, 2015
Natural Histories: Stories From the Tennessee Valley by Stephen Lyn Bales (University of Tennessee Press 2007)(508.768). This is a great book of essays; each essay/chapter highlights a different species of plant or animal that has impacted the TVA region and the environmental organization that has been most involved in the species' maintenance, recovery, or extinction. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 2008.
March 22, 2021
Lovely book! Although my impression of it might be warped by his clever placement of the Bald Eagle success story at the end of the book. So after reading about the demise of the Carolina Parakeet and the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, it was lovely to hear that the eagle was on sound footing again.
First he writes about how around Christmas there used to be a tradition of men and boys going out to conduct "side hunts", where every creature they could see were killed and counted. Most of those were birds. He had an active hand in persuading the men to give up killing the birds and simply count them instead. Sounds improbably--but I believe he is telling the truth.
That was before my time, of course. I was a child of the sixties and seventies, when DDT was steadily wiping out the population of all birds but most especially the big birds of prey--Ospreys and Eagles. I never saw an Osprey until I went to the Texas coast in my young adulthood, and I don't recall seeing a bald eagle until I went out west to Yellowstone.
I remember well the excitement when they began nesting again at Land Between the Lakes and Reelfoot Lake in the early eighties. He writes,
An active reintroduction hacking program began in Tennessee in 1980 with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Tennessee Conservation League began working together on the project, The following year, young eagles were released at Land Between the Lakes in West Tennessee's Stewart Count and at Reelfoot Lake. In 1983 a mated pair of unknown original successfully nested and raised one eagle at Cross Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Dover, also in Steward County, and an eagles hacked at LBL successfully nested at a second location at Cross Creek the Following year. Bald eagles were returning to Tennessee.
I was a young college student then, and both me and my dad were pretty excited at the idea of eagles in West Kentucky (okay, west Tennessee) again. And now, I see them whereever I go. They're common as mud. Hurray!
First he writes about how around Christmas there used to be a tradition of men and boys going out to conduct "side hunts", where every creature they could see were killed and counted. Most of those were birds. He had an active hand in persuading the men to give up killing the birds and simply count them instead. Sounds improbably--but I believe he is telling the truth.
That was before my time, of course. I was a child of the sixties and seventies, when DDT was steadily wiping out the population of all birds but most especially the big birds of prey--Ospreys and Eagles. I never saw an Osprey until I went to the Texas coast in my young adulthood, and I don't recall seeing a bald eagle until I went out west to Yellowstone.
I remember well the excitement when they began nesting again at Land Between the Lakes and Reelfoot Lake in the early eighties. He writes,
An active reintroduction hacking program began in Tennessee in 1980 with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Tennessee Conservation League began working together on the project, The following year, young eagles were released at Land Between the Lakes in West Tennessee's Stewart Count and at Reelfoot Lake. In 1983 a mated pair of unknown original successfully nested and raised one eagle at Cross Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Dover, also in Steward County, and an eagles hacked at LBL successfully nested at a second location at Cross Creek the Following year. Bald eagles were returning to Tennessee.
I was a young college student then, and both me and my dad were pretty excited at the idea of eagles in West Kentucky (okay, west Tennessee) again. And now, I see them whereever I go. They're common as mud. Hurray!
December 31, 2018
What a wonderful book! These essays contain an interesting mix of natural history and American history. You don’t need to be from the Tennessee Valley to appreciate these essays. Bales is a thoughtful and poetic writer as well as an observant one. Highly recommended!
February 18, 2019
I love this part of the country and was happy to find a book full of interesting stories of the area's natural history. Very engaging reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews