The author travels through the American Southwest and Alaska, discussing endangered wildlife and forgotten cultures.
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Feb 07, 2012
Tess
rated it: 
Barry Lopez has a new fan here. Beautiful, thought-provoking nature writing.
The essay about the beached whales in "A Presentation of Whales" brought me to tears.
I particularly loved "Landscape and Narrative". There are so many excellent passages in this section, but here's just one:
"This feeling, an inexplicable renewal of enthusiasm after storytelling, is familiar to many people. It does not seem to matter greatly what the subject i More...
The essay about the beached whales in "A Presentation of Whales" brought me to tears.
I particularly loved "Landscape and Narrative". There are so many excellent passages in this section, but here's just one:
"This feeling, an inexplicable renewal of enthusiasm after storytelling, is familiar to many people. It does not seem to matter greatly what the subject i More...
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Dec 15, 2011
Van
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I was on the bus and it occurred to me there was a passage about landscape, storytelling and lying that struck me and though I forget the exact quote and won't go back to find it, I am provoked to think about how it is so easy to trust nature and the landscape, that truth and language are not so much an issue or required; that there is no real question posed about being. We do not fear an unfaithfulness in nature's utterances. And further finding myself on the bus reading this, it occurred to me
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Sep 04, 2010
jeremy
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the great barry lopez composes prose as rich and sustaining as the landscapes he so effortlessly considers. crossing open ground collects fourteen essays, written during the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s, that were printed previously in a wide array of publications including harper's, outside, wilderness, orion nature quarterly, and notre dame magazine. as one of our eminent nature writers, lopez travels throughout the west to explore the great abundance and diversity of some of our nation
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Oct 09, 2011
Mike
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This book is so good I don't know where to begin. The author has every trait you could want in someone writing about this field, he is an impressive human being, and time and again he voiced thoughts exactly as they've occurred to me over the years when thinking about all of the inhabitants of this planet, where we fit in the picture, and how we might improve upon our current ways of doing things. If you like nature writing I think you will be extremely happy that you found this new author, I am
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Jun 12, 2011
Adam
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As an collection of journalistic pieces and essays, Crossing Open Ground is slightly less consistent in its overwhelming awe than Lopez' other works. His earlier, more explicitly journalistic pieces seem less impressive than the later works, which tend to be the ones that spend more time drawing connections and pondering. There are several of the latter kind of work in this collection, and they are all gems among the accumulated sediment of modern thinking about the human place in nature. Ess
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May 08, 2011
Paul
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Lopez has shown me an entire universe in a stone, a creation as large as the earth in a grain of sand. Some phenomenon are too complex for me to understand through direct observation; but I can understand them through analogy. This is what Lopez has done for me in Crossing Open Ground. I met Lopez a few years ago, and in the process of our brief interaction, we both brought something of great worth to that place. We both walked away with a greater capacity to observe and understand.
Nov 13, 2008
melissa/missy
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Loooved it. My copy (from the library) has this hand-inscribed note written on the front cover, by who-knows-who: "Read this and you know ME! With love to Uncle James and Aunt Olive." At the end of reading this collection of nature essays, I felt like I knew myself better, and that guy who wrote the note, and everyone else who lives on this planet. Lopez is an amazing writer who really captures the expanse of the earth and what it means about who we are and what we can do.
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Aug 28, 2011
Bill
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This collection of earlier (1988 and earlier) short pieces by the writer and naturalist is, as always with Lopez, worthwhile for the sheer pleasure of his prose. And it is, also as always, profound in his project to reconnect people and places -- usually, but not always, meaning nature -- or simply to describe people who already have those place-based ties. Deeply concerned with the natural world, and at once deeply human.
Oct 12, 2011
Laurie
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Pretty political but he has beautiful language and a real passion for the land and preservation. It's thought-provoking and emotion-stirring, and he's really a fantastic, straight-forward writer with plain, easy to access language. All very informative too, he really does his research which makes his essays very interesting.
Jan 29, 2009
Nathan
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Lopez is a fine writer with an astute eye and ear for the world around us-- and how we often both relate and fail to see it. "Landscape and Narrative," an often anthologized essay, stands out as a particularly insightful look into the story of landscape.
Jul 27, 2011
Frankie
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This author's writing puts you right into the scene he is describing. His words draw you into wherever he is at that very moment. I felt like I was right there next, knowing all the characters as he knew them. I enjoyed his understanding and thoughts of life in general. Excellent read.
Sep 16, 2011
Jared
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There'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.
Dec 09, 2008
Jennifer
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Many thanks to my friend Kristina, lately of New York, for introducing me to this volume, which has broken my heart a thousand times.
Jan 30, 2010
Arne
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A Presentation of Whales resonates with the same haunting, abject quality as Orwell's To Kill an Elephant (think that's the name).
Apr 04, 2008
Mehrsa
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This is a collection of essays about exploring the West. It is beautifully written, but a bit condescending at times. It's a little ironic to write about places that are so beautiful that you want everyone to know about them, but you don't want anyone else to go. There is a sense throughout the book that he is "discovering" the west for the reader.
Jan 23, 2008
Timothy
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Nature is constantly in your face in Montana. It does more than surround you, it's part of everything. Urban settings can't wipe out the westerness that is this part of the country. I can't help but think Lopez would write beautiful things about this place. This book is a great collection of essays by one of my favorite environment writers.
Jul 29, 2011
Cheryl in CC NV
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Very 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.
Oct 27, 2007
Mitch
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Not as compelling as 'Arctic Dreams,' Lopez' writing nevertheless feels sacramental to me. The care and intention of his writing is exceptional and rare. The rating of this book is likely to go up.
Apr 21, 2008
Issy
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Barry Lopez is just such a great writer. He lost me a bit when he forays into the theoretical but luckily that doesn't happen too often.
Nov 06, 2007
Sheilagh
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tangible mixture of natural and political history interwoven with personal experience.
collection of essays/writings
collection of essays/writings
Feb 07, 2012
