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Prairie Soul: Finding Grace in the Earth Beneath My Feet

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A collection of engaging and provocative essays, Prairie Soul extends the transcendental tradition of writers like Aldo Leopold and Annie Dillard. Entomologist and nature writer Jeffrey Lockwood writes about humans and insects from the grasslands of Wyoming, where he has lived and worked for almost two decades. Like Ed Abbey's Southwestern desert or Wendell Berry's rural Kentucky, Lockwood's home environment and study of grasshoppers form an interesting starting point for consideration of universal concerns and connections with the world at large.

Lockwood thoughtfully examines:

* Spirituality and the place of religion in science
* The soulful connection between human beings and the places they live.
* Grasslands and ecology.
* The environment as common ground that transcends cultural and political boundaries

Prairie Soul is the story of one man's evocative journey of ecological, moral, and spiritual discovery, unfolding on the high plains of Wyoming and stretching to the grasslands of France and central Asia.

Possessing an extraordinary sense of harmony with these often forbidding and unforgiving landscapes, Lockwood's essays are paradoxical revelations, blending the deeply familiar with the profoundly exotic.

145 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

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About the author

Jeffrey A. Lockwood

25 books11 followers

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Harry Podschwit.
40 reviews
March 16, 2024
This was a truly fantastic short read.

Lockwood shares a collection philosophical essays that are inspired by his knowledge and experiences with nature (primarily with grasslands and orthopteras).

Although I didn’t always agree with Lockwood’s musings here, there was (very) easily more good than bad. The prose was very good and accessible. His arguments were thoughtful, fair, compassionate, and well-developed. And as someone who appreciates the aesthetics of grasslands, I enjoyed the metaphors Lockwood used to illustrate his ideas.

Although his musings here are occassionally a little trite, Lockwood links them to nature in novel ways that will make them enjoyable to read nevertheless.
Profile Image for Beth.
26 reviews
August 4, 2013
With thoughtful prose, Jeffrey Lockwood looks at the ideas that both unite and divide us from earth and each other. I will pull this book from my bookshelf many times to re-read his words of wisdom.
Profile Image for Lisa.
377 reviews22 followers
September 2, 2012
A beautifully written little book - based around grasshoppers but containing so much more. Just a pity it wasn't longer.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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