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Crossing Open Ground
Written by Barry Lopez
Narrated by Barry Lopez
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Start ListeningDescription
Crossing Open Ground is a collection of essays by nature writer Barry Lopez. It's food for the spirit from perhaps the finest nature writer of our time.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
Crossing Open Ground
Written by Barry Lopez
Narrated by Barry Lopez
Description
Crossing Open Ground is a collection of essays by nature writer Barry Lopez. It's food for the spirit from perhaps the finest nature writer of our time.
About the author
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Reviews
Barry Lopez is a nature writer, who writes passionately and beautifully about the world around him. This is a collection of his essays written between 1978 and 1986, and one which I devoured, reading til well past my bedtime. It makes for lovely reading. This was a book that I carried around the house with me on the off chance I could grab a second here or there to read it. The man's gift for words is obvious, and his passion and advocacy for wildlife and wild environs is admirable. He makes a great philosophical case for preserving tracts of wild space for their sakes alone, and that it is only once they are lost that we as humans will feel what their loss really means.
Rating: 4A fun and accessible book of essays that are enlightening and thought-provoking. I have been stuck in a city for too long and this book brought me back home to the open spaces I have been longing for. Lopez's writing is poetic and informative. His exploration of the marshlands that have been so diminished is tragic and moving. He touches on so much here and each part is done in a tasteful and subtle way. There is perhaps a lack of cohesion between these essays but every part is individually worthwhile. The natural world needs more spokesmen (and women) like Barry Lopez.
Rating: 4The finest book of essays and beautiful writing I have ever read. Lopez is a master of evoking a sense of geography and place. These essays about the Arctic are best read after a hot shower and working all day on the ice in minus 20 degree weather. I had the privilege of seeing some of the things he writes about, but I felt as if I had known them already, just from the writing.
Rating: 5After reading Arctic Dreams I wanted more of Barry, and I got it! Crossing Open Ground is a wonderful collection of essays that presents a real range of nonfiction writing going from more traditional long-form journalism, "A Presentation of Whales" and "A Reflection on White Geese," to a threaded collection of interviews, "The Bull Rider," to a more traditional essay, "The Passing Wisdom of Birds." Ultimately López maintains a consistent voice, one that is insightful, pensive, and deeply motivated by justice. While any collection can be a bit uneven there are some real gems in here for anyone interested in reading about our relationship to landscape, place, and that relationship within the context of narrative.
Rating: 4Awesome! Loved his reading and insight a must for lovers of the south west
Rating: 5Because Barry Lopez is a good and evocative writer, I keep waiting for a book without animal cruelty.This time he was the self appointed killer of seals, pretending that he just doesn't enjoy killing animals.This time for "science," not for the ever numbing joy of hunting.He never explains this allegedly primal urge to stalk and murder and the hideousness of an animal dying in a trap.Well, it always gives him something exciting to write about, like the totally hopeless whale story.THE STONE HORSE begs for the aerial map...a splendid tale.GEESE needs the original photographs...opening our eyes to a new world.The book reads like an unconnected novel, keeping readers alert for the next adventure,which many of us which included ENLIGHTENMENT about the horrors of trapping, if not of hunting
Rating: 3Very mixed bag of essays. Some were ivory-tower-on-dope pretentious, some were honest and fresh (I liked the one where he interviewed rodeo cowboys). Some folks would no doubt love it. I kinda skipped a couple when I felt like it was bogging down.
Rating: 3Barry Lopez is a nature writer, who writes passionately and beautifully about the world around him. This is a collection of his essays written between 1978 and 1986, and one which I devoured, reading til well past my bedtime. It makes for lovely reading. This was a book that I carried around the house with me on the off chance I could grab a second here or there to read it. The man's gift for words is obvious, and his passion and advocacy for wildlife and wild environs is admirable. He makes a great philosophical case for preserving tracts of wild space for their sakes alone, and that it is only once they are lost that we as humans will feel what their loss really means.
Rating: 4There's such a diverse amount of content, and I dig that! While some chapters were a little dry, others really made me think. Lopez writes beautifully throughout, and I enjoyed my time with this book.
Rating: 4