What makes us human? Drawing from his own experiences in wild places through the decades, the author challenges the conventional notion that being civilized somehow changes what we are. He argues that wildness is an essential part of our humanity, and that our complex civilization threatens it. WILDNESS AND BEING HUMAN questions the basic assumptions we make about ourselves as it follows the evolution of hominids into fully human beings, the development of towns and agriculture, and the unfolding of civilization during the past 5,000 years. This book also considers what we are becoming, while stressing the importance of staying connected to the natural world. It is a whole new way of looking at human nature.
Forest Under My Fingernails is a beautifully written book about a 267 mile, 33 day backpacking trip. At different times gently introspective, humorous, and thought-provoking, this book explores the changes we go through as we gradually immerse ourselves in the deep woods, and the different rhythms we experience there. Walt's work is relatively unknown, but we regard him as one of the most eloquent nature authors and poets writing today.
What begins as a wilderness dream quickly becomes a gut-wrenching challenge to the author's most cherished beliefs, when the bush plane leaves and he's left alone to fend for his self. This taut narrative recounts one man's two-week sojourn in a harsh yet beautiful place, where brown bears, bald eagles and ravens teach the ways of the wild.
A Reluctant Pantheism is one man's lifelong attempt to understand the relationship between God and nature. The conclusions that he draws from his direct encounters with the wild conflict with most of the belief systems he explores along the way. While considering thousands of years of religion, philosophy and science, as well as his own experiences, the author looks for a common thread running through all nature-based worldviews with regard to what is real. Is there a driving force in nature that creates order out of chaos? For some of those who ask this question the door remains wide open to the infinite possibilities of the great unknown.
In "Deep Forest Ruminations," the main narrative in this collection, the author develops a philosophy tempered by the wild while camped with his German shepherd dog on a pristine lake in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness. Leading up to this experiment in staying put, the twelve shorter narratives and personal essays brought together here focus more on backpacking and snowshoeing in the Adirondacks over the course of two decades, both alone and with others. The result is a juxtaposition of thought and movement exploring the beauty, wonder and mystery of the natural world and our place in it.
The 100 Mile Wilderness, located in the immense forest of northern Maine, is the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail. With a German shepherd dog named Matika for company and a heavy backpack tugging at his shoulders, McLaughlin accepts the challenge, reveling in all the hardship that the North Woods has to offer. He reflects upon the evolution of the trail system, as well as the history of the region, while traversing mountain ranges, fording rivers and slogging through bogs. He contemplates his own inclination towards wildness while pressing southward, encountering scores of hardy AT thru-hikers on their final push to Mount Katahdin. The trail twists and turns. The journey holds many surprises. And the beautiful mystery of the natural world prevails.
After years of delay, the author finally backpacks the heart of the relatively new Cohos Trail in northern New Hampshire. But the recent deaths of loved ones, insufficient physical training, and his advanced years make a tough hike even tougher. All the same McLaughlin revels in the natural beauty of the White Mountains and the Nash Stream Forest as the trail rises to magnificent mountain views, skirts pristine ponds and dreamy meadows, and passes through sprawling forests. Despite all hardships, the wild still works its magic.
THE WORLD ENGAGED is a diverse collection of nature writing. The selections here range from the conventional to the experimental, from the deeply personal to the philosophical. Much of this poetry and prose has been taken from previous publications. Subject and style vary greatly, but it all comes from seasoned writers with keen eyes for their natural surroundings. Past contributors to Wood Thrush Books publications are represented here - Walt Franklin, Jeanne Shannon, Benjamin Green, William Weiss, Helen Ruggieri, Scott King, and half a dozen others - along with new contributors like Stuart Bartow, Susan Cohen, Alan Catlin, Vicki Graham and several more. There's something in this anthology for everyone who feels the tug of wild nature.
During the summer of '76, a disillusioned college boy set aside his books long enough to hitchhike from Ohio to British Columbia and back. A hunger for meaning stirred deep within as he climbed in and out of other people's cars, other people's lives, while dealing with the realities of the open road. Truckers, a philosopher/farmer, cowboys, born-again Christians and hippies all had something more to offer, but the author kept moving through the western American landscape until he reached a dead end. Then the adventure really began. This is a tale of numerous highway encounters and one young man's attempt to make sense of the world in the process.
Uncle Walt [WALT MASON] written by Walt Mason. Published by George Matthew Adams in 1910. Registered in Canada in accordance with the copyright law. Entered at Stationers' Hall. Walt Mason's Prose Rhymes are read daily by approximately ten million readers. A newspaper service sells these rhymes to two hundred newspapers with a combined daily circulation of nearly five million, and assuming that five people read each newspaper—which is the number agreed upon by publicity experts—it may be called a fair guess to say that two out of every five readers of newspapers read Mr. Mason's poems. So the ten million daily readers is a reasonably accurate estimate. No other American verse-maker has such a daily audience. Walt Mason is, therefore, the Poet Laureate of the American Democracy. He is the voice of the people. Put to a vote, Walt would be elected to the Laureate's job, if he got a vote for each reader. And, generally speaking, men would vote as they read. The reason Walt Mason has such a large number of readers is because he says what the average man is thinking so that the average man can understand it.
Forest Under My Fingernails is a beautifully written book about a 267 mile, 33 day backpacking trip. At different times gently introspective, humorous, and thought-provoking, this book explores the changes we go through as we gradually immerse ourselves in the deep woods, and the different rhythms we experience there. Walt's work is relatively unknown, but we regard him as one of the most eloquent nature authors and poets writing today.
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