Donald Culross PeattieRezensionen

Informative, exhaustive. Not a page turner but I learned a lot about trees that I had never noticed before.

This book is a variety of books in one: American history; industrial forestry guide; naturalist's field guide; and nature appreciation. I finished the entire book in order to savor the lattermost kind. Peattie's prose is obviously the product of an earlier time; earlier even than the early 1950s in which he originally published this work. I knew within a few chapters that this book would be something I would likely turn to in future years to replenish an appreciation for the trees themselves and for Peattie's prosecraft.
All that said, I will suggest that most readers may, after a certain point, do well to focus on the trees in their region or those regions they are likely to visit. Because this is a long book.

Another rhapsodic book by [a:Donald Culross Peattie|651969|Donald Culross Peattie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], one of my favorite authors. While I thoroughly enjoyed "Flowering Earth", I believe others of his books are better reading. But I would never discourage anyone from reading this.
Of course, it should be noted that this was originally published in 1939 and some of the science is dated. But not so much as to interfere with my enjoyment of Peattie's prose.

If you are fortunate, you will encounter over the span of your literate life a few authors whose style cause you to catch your breath, and whose chosen subjects give you pause to reflect or to stand upon a sudden new horizon of perception. [a:Donald Culross Peattie|651969|Donald Culross Peattie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] is just such a one for me. Many of his works, such as this one, are to be savored slowly and in small portion. For to rush through them is to perhaps rob yourself of some golden time in contemplation.
[It must be acknowledged that Peattie shared in the casual racism and sexism of his time. (This book was published in 1937.) These seeped occasionally into his writing, and I do not wish to minimize either problem. But as Peattie says in the final chapter of A Book of Hours, "[M]an is not a fallen angel. But he may just possibly be on the evolutionary road toward angelic transmutation." I choose to believe that had Peattie lived longer, he might well have surmounted these attitudinal shortcomings.]

If you are lucky, over the course of your life you will find a handful of writers whose style and subject fit you, embrace you, lift you up. Peattie is just such a one for me. This volume is part natural history, part memoire, wholly enjoyable.

Not Peattie's best. But I love his prose even when the material is dated and the narrative connection between parts is tenuous.

In this tortuous year 2020, one of my bright spots has been the new habit of spending my Sunday breakfast reading the coming week's entries in An Almanac for Moderns. Looking at my reviews for the other Peattie books I have read so far, it seems I am unable to write such a review without mentioning how sweetly Peattie's prose speaks to me. I am pleased to report that he still delights me.
I purchased a printed version of this book for myself, and two copies for my best friends. It is my hope that in our infrequent weekends together, we might discuss our thoughts on Peattie's thoughts.

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NA

This is an occult diary of natural life. It is amazing. I have bought a few copies for friends, but I don't think anyone really liked it as much as I do.

The stilted prose is a bit out-dated and not terribly suited for kids. The book touches dozens of diverse nature topics and also has beautiful illustrations by Freund, a contributor to 'the World We Live In' . I read this in order to thin the piles of books around the house, but I just can't bear to discard it.½

Trees of Northeastern North America

I first read parts of this book when I was 12 (about 1976) and recently re-acquired a copy. Too many people have previously examined and praised this classic for me to add too much. The writing is elegant and the information is unusual, engaging and idiosyncratic. In my opinion, there is less really high quality natural history being written today. Much of what passes for it is more personal memoir or implied argument (Barbara Kingsolver, for example) or rather ironic in tone (David Quammen type). Peattie is the real deal, mixing human history with vivid description of natural phenomenon. The focus is on his subject, rather than his own views, but his love and appreciation for trees and their crucial role in human society comes through in every page. This book should not be missed by anyone who wants to understand, not just identify, trees.

I am making this book last- I've been reading one tree or so every couple of days. I can't remember a book about flora I have loved this much. I never want it to end. The first section about the trees that are mostly all gone now had me weeping aloud. He's a genius, an absolute gem.

This is a tome, but it's a brick with 5-20 pages of text for each entry. I don't used it for identifications, but I use it for finding out more about things I've already ID'd. (I have ambitions of one day reading it through, all 600 pages of small print.)

Vence. Wonderful woodcut illustrations.

An excellent resourse for identifying trees, with black and white drawings and lenghty descriptions. 600 pages. Includes key.

The book begins at 3 in the morning with a man asleep, not exactly dreaming but with his imagination active. The stars and planets move, moths and fireflies are perhaps about. Each essay is another hour of the day in which some part of nature, including humans and cities, is featured.

This Book of Hours is a devotional for each hour of Earth's day - a reflection on the activities that buzz, or meditations that come to mind, at a particular longitude in the northern hemisphere during that hour on a day in May. At 1 in the afternoon, for instance, Peattie reflects on the Floral Clock of Linneaus, in which a different flower opens or closes each hour from 3 in the morning until midnight. At 6 in the evening he reflects upon the emptying of cities and the clatter of children at home. And so it goes, from the opening at 3 in the morning to the conclusion at 2 AM, the hour in folklore when the soul is most likely to leave the body.

Peattie published this book in 1937. The sentiments about the human race are much more optimistic than anyone writing today would dare express. The War to End All Wars had ended 20 years earlier. Hitler was not to invade Poland for another two years. His optimism about the human potential seemed justified. Peattie, a naturalist and writer, was valued in America for his poetic observations.

It's somewhat hard to appreciate the language because it is so dated, but there are times when the poetry wins out.