“In three generations, a moment in time, we have contaminated the water, air, and soil, driven countless species to extinction, dammed the rivers, poisoned the rain, torn down the ancient forests, and ripped holes in the heavens. As Harvard biologist E. 0. Wilson reminds us, this century will be remembered not for its wars or technological advances but rather as the era in which men and women stood by and either passively endorsed or actively supported the massive destruction of biological diversity on the planet.”
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
“The cartels rose out of the barrios and country clubs of Medellín and Cali, but the ultimate responsibility for Colombia’s agonies lies in good measure with every person who has ever bought street cocaine and every foreign nation that has made possible the illicit market by prohibiting the drug without curbing its use in any serious way.”
― Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia
― Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia
“When you get to Tatogga, or the cliffs of Cape Breton, or the Alberta badlands, pause long enough to find an open ridge where the sky seems to shelter the Earth, or a valley where horses shake manes that quiver like sheets of distant rain. Watch for pollen in the wind, an eagle circling, ice forming on a summer lake. When you find a place where the clouds and mist envelop the peaks, creating that special illusion of depth that grants meaning to all travel, tip your hat to those who have come before you, breaking trail.”
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
“Magical realism, celebrated as Colombia’s gift to Latin American literature, is within the country simply journalism. Gabriel García Márquez wrote of what he saw. He was an observer, a practicing journalist for most of his life, who just happened to live in a land where heaven and earth converge on a regular basis to reveal glimpses of the divine.”
― Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia
― Magdalena: River of Dreams: A Story of Colombia
“There is a fire burning over the Earth, taking with it plants and animals, cultures, languages, ancient skills, and visionary wisdom. Quelling this flame and reinventing the poetry of diversity is the most important challenge of our times.”
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
― Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire
Lea’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Lea’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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