The Ties That Bind: Birds, Nature and Us - Softcover

Foster, Mike F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1452076189 ISBN 13: 9781452076188

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2010

Synopsis

Americans are great joiners. Millions of us join organizations devoted to birds, animals, natural history, and the outdoors. But joining is not the same as connecting. We have been slow to realize that Nature is in trouble. The climate is warming. Resources are disappearing faster than we can replace them. Species extinctions are accelerating. To save birds and to preserve the planet we must first heal ourselves, because as intolerance and selfishness demonstrate every day, humanity is in trouble with itself. We can begin to save ourselves by realizing that our fate is linked to that of the natural world. We can begin to heal our environment by relearning cooperation, mutual respect, and generosity of spirit-virtues that will reinforce our intimate and infinite ties to Mother Nature. Throughout The Ties That Bind: Birds, Nature and Us Mike Foster emphasizes the practical value of these virtues while elaborating the personal philosophy he has developed during a lifetime of outdoor experiences. His sympathetic connections to Nature provide vivid images of the natural world, especially birds. His message is informative and uplifting. The questions the author raises in these essays probe subjects most of us prefer to ignore: Why are so many Americans still denying their role in global warming? How is the "energy crisis" mostly a matter of attitudes? What would bacteria like to tell us? Why is water shortage a moral issue? In the voluminous literature on the environment, this book is unique in suggesting the transformative role birds can play in changing our attitudes to Nature. Based on solid biological research, expressed in a fluent and often lyrical style with a confident voice, Foster's essays will convince you that birds and Nature are worth saving.

About this title

About the Author:

A fourth generation Coloradan, Mike Foster has been in awe of birds since the age of ten, when two hummingbirds captured his imagination. Birds have had a grip on his soul ever since. Over the years Foster has walked through varied landscapes, climbed numerous mountains, and admired diverse animals, especially birds, who early on showed him the connectedness of all creatures. In The Ties That Bind: Birds, Nature and Us the author describes the experience with a golden eagle in 1982 that changed him from a lover of Nature to an advocate for Nature. Despite an early passion for birds and natural history, after graduating from Yale Foster decided to become a professional historian. He earned his doctorate in European history from Columbia University, and taught at Stanford and the universities of Illinois and Colorado. While climbing in Colorado's mountains, he was drawn to the life of the 19th-century naturalist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, whose own enthusiastic approach to Nature inspired Foster's second career as a biographer and a naturalist. In a score of studies on early American naturalists, scientists, and artists, including Strange Genius (1994), the definitive biography of Hayden, Foster employs the historian's perspective on current events and issues. In over thirty articles on birds and natural history, written for such periodicals as Colorado Birds, The Lark Bunting, The Dipper, and Colorado Environmental Report, he takes a fresh, inspirational look at our relationship with the environment. His writings have appeared in such journals as Travel and Leisure, Nation's Business, Colorado Heritage, and the American Historical Review. While leading birding trips for Audubon and for Denver Field Ornithologists, Mike tries to go beyond identifying birds and consider their wider place in the natural world. He lives in Lakewood, Colorado.

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1452076189
• ISBN 13: 9781452076188
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 152