Gary Paul Nabhan Books

Wonderful! One of the most eloquent and insightful books ever written on deserts, Native Americans, agriculture, etc., etc. A treat for both the mind and the heart...

I worked out in the Sonora for a few years and learned to love its wide open, quiet spaces, the sizzle of a cicada and the smell right before thunder breaks and rain falls in big warm drops.

Living in Seattle, when I long for open grey-white land, the shade of the palo verde, the shuffle of a zebra-tail, I go down to the basement and find this book. Pure magic! Culture, nature and philosophy, this book has it all.

If you know how creosote smells after a desert rain, this book is for you. If you don't know, this book will help you to understand the appeal of the desert.

A nice look into the Papago lifestyle of the '80s, some history, some desert lore, some naturalist bent.

A nice read, recommended.

Nabhan has written a beautifully eloquent book about the Papago people of Arizona. The book focuses on the importance of rainfall to these desert dwellers and the way that it has become a key part of their culture and their celebrations. But this book is more than a simple study of desert climate and agriculture. It is an exploration of the beauty of the desert and of an ancient culture that is stuggling to live on their traditional lands in spite of the seperation from their families across the border in Mexico, and despite the lessened rainfall. In the desert the rain is a magical thing, and Nabhan has captured the feeling of the first raindrops after a long dry-spell. A beautiful work.

I came across some of the still photos from this book in a video on Youtube -- of a song called "Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?" Mr. Burckhalter is a magician with a camera. He has captured truly incredible portraits of Mexicans/Sonorans -- some of the most proficient, touching photos I've ever seen. These are photos of TRUTH and BEAUTY. I am highly recommending the book based on my viewing of the Youtube video.

Beautiful tribute to ordinary people of Sonora. I came across it while doing research on my family at the time of the Mexican Revolution and it didn't help for that paper, but it was a great viewing nonetheless. The photographs are incredible.

Superb black and white photographs, with accompanying essays, concentrate on ordinary people. The result transcends its geographic region; this is about people who just happen to live in Sonora. Winner, Border Regional Library Association's 1998 Southwest Book Award.

This book is incredible -- an honest and sensitive portrait of life in the changing Sonoran desert. I picked it up yesterday and haven't been able to stop looking at it since. Apart from the photography, there are two wonderful essays. In the second, "Another Country", Thomas E. Sheridan tells of falling in love with a place in a way that speaks intimately to my own experience of and passion for Mexico. But I'd better stop before I give a whole dissertation... Buy this book! You won't regret it.

This book gave me a overview of tequila that included the agricultural considerations, cultural heritage, and history of mescal de tequila, not just a guide to making margaritas. It is well written with enough detail to satisfy the curious, yet straightforward enough to allow for the average reader. Exceptionally informative book!

Nab tis iz e bok. I'v beeen dwinkinking teakilya
far sum time and I cun say itz the bast dwink to
havb! Nah I meen et! I'b no dares Beer and Wien
bat nothfing beets Teequilla,NOFING! It iz dat
dwink tht calhmsz da nerves and makez ya feel
mo relaxed. Dake it for me thot Ttequila wil
bwing good sings to youz and familee and it
can mak ya feeel whandarfol...YOO HERE VE!

Will absolutely read more of this author's work.
Learned a great deal.

Large, crisp, vivid photos presented by Arizona Highways. Each wildflower includes information such as: region, elevation, blooming season, relatives and more. As an avid Arizona hiker I get excited when I am able to spot these beauties on the trail. The format is magazine size. All pages are thick and glossy Arizona Highways quality. - Beautiful!

Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited by Peter Friederici (Ecological Restoration Institute), Ecological Restoration Of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests presents a variety of essays by learned and articulate authors in the fields of forestry, biology, philosophy, ecology, political science, archaeology, botany, and geography. Ecological Restoration Of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests brings together perspectives from all these fields with a special focus upon the task of renewing the pine forests of Southwestern Ponderosa. The thoughtful and scholarly writings are enhanced with black-and-white photographs, as well as charts, maps, and graphs addressing all aspects and difficulties pertaining to contemporary efforts to encourage mother nature. Ecological Restoration Of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests is an important and welcome contribution to professional and academic Environmental Studies reference collections.

This is a lovely book, combining a short, simple and touching narrative with beautiful, vivid paintings and lots of information about the Seri people and the natural history of their homeland. My twin daughters, nearly three, ask for it again and again. Something about the story, told by a Seri woman about a lizard that visited her every day, touched the girls; they call it 'The Lady Book' and always pause over one picture, asking why the lady is sad. The pictures, in a bold and subtle folk art style, are a vital part of the book's appeal; the colours and figures are so strong and lively. In a really easy, touching way, this story gives young children an understanding of how people love and know and live in an ecosystem.

Any collection strong in biological science - particularly college-level holdings - will want UNNATURAL LANDSCAPES: it blends science writing and research with first-person stories of adventure to provide a lively introduction to invasion ecology and restoration management, and uses the author's own kayak trips as a basis for considering invasive species in the Southwest and Mexico regions. Her journeys read like a blend of scientific investigation and travelogue and thus serve as a fitting introduction to habitat management issues.

I have to commend the idea contained in this volume more than the text itself -- it is sort of a dry read. But VERY, VERY important and timely. Among botanists and entomologists the realization is growing that pollinator populations around the world are in steep decline. The authors launched THE FORGOTTEN POLLINATOR PROJECT to spread awareness of both the crisis and the urgency of protecting whole ecosystems. A flowering plant cannot exist without the species that facilitate fertilization of its seeds. Many flowers are very specifically tuned to one or a few species of insects, birds or mammals -- coevolved for mutual benefit. Because of ecosystem destruction and fragmentation it can become impossible for the right critter to get to the right flower at the right time. Party's over. This book has renewed currency 11 years after publication with the spreading collapse of honey bee populations.

I first read this book when it was published. It was entertaining and interesting. Each year after I saw my mango, tamarind, lychee trees in a very different way.

Now, (2007), with the global disappearance of major portions of the honeybee population, this book is relevant to survival.

Little is known about the secret life of insects and their relationship among plants. Most people, including myself know at least this much; that bees and some insects feed on nectar and simultaneously pollinate flowers. After reading this book, I've realized that there is much more to pollination relationships. For instance, bees and butterflies are not the only pollinators. Beetles, bats, hummingbirds, tree squirrels etc. are a few examples of other natural pollinators. In Australia, there are over 1,500 bird species that have been confirmed as effective pollinators of plants. Wasps also pollinate certain flowers. In the southern U.S., spider wasps are important pollinators of native milkweed plants. Figwort blossoms similarly are especially adapted for visitations by wasps. There are about 10 to 15,000 species of wasps that functionally pollinate flowering plants.
This book explores in depth a fundamental but scarcely respected connection between plants and animals. Pollination ecology provides the framework of the book but the book ultimately focuses on raising awareness to the threats of plants and their pollinators. Other environmental issues such as habitat fragmentation and destruction, over use of insecticides, chemical farming, and monocropping are also addressed in a way that stimulates the reader. Misconceptions about the insect world are addressed. For example they talk about interspecies competition; and that honeybees aren't necessarily the best pollinators. Honeybees are not in fact the greatest pollinators not only because they are so widely used in commercial operations, but from an evolution standpoint. They are not capable of using buzz pollination like the bumblebees, which vigorously buzz their wings to receive maximum pollen. They also cannot fly in low temperatures like the Mason bees. Mason bees are responsible for a lot of early-spring blooms like blueberries, almonds, and the first apple blooms.
The author's approach to environmental concerns is conveyed in a style that is not only enlightening but is also educating. For a subject that could be considered "dry" or "tedious", the format of the book is written in an enjoyable manner. Personal encounters mixed with deep knowledge gives you a sense of being present with the narrators during their explorations. For instance, chapter 7 reveals the threats to migratory pollinators. For example, monarch butterflies winter in Mexico after traveling up to 2,000 miles from the north. As many as 20,000 monarchs per acre; are rested here during the average wintering season. The perils they mention begin with loss of habitat but then mainly focusing on the effects of toxic herbicides. For example, there are thousands of pounds of highly toxic insecticides that are applied to lettuce, cilantro, and squash. The bats, bees, and butterflies may not necessarily feed on the crops but are susceptible to any aerially sprays when passing by. To eliminate these dangers, farmers should be properly trained to apply certain pesticides to each crop at the appropriate stages.
Throughout the twelve chapters are excerpts of stories from their experiences all over the globe. The illustrations incorporated in the text were clear images that went along with the text. At the end of the book is a glossary; which I found was very helpful with the words and terminology used in the book.
The two authors are ardent naturalist that have written this book with great erudition. Gary Paul Nabhan is an award winning writer and a renowned crop ecologist. He's the winner of the John Burroughs Medal for his first book "Gathering the Desert". He also is a co-founder of the Native Seeds/Search organization. In addition, Gary works as a science advisor at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There are also many publications on ethno botany, nutrition, and plant conservation written by him.
Stephen L. Buchmann is one of the world's leading authorities in bees and pollination. In 1999, he founded "Bee Works" which is an independent company that conducts pollinating surveys. The company works to educate people and also provides consultations for agricultural and wildlife groups. Buchmann has been a research entomologist for 22 years and is also a professor of entomology at the University of Arizona.
I enjoyed this book because I felt it gave me a new way of understanding material that I knew so little about. From practically not knowing anything about conservation biology; after reading this book I feel I have a better understanding of what it means to be a conservationist. Throughout the book, you can sense the dedication and collective works of the two authors. Their shared passion of protecting pollinators and preservation of co-evolution between plants and animals I found to be inspiring. This book does a great job in reminding us the importance of conservation, not only on a large scale but also on a smaller scale. We're lucky to have these natural pollination relationships between plants and animals.
Being a student interested in conservation; I think this book will enthuse anyone interested in ecosystem studies, biodiversity, wildlife, and or natural history. The concept ional level of the book is great for high school level education and advanced. I would definitely recommend this book to those seeking a guide to new insights about conservation biology. Overall this book packs a lot of information, but it presented a nice entry into the lively and fascinating world of pollinators.

Honey bees are less easily forgotten in 2008 than they were in 1997, when this book was published. Any crisis is good press, and several threats to honey bees - sudden hive collapse, viral and other infestations, etc - have put the hives on the front pages lately. A serious decline in the population of commercial pollinators does threaten America's agricultural productivity, especially of orchard crops. Doing something about it will require serious science and public support for serious science, so perhaps all of us ought to learn something about the buds and the bees.

The first chapter of The Forgotten Pollinators is titled "Silent Springs and Fruitless Falls: the Impending Pollinator Crisis". Clearly the authors are alarmed about public ignorance or indifference to the role of pollinators in the ecology of Earth today. However, the bulk of their book is not alarmist but informational. They describe in lively detail the physical mechanisms of pollination, the symbiotic interdependencies of diverse plants and their specific pollinators, and a bit of the history of human-related changes in populations of pollinators and thus of plant communities. As the book jacket declares, "plant-pollinator relationships offer vivid examples of the connections between endangered species and threatened habitats." Plant-pollinator relationships also offer remarkable proofs of Darwinian evolutionary theories, as flowers and beaks have co-evolved for adaptive mutual reproductive advantage.

The Forgotten Pollinators is solid science but it's also a chatty book, full of personal anecdotes and asides, written in easy-going non-technical prose. It's a book you might read in your study, in a lawn chair on your patio after planting your dahlia tubers, or even at the beach, as I did.

This book really captures the beauty of the Southwest amoungst other places where pollinators play a crucial role. Buchmann and Nabhan tell a tale that is both dazzling and at the time disturbing: the lost of pollinators and how they impact our lives in so many ways. The book brings about how humankind takes for granted the timeless work these creatures do. Unfortunately, the writing style of the book tends to be repetative and thoughts fragmented like some of the stories were torn right out of a journal (which they probably were). However, overall a book that will add greater insight and depth to any human concerned about the environment.

Mr Nabhan took us on an extrardinary journey through St Francis county. Entertaining and educating on each page. Then the big let down in the epilogue, as he rejects everything St Francis stood for. St Francis loved nature and the animals, but only because they are God's creation. St Francis's every moment was spent glorifing God. He loved all animals as an extension of his love for Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. Mr Nabhan totally misread St Francis.

I'm ordering several copies to give as gifts! This book touched my heart.

If, one week ago, someone told me that I'd be reading & loving a book subtitled "An American Naturalist in Italy," I'd have laughed.

This is a witty and charming book (a very quick read) which will get to you even if you are NOT a naturalist---even if, like I, you hardly know what a naturalist is or does!

Nabhan, with a friend, hiked through the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside, interviewing natives and chronicling his discoveries and stories: an old farmer shares wine and his knowledge of how to find truffles simply because Nabhan was walking to Assisi and the farmer was named after Saint Francis; an elderly couple waltzes in a town square and becomes, in Nabhan's words, "the dance, itself;" another man explains to the author why grapes need to be trellised & how beautiful they are when alternated with maples; a woman explains how a she-wolf was tamed and fed by town residents. The tales are all about the land and the people who have lived there for centuries. And they are all fascinating.....simple, true stories that will help one believe, again, in the human race.

This book is a perfect companion to that other fine book of Italian (i.e. human) discovery: "Under The Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes.