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Summary: A real thought provoker!!
Review: Aldo Leopold writes with such passion and intensity that it is impossible to put down. He points out the beauty of nature that most people overlook. His true love of nature is clearly evident. This book really made me consider my ideals and ethics concerning the land and conservation.
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Summary: A Sand County Almanac is my favorite of all books.
Review: Aldo Leopold's brief book is a lyrical and poeitic expression of the passion and reverence that the author had for the natural world. Just a piece of wasteland, an old farm, is transformed for the reader into the magic place it was to Leopold. "...I am glad that I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map." expresses Leopold's wish for the preservation of wild places of solitude where nature abounds. A Sand County Almanac has provided me with a wealth of wonderful quotes for my environment and biology classes.
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Summary: What Do You Value?
Review: An American classic, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold extolls the highest virtues attainable in nature when Homo sapiens adopt a land ethic, which recognizes that, regardless of economic considerations, the preservation of the natural environment is an obligation. Leopold introduces the reader to wildlife and the land on a personal level, while stressing the fact that a communal relationship exists between human beings and the earth. Instead of presenting people as domineering conquerors over the environment, Leopold explains that humans are interdependent members of an energy circuit called the biota, which consists of all living animals and plants. It is easy to see why this book, A Sand County Almanac, is still quoted today. Has the United States or the world considered instituting a land ethic? Are major decisions involving mining, farming, manufacturing, hydroelectric power, housing construction, waste disposal, recreation, and nuclear energy utilizing a universal land ethic? Why not? Has the scientific world given modern society the answers concerning land and water renewal or how to prevent animal extinction? All of the basic philosophical arguments presented in Leopold's book are still being pondered by conservationists today. Besides explaining why a land ethic is needed, this book is an indictment upon each generation that reads it and yet does nothing. Not only is Leopold's text a good read, but it is also an essential one. Marilyn Glaser, Student
Great Basin College
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Summary: A poetic journey for the diehard environmentalist
Review: Are you one of those people who actually likes to read Thoreau? Well then you're missing out! Aldo Leopold is sooooo much better. Leopold's writing is poetic yet it also calls the common person to action. Likewise Leopold walks the walk when it comes to protecting the environment. While this book isn't exactly page turning, if you like authors like Thoreau, then you should definitely check out The Sand County Almanac, which is the bible to environmentalists. Random Excerpts:: There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot...the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech. ___Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth? The goose who trades his is soon a pile of feathers.:: If you are a die hard environmentalist (or you just like to read poetic stuff) this book is for you.
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Summary: Quietly powerful
Review: As one who has lived my life in the out-of-doors and has a great appreciation for it, Leopold writes what I've always felt but never could express. Leopold's love for nature is shared in a way that all can appreciate.
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Summary: Hesitant Recommendation
Review: Despite Leopold's qualifications as a naturalist/conservationist and the many undeniable moments of beauty and insight that permeate this collection, I was disturbed by the occasionally rhetorical and condescending manner of this work. I found it cute and overwraught at times--too carefully designed for effect. Having said that, Leopold uses gads of old-fashioned and obscure words in interesting ways, which is always worth the price of admission.
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Summary: Read Better Books
Review: Had to read this book for school. I have definitely read better books. Leopold repeats things a lot in this book, and drags out the book. He manages to go on for over 5 pages about cutting down one tree. It was really hard to keep reading. He dragged the book out for endless pages.
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Summary: Listening to the snow melt
Review: I am one of the fortunate few of my youthful generation to have grown up in the countryside - the forested hills of northern Michigan. No book captures the essence of how I feel about my childhood than Leopold's i A Sand County Almanac. Leopold is one of those who can perceive the story of a nation by observing a tree, or the very thoughts of the landscape around him. His keen intellect, combined with a nearly unrivalled attention for detail, allows him to draw sweeping truths and passionate emotions from the most common occurances or objects. Every winter, when I go home, I take a walk deep into the woods, far enough away to escape the sounds of bustling humanity. And I listen. Leopold and Thoreau are among the few authors whose writings reflect what I hear.
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Summary: To keep every cog and wheel ...
Review: I have read this book again - and it's even better the second time around. If anyone is remotely interested in the "man vs. nature" debate - this book is a must read. "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?' If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."
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Summary: A Sand County Almanac Review
Review: I read A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. I liked this book because it beautifully describes Leopold's extensive farm, and its plants, animals and seasons, in Sand Country, WI over 60 years ago. This book has no specific plot, rather it is like a diary that tells us about Aldo's life on the farm year-round. It is incredibly detailed, Leopold sometimes writes for several pages about one specific type of flower or tree. The fields of science that this most relates to are observational (field) ecology and biology. This is because Leopold doesn't experiment in a lab setting or set up experiments on his farm, instead he walks around and observes, and therefore draws conclusions from these observations. The characters in Leopold's book are himself, his dog, and all the hundreds and thousands of animals and plants on his farm, which he often anthropomorphizes. This book is factual, as everything he says actually happened, but it also has elements of fiction because Leopold anthropomorphizes the animals and plants he observes and often gives them personalities and tells stories about them. The book's conclusions, I think, are to enjoy nature and preserve it. Leopold loves to be outdoors, and his book recommends the same thing: to get outside, walk around, and enjoy the beauty all around you. This book also emphasizes that we need to protect and preserve nature, because if we don't care for the environment now, there will be nothing left for future generations. This is especially important to remember today, because of the world's vast global and environmental problems. This is a beautifully written, interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who likes to be outdoors.
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