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Field Days: Journal of an Itinerant Biologist
Book by Swain, Roger B.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 29, 2016
574 Natural History essays - Explore everything from cutting firewood to solving the global wood shortage; from lying in bed and watching the sunrise to predicting the seasons by observing the sun's movement along the horizon; from listening to someone complain about swollen "bee bites" to understanding the exact mechanism of a honeybee's sting. At once entertaining and informative, Field Days is sure to be a "field day" for even the most casual naturalist - and all lovers of a great writing about the natural world.
February 5, 2022
I read the first few essays in December 2014, and am just now reading the whole book seven years later, but I'm glad I did!
Swain's writing is very approachable, even as he's telling you species names and uniquenesses.
Topics range from having guests over to tour his sugar house or inhouse-outhouse (an indoor composting toilet), to environmental remediation, to county fairs.
I think there's something for anyone with an interest in biology (including an essay that focused, indirectly, on ants, Katrina).
Swain's writing is very approachable, even as he's telling you species names and uniquenesses.
Topics range from having guests over to tour his sugar house or inhouse-outhouse (an indoor composting toilet), to environmental remediation, to county fairs.
I think there's something for anyone with an interest in biology (including an essay that focused, indirectly, on ants, Katrina).
August 13, 2021
I like that this book is a menagerie of topics, and each chapter has a different focus. As a plant person, my favorite chapters were: Trackside, The last poinsettia of summer, and Hamburgers and houseplants; but I enjoyed them all!
June 5, 2024
Pulled off a shelf of free books in Dartmouth's Earth Sciences building. Finally got around to actually reading it.
Prose flirts with being prosaic. Succeeds in avoiding it about 70% of the time. Subject matter was best when it was broadest. I have a hard time getting invested in horticulture, but maybe that's on me. In general, always felt like learning something cool was right around the corner, but never really happened.
Neither subject nor writing was anything special. A C+ book in a genre full of As. Best part: it was short and easy to read.
Prose flirts with being prosaic. Succeeds in avoiding it about 70% of the time. Subject matter was best when it was broadest. I have a hard time getting invested in horticulture, but maybe that's on me. In general, always felt like learning something cool was right around the corner, but never really happened.
Neither subject nor writing was anything special. A C+ book in a genre full of As. Best part: it was short and easy to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2024
What a great book. I learned so much from it. Reminded my of The Lives of Cells. Covers so much from gypsy moths to hamburgers. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews