Nathanael Johnson

Eh. This is a sweet and easy conversation about noticing your surroundings, and it's fine. Possibly good if that's a new idea and you don't have any basic info about nature in the city, or any of the chapter titles; but if you already have a level of interest and knowledge, it won't give you much more. I will say the chapter on plants/weeds is not even a chapter, it seems to be an introduction, an immediate realization that this topic would need more than a chapter, and then a conclusion. The editors and author would've been smart just to cut it completely. I guess three stars because it was fine to read and there are people I would recommend it to, but I could've skipped it for myself.… (más)

When I received this in the post, I was initially excited, but when I flipped it over to get the ISBN number, I saw the classification: "Nature/Parenting". I don't parent, unless you count herding cats, so I was afraid I'd stuck myself with a book that wasn't going to work for me.

I need't have worried - this is a great book! The author uses his desire to interest his toddler daughter in science as the framework for this book, and at least once waxes a bit to philosophically, but overall, he sticks to (sorry parents) the good stuff.

Johnson breaks the book up into chapters involving animals that almost everyone in the world can find in their back yard (sadly, Aussies don't have squirrels, a state of affairs which I maintain makes their lives just a little less joyous): pigeons, weeds, snails, crows, the ginkgo tree, etc. Each topic is touched on enough to introduce and often fascinate the reader with just how diverse and unique the life under your urban feet can be. I found myself reading much of this out loud to my husband, and Johnson has me mulling over the idea of starting a long term journal of my garden's wildlife.

The writing is easy and entertaining and I found myself reluctant to put it down, making it one of the faster-paced non-fiction/science books on my shelf. The bibliography at the back has at least 2 titles I'll be hunting down soon (on edible weeds and which ones taste good). It's a thoroughly enjoyable read and honestly, worth it alone for the stories about the crows.… (más)

The introduction to this book is a real peach of an essay. In it the author lays out exactly what he plans to do in the book. He is NOT doing a guidebook. He maintains that most humans do not learn by memorizing a guidebook. They learn by trying to solve a mystery or problem. Instead of providing a guidebook he is going to "start with the unknown in these essays ... the puzzles that bewildered me ... I was more interested in going deep than going wide." The focus of the book are those plants and animals that live with humans. They are not the exotic ones but the plain everyday plants and animals that we see all the time in cities everywhere. In doing so the author elevates the mundane and implores all of us, city dwellers, greenies, gardeners, and walkers to take notice of the wildlife that surrounds us. He asks us to wonder, question, and investigate. That is a tall order, but he maintains we will all be the richer for it.… (más)