What makes this book special is the humility of the author. This is not a story about a man who sets out aggressively to test himself against the wilderness or to wrest secrets from nature. This is a man who has always felt a deep reverence for nature and who, from a very young age, taught himself to literally walk softly in the wilderness, to be one with it rather than see it as "other." His time in a tipi isn't a personal test, it's the natural evolution of his lifestyle after a bolt of lightning hits the very old, tin-roofed cabin he'd been living in and incinerates it, depriving him of everything his owned except his truck, a knife, the clothes on his back, and his dog.

He orders the tipi cover from a merchant, but fells trees, strips, and conditions the poles himself, reflecting all the time on the skill of the Cherokee -- particularly the women -- who had perfected the art long before he tried it, and giving thanks to the trees whose wood he takes.

As he tells his story, it's not about "How cool am I?" but "Let me show you how amazing and beautiful the natural world is." He writes of beautiful, profound, and amusing encounters with fox, raccoon, deer, snakes, bear, and his beloved dog Elly; of how rain enters a tipi and how -- if you've done your work right -- it slides down the poles to the edge of the space instead of pouring down in the center; how the moon becomes part of planning travel; how to bathe in a winter river respecting the need to keep soap out of it; and how scared schoolkids, intimidated by being in the forest at night, learn courage and reverence not because of what he tells them as much as by their own willingness to engage with nature.

He writes like a poet and a lover, and this book is and profound without being preachy. I think that anyone with a soul would find value here. Those who are already close to nature would appreciate Warren's talent in communicating the experience, and those of us who are distant from it can be awakened to what we miss -- and what we need to cherish and preserve, even if we never visit in the way that he does.
( )

I loved this book! After reading the beautiful prologue, I was hooked. I admire and envy the life of this naturalist especially his appreciation for nature and how to enjoy it completely! ( )

Mark Warren is a naturalist who taught outdoor skills, and so much more, to all ages. He wanted to teach respect, appreciation and love for the outdoor world, animals and plants. His work included elementary school programs as well as senior citizens and all ages in between. Most of the book takes place in the forests of north Georgia in the U.S.

After completing his undergraduate work, Warren was accepted into medical school. He called the school and said he wouldn't be showing up because he had changed his mind. However he still had some scientific training which he took to the woods with him and that is one of the things that made the story fun for me. Warren told the usual tale of becoming one with the world and running with the deer, but then gave some of scientific explanation for it, which I always think is fun. For example when he talked about trees communicating with each other he talked about some research in that area. He said that it had been found that when a tree was ill or was experiencing an infestation of insects for examples, the trees surrounding it responded by going into a self-defense mode. Can't remember the details and have NO biology knowledge, but the trees pulled something in their leaves back into itself, the harder part of itself, making the tree less vulnerable. So Warren gives some explanation for what used to be considered old wives tales or new age gobbledygook and I always love it when I come across that kind of info.

When Warren's rental home in the woods burnt down, he decided to try living in a tipi and did so for two years. There is a lot of detail about building tipis and how they function that I found a little tiresome, and yet I had wondered about some of those things. Smoke, for example, problems with rain and other things were explained and was interesting.

There is also information about the Cherokee and their relationship with the world and with the government. I spent yesterday afternoon in the Anasazi Center in Cortez, CO and just left feeling so sad. It is a wonderful BLM museum, but I was just so struck by one particular photo that was described as being taken during the American Occupation. Something about that terminology and the reality of it struck deeper. The only place that made me more sad than that was Little Big Horn.

You can see there is a lot of variety in this book and it is a quick and interesting read. ( )