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Walking Home Ground: In the Footsteps of Muir, Leopold, and Derleth
When longtime author Robert Root moves to a small town in southeast Wisconsin, he gets to know his new home by walking the same terrain traveled by three Wisconsin luminaries who were deeply rooted in place—John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth. Root walks with Muir at John Muir State Natural Area, with Leopold at the Shack, and with Derleth in Sac Prairie; closer to home, he traverses the Ice Age Trail, often guided by such figures as pioneering scientist Increase Lapham. Along the way, Root investigates the changes to the natural landscape over nearly two centuries, and he chronicles his own transition from someone on unfamiliar terrain to someone secure on his home ground.In prose that is at turns introspective and haunting, Walking Home Ground inspires us to see history’s echo all around the parking lot that once was forest; the city that once was glacier. "Perhaps this book is an invitation to walk home ground," Root tells us. "Perhaps, too, it’s a time capsule, a message in a bottle from someone given to looking over his shoulder even as he tries to examine the ground beneath his feet."
- GenresNatureNonfiction
250 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 23, 2018
Root begins his story by admitting he’s a non-native Wisconsinite, though claims home territory along the Great Lakes. A naturalist, an observer, teacher, and one endowed with curiosity, Root endeavored to discover and begin to learn all he could about his final home in a way few even bother to consider. Having just relocated from one side of the state to another, to settle on a farm we’ve owned for over twenty years, I was enamored by Root’s introspection and tenacity to uncover secrets of the land, and perhaps, portend the future. He kept a detailed journal of his hikes, research, and thoughts for several years.
As mentioned in the blurb, Root follows three of our more known historical naturalist homeboys on his tour after becoming familiar with his immediate new neighborhood west of Milwaukee. He visits John Muir’s boyhood territory in Marquette County, as well as August Derleth’s Prairie du Sac/Wisconsin River, and Aldo Leopold’s sand country. These three lived and wrote about south central Wisconsin. Root spent hours with maps and literature from Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, as well as dozens of resources about the authors, nature, topography, geography, history, and so forth about the area. The book is filled with generous details of the types of land, the differences between fen, bog, and marsh, the type of flora during the different seasons, underground, soil, native and invasive species. His knowledge of bird and animal life leaves me envious.
A somewhat saddened note sounds toward the end of the book in the section “The Land Itself.” “Settlement eliminated a great deal of Wisconsin life,” Root writes. Early pioneers describe a wondrous mix of topography and its supporting flora and fauna. “The last bison was killed in 1832,” he says, with a litany of now missing creatures. In his epilogue, Root invites us to “see the land as a community to which” we belong, and urges us to consider our lifestyle’s impact on the environment. He’s encouraged me to get to know my little piece of Wisconsin better.
Detailed and thought-provoking, Walking Home Ground is for those who love Wisconsin and enjoy nature and environmental reading. It’s a subtle call to action, and a request to remember where and who we are.
Any quibbles I had are the lack of maps, though I understand the reader is encouraged to get out his own map, or better yet, go. The book is detailed as mentioned above; once or twice I almost expected a test at the end of the segment. Included is an Index and a Resource list.
As mentioned in the blurb, Root follows three of our more known historical naturalist homeboys on his tour after becoming familiar with his immediate new neighborhood west of Milwaukee. He visits John Muir’s boyhood territory in Marquette County, as well as August Derleth’s Prairie du Sac/Wisconsin River, and Aldo Leopold’s sand country. These three lived and wrote about south central Wisconsin. Root spent hours with maps and literature from Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, as well as dozens of resources about the authors, nature, topography, geography, history, and so forth about the area. The book is filled with generous details of the types of land, the differences between fen, bog, and marsh, the type of flora during the different seasons, underground, soil, native and invasive species. His knowledge of bird and animal life leaves me envious.
A somewhat saddened note sounds toward the end of the book in the section “The Land Itself.” “Settlement eliminated a great deal of Wisconsin life,” Root writes. Early pioneers describe a wondrous mix of topography and its supporting flora and fauna. “The last bison was killed in 1832,” he says, with a litany of now missing creatures. In his epilogue, Root invites us to “see the land as a community to which” we belong, and urges us to consider our lifestyle’s impact on the environment. He’s encouraged me to get to know my little piece of Wisconsin better.
Detailed and thought-provoking, Walking Home Ground is for those who love Wisconsin and enjoy nature and environmental reading. It’s a subtle call to action, and a request to remember where and who we are.
Any quibbles I had are the lack of maps, though I understand the reader is encouraged to get out his own map, or better yet, go. The book is detailed as mentioned above; once or twice I almost expected a test at the end of the segment. Included is an Index and a Resource list.
January 3, 2018
Drumlins, eskers, kettles, kames, moraines. Anyone who is familiar with these terms knows what it is to experience and witness the quiet beauty that is the Wisconsin landscape. In this beautifully poetic song to the land, Robert Root explores the sense of place amid Wisconsin’s glacial landscape.
Root sets out by exploring the places familiar to three of Wisconsin’s famed literary voices: John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth. Further into the book, he explores part of the National Scenic Ice Age Trail near his home in southeastern Wisconsin, and the land along the Fox River in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, hoping to gain his own sense of place.
The book is rich in geologic history and descriptions of glacial geology. A few passages are a little dry, but overall, Root’s wanderings and prose are a delight to read. Anybody who has an affinity for the geology or the landscape of Wisconsin or who wishes to reconnect with the land should read this book.
Root sets out by exploring the places familiar to three of Wisconsin’s famed literary voices: John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth. Further into the book, he explores part of the National Scenic Ice Age Trail near his home in southeastern Wisconsin, and the land along the Fox River in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, hoping to gain his own sense of place.
The book is rich in geologic history and descriptions of glacial geology. A few passages are a little dry, but overall, Root’s wanderings and prose are a delight to read. Anybody who has an affinity for the geology or the landscape of Wisconsin or who wishes to reconnect with the land should read this book.
August 23, 2017
Summary: The author hikes the "home grounds" in Wisconsin of Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and August Derleth, and records his reflections on the landscape then and now, and his observations of the Ice Age Trail, and his own home grounds of Waukesha, Wisconsin.
I've long appreciated "writers of place." I love the work of Wendell Berry writing from nearby Kentucky, Wallace Stegner writing about the American west, and especially fellow Ohioan Louis Bromfield writing about his beloved Malabar Farm. It is one thing to live in a place; another to carefully observe it, to understand its past and present--geologically and topographically, the ecosystem of the place, and the land's inhabitants.
This is another work in that vein. I picked it up because my work frequently takes me to Wisconsin, a state I'd love the chance to explore more. Robert Root has given me some ideas of places that it might be interesting to explore. After moving to Waukesha, located on the western edges of Milwaukee, he conceived the idea of walking the "home grounds" of three fellow "writers of place" who either grew up or lived in Wisconsin--John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth.
He began with John Muir, hiking the lands around Muir's childhood home in Marquette County, much of it now within John Muir State Natural area, centering on Ennis Lake with bogs, oak openings, and prairie. He then goes on to the "shack" rehabilitated by Aldo Leopold and the Leopold Center and surrounding lands along the Wisconsin River in Sauk County that Leopold helped to restore from a worn out farm to wetlands, forests, and prairie. From there he goes to nearby Sauk City and Sac Prairie, the home of August Derleth, a prolific writer of science fiction, horror, and regional fiction and non-fiction, including journals of his walks through his home town and surrounding lands.
In all three instances, he compares what he sees in their writings with what he witnesses as he walks the home grounds today, noting how land is in a constant state of change, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. He also explores the geological and ecological history of these lands, including how they were shaped by glacial inundations. He returns in different seasons to see the land in all its moods.
This leads into the second part of the group and some of the walking of "home ground" of his own the author does, including hiking parts of the 1000 mile Ice Age Trail that winds its way from the Door Peninsula in the east through the heart of Wisconsin to its northwestern border with Minnesota. Along the way he spots drumlins, kettle moraines, and other evidence of glacial action. Most fascinating to me was a discussion of the Niagara escarpment, reflecting glacial depositions stretching from southwest of the Door Peninsula, into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, across Ontario to the Niagara Falls and western New York where the author had previously lived. References to dolomite deposits and a mine reminded me that I have seen this on visits to a conference center in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula where we would drive past Port Dolomite, just before arriving.
He introduces us to Increase Lapham, who recorded the first topographical history of Wisconsin, wrote numerous papers on the flora and fauna of Wisconsin, and helped create the U.S. Weather Service. Lapham probably studied the "home ground" of this state more exhaustively than any man before or since.
I read this work in e-galley form. This version included photos of a number of the places where Root walked. What might have been helpful and I hope is incorporated in the print edition are some maps of the areas where Root hiked for those of us not familiar with Wisconsin geography, and perhaps a glossary of terms, particularly related to glacial geology.
The book concludes with the author's observations and reflections as he walks the "home ground" around his home in Waukesha, walking along the Fox River through the city, including some fascinating history about when the town was known for its springs. His walks help him become aware of the history of his own home ground and how development is re-shaping this land as well. Root's conjoining the past and present of the land in all of these reflections makes us think about what our home grounds will be and the impact our own care, or lack of care, may have. He piques my interest to explore some of the places he walked, but even more, the places I call "home ground."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Edelweiss. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I've long appreciated "writers of place." I love the work of Wendell Berry writing from nearby Kentucky, Wallace Stegner writing about the American west, and especially fellow Ohioan Louis Bromfield writing about his beloved Malabar Farm. It is one thing to live in a place; another to carefully observe it, to understand its past and present--geologically and topographically, the ecosystem of the place, and the land's inhabitants.
This is another work in that vein. I picked it up because my work frequently takes me to Wisconsin, a state I'd love the chance to explore more. Robert Root has given me some ideas of places that it might be interesting to explore. After moving to Waukesha, located on the western edges of Milwaukee, he conceived the idea of walking the "home grounds" of three fellow "writers of place" who either grew up or lived in Wisconsin--John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and August Derleth.
He began with John Muir, hiking the lands around Muir's childhood home in Marquette County, much of it now within John Muir State Natural area, centering on Ennis Lake with bogs, oak openings, and prairie. He then goes on to the "shack" rehabilitated by Aldo Leopold and the Leopold Center and surrounding lands along the Wisconsin River in Sauk County that Leopold helped to restore from a worn out farm to wetlands, forests, and prairie. From there he goes to nearby Sauk City and Sac Prairie, the home of August Derleth, a prolific writer of science fiction, horror, and regional fiction and non-fiction, including journals of his walks through his home town and surrounding lands.
In all three instances, he compares what he sees in their writings with what he witnesses as he walks the home grounds today, noting how land is in a constant state of change, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. He also explores the geological and ecological history of these lands, including how they were shaped by glacial inundations. He returns in different seasons to see the land in all its moods.
This leads into the second part of the group and some of the walking of "home ground" of his own the author does, including hiking parts of the 1000 mile Ice Age Trail that winds its way from the Door Peninsula in the east through the heart of Wisconsin to its northwestern border with Minnesota. Along the way he spots drumlins, kettle moraines, and other evidence of glacial action. Most fascinating to me was a discussion of the Niagara escarpment, reflecting glacial depositions stretching from southwest of the Door Peninsula, into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, across Ontario to the Niagara Falls and western New York where the author had previously lived. References to dolomite deposits and a mine reminded me that I have seen this on visits to a conference center in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula where we would drive past Port Dolomite, just before arriving.
He introduces us to Increase Lapham, who recorded the first topographical history of Wisconsin, wrote numerous papers on the flora and fauna of Wisconsin, and helped create the U.S. Weather Service. Lapham probably studied the "home ground" of this state more exhaustively than any man before or since.
I read this work in e-galley form. This version included photos of a number of the places where Root walked. What might have been helpful and I hope is incorporated in the print edition are some maps of the areas where Root hiked for those of us not familiar with Wisconsin geography, and perhaps a glossary of terms, particularly related to glacial geology.
The book concludes with the author's observations and reflections as he walks the "home ground" around his home in Waukesha, walking along the Fox River through the city, including some fascinating history about when the town was known for its springs. His walks help him become aware of the history of his own home ground and how development is re-shaping this land as well. Root's conjoining the past and present of the land in all of these reflections makes us think about what our home grounds will be and the impact our own care, or lack of care, may have. He piques my interest to explore some of the places he walked, but even more, the places I call "home ground."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Edelweiss. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
October 30, 2018
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.25 of 5
I was drawn to this book on a couple of different levels. First was the three authors listed ... John Muir is a name I know from my interest in our National Parks and my time spent in Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park; Aldo Leopold, whose Sand County Almanac is still an environmentalists bible; and August Derleth - an author with whom I am familiar primarily because of his work writing dark fantasy/horror stories and his friendship with noted horror author, H.P. Lovecraft, but who also wrote a great deal of historical fiction and non-fiction nature books about the region of Wisconsin in which he lived.
I was also drawn to this book because of its environmental nature and because of the region - Wisconsin - while not my home, a neighbor where I have spent a bit of time.
Robert Root is an author of several books, though I am not familiar with any of his other titles. His motivation for the book is that he had recently moved to a small town in Southeastern Wisconsin and he wanted to get to know his new home and chose to explore the areas previously walked by some famous authors before him.
I'm not quite sure what to make of the book itself. It's not quite a book of reflections ... thoughts while spending time in the outdoors ... such as we might have had with Sigurd F. Olson books. It is not quite a natural or environmental survey of specific parts of Wisconsin. It is not quite a biography of three writers or an autobiography of one. It is not quite a prose or poetic map of geologic regions. And it is all of these things at the same time.
I can't say that I learned a lot here, but I enjoyed the relaxing pace that Root delivers. He walks the home ground today and waxes about what the area looked like in the past, based on Muir's, Leopold's, and Derleth's writings. It is an interesting way of reminiscing while reflecting on loss and and the environmental impact of today.
I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure to read this book, but should you pick it up and it looks interesting to you, then definitely give it a read.
Looking for a good book? Walking Home Ground by Robert Root is a unique mix of environmental, natural, and historical reflection in the modern area. Most interesting is getting to know the 'home grounds' of three popular, literary individuals.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
I was drawn to this book on a couple of different levels. First was the three authors listed ... John Muir is a name I know from my interest in our National Parks and my time spent in Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park; Aldo Leopold, whose Sand County Almanac is still an environmentalists bible; and August Derleth - an author with whom I am familiar primarily because of his work writing dark fantasy/horror stories and his friendship with noted horror author, H.P. Lovecraft, but who also wrote a great deal of historical fiction and non-fiction nature books about the region of Wisconsin in which he lived.
I was also drawn to this book because of its environmental nature and because of the region - Wisconsin - while not my home, a neighbor where I have spent a bit of time.
Robert Root is an author of several books, though I am not familiar with any of his other titles. His motivation for the book is that he had recently moved to a small town in Southeastern Wisconsin and he wanted to get to know his new home and chose to explore the areas previously walked by some famous authors before him.
I'm not quite sure what to make of the book itself. It's not quite a book of reflections ... thoughts while spending time in the outdoors ... such as we might have had with Sigurd F. Olson books. It is not quite a natural or environmental survey of specific parts of Wisconsin. It is not quite a biography of three writers or an autobiography of one. It is not quite a prose or poetic map of geologic regions. And it is all of these things at the same time.
I can't say that I learned a lot here, but I enjoyed the relaxing pace that Root delivers. He walks the home ground today and waxes about what the area looked like in the past, based on Muir's, Leopold's, and Derleth's writings. It is an interesting way of reminiscing while reflecting on loss and and the environmental impact of today.
I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure to read this book, but should you pick it up and it looks interesting to you, then definitely give it a read.
Looking for a good book? Walking Home Ground by Robert Root is a unique mix of environmental, natural, and historical reflection in the modern area. Most interesting is getting to know the 'home grounds' of three popular, literary individuals.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
June 25, 2020
After reading “John Muir: Selected Writings” (see my review) I decided to follow up with “Walking Home Ground: In the Footstep of Muir, Leopold and Derleth”. This work is divided into two parts. In the first part author Robert Root walks the home lands of John Muir near Ennis Lake and the Muir family farm, Aldo Leopold’s country shack and August Derlich’s meanderings in and near Sauk and Prairie du Sac. Each chapter follows his subjects. John Muir’s “Story of My Boyhood and Youth”, Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” and Derleth’s journals each provide road maps for tardy explorers to follow. Their times were sequential, Muir who left Wisconsin in the nineteenth century, Leopold until his death in 1948 and Derleth to the end of his life in 1971. Their environments were varied. Muir arrived as a child to an untamed wilderness and observed it, Leopold bought a worn-out farm and tried to restore it to its original habitat and Derleth lived in the same villages that his family had inhabited for generations.
In part two the author relates walking around his home ground, much of it along the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin. The weather, rivers, flora are described and compared to what he had experienced while living elsewhere in the country.
I was most familiar with Muir’s writings and appreciate having them woven into the accounts of the specific places where Muir lived. The quotes from Leopold and Derleth whetted my appetite to read their own stories. I like the way Robert Root employs picture words to paint in the readers’ minds the scenery he is seeing. The persistent reference to the effects of glaciers in Wisconsin is a tie-in to Muir’s western writings and give me something to look for during my next visit. The occasional photographs complement the text. This tome is a short and easy but stimulating read. I recommend it to anyone interested in the conservation movements or who wants to learn how to walk through nature, not to get somewhere but to let nature stream into you.
I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review.
In part two the author relates walking around his home ground, much of it along the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin. The weather, rivers, flora are described and compared to what he had experienced while living elsewhere in the country.
I was most familiar with Muir’s writings and appreciate having them woven into the accounts of the specific places where Muir lived. The quotes from Leopold and Derleth whetted my appetite to read their own stories. I like the way Robert Root employs picture words to paint in the readers’ minds the scenery he is seeing. The persistent reference to the effects of glaciers in Wisconsin is a tie-in to Muir’s western writings and give me something to look for during my next visit. The occasional photographs complement the text. This tome is a short and easy but stimulating read. I recommend it to anyone interested in the conservation movements or who wants to learn how to walk through nature, not to get somewhere but to let nature stream into you.
I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review.
July 18, 2019
Very fascinating to see our "home ground" through another's eyes...
And I will be forever thankful to the author for having introduced me to August Derleth's "Walden West" books...
And I will be forever thankful to the author for having introduced me to August Derleth's "Walden West" books...
October 8, 2019
Garbage. If you want to walk with Muir and Leopold, read their books — not this one.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews