Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #776757 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-01
• Released on: 2002-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 285 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780803267473
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
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From Publishers Weekly
At the time of his death in 1977, Eiseley left an unfinished novel, nature jottings, notebooks that contained ideas for speeches and articles, poetry and short stories from his schooldays. Heuer, who edited many of Eiseley's books, has sifted through this vast trove, organizing the material chronologically to trace the development of a writer and thinker. From Eiseley's early years the selections include poetry, tapes of hoboing during the Depression and stories of archeological digs that border on the supernatural. The middle section presents the author of The Immense Journey, with reflections on nature and mankind. In the last decade of his life, Eiseley was widely recognized both for his prose and poetry; the final section includes representative examples of both, plus his observations on the world of nature around him. As this posthumous collection verifies, Eiseley has rightly been called "the modern Thoreau." Nature Book Society alternate.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In addition to prose and poetry by acclaimed naturalist-writer Eiseley (1907-77), this contains letters to him from W.H. Auden, Ray Bradbury, and others. Among these writings selected from Eiseley's personal notebooks and files are childhood reminiscences, nature writings, and portions of an unfinished novel. Photographs (not seen) and sketches accompany the text. Parts of this book are reminiscent of Eiseley's previous works, but here the selections are less polished and the book is less coherent. However, his fans are sure to welcome this collection of "lost" writings. Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"As this posthumous collection verifies, Eiseley has rightly been called ''the modern Thoreau.''"-Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly )

"This volume contains much that Eiseley devotees will be grateful for, from the useful biographical overviews. . . . to the extensive and enlightening glimpses it affords into the intellectual and emotional workshop of one of the most original and influential American essayists of this century."-New York Times Book Review (New York Times Book Review )

"Eiseley''s great genius for the art of the word coupled with a poetic insight into the connection between science and humanism shines through in page after page. . . . This is a book that will be read and quoted and whose pages will grow thin with wear from hands in continued search of new meaning within its words and images."-Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times )

"It is a joy, like finding a lost Rembrandt in the attic, to discover that Eiseley left behind a legacy."-San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle (San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle )

"The best preparation a devoted reader could have for rereading the works of this author. . . . Provide[s] depth, substance, and plenty of room for further exploration. . . .The notebooks are a wonderful way to see a mind at work. . . .Carefully selected and edited by Kenneth Heuer, Eiseley''s editor at Scribners, these notes, jottings, musings, and beginnings and endings will enhance any dedicated reader''s knowledge of this most remarkable literary naturalist. . . . [T]hey provide more than a glimpse into Eiseley''s mind and imagination."-The Bloomsbury Review (The Bloomsbury Review )

Customer Reviews

Mainly for Eiseley enthusiasts
While I think this is a very good book, I would not recommend it to someone who has not read much of Eiseley's work. There are fabulous essays in this volume; on the other hand, some are not so good and some are unfinished. If you want to get acquainted with Eiseley's work I'd recommend "The Star Thrower" before you read anything else. If you become a real Eiseley enthusiast, then this book will be worthwhile to you.

A good book for Eiseley fans
This is a lovely book - if you are an Eisely fan. I agree with the previous reviewer that this should not be the first book you select if you've never read Eiseley. (Start with The Immense Journey or The Star Thrower.) However, if you are a fan, this is a nice book to add to your collection. This book contains snippits of things from Eiseley's notes, presented as a collection. It doesn't flow like his other books, but there are things here that would be difficult to find outside of library archives.