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The Paradise Notebooks: 90 Miles across the Sierra Nevada
In The Paradise Notebooks, Richard J. Nevle and Steven Nightingale take us across the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range on a journey illuminated by incandescent poetry and fascinating fact.
Over the course of twenty-one pairs of short essays, Nevle and Nightingale contemplate the natural phenomena found in the Sierra Nevada. From granite to aspen, to fire, to a rare, endemic species of butterfly, these essay pairs explore the natural history and mystical wonder of each element with a balanced and captivating touch. As they weave in vignettes from their ninety-mile backpacking trip across the range, Nevle and Nightingale powerfully reconceive the Sierra Nevada as both earthly matter and transcendental offering, letting us into a reality in which nature holds just as much spiritual importance as it does physical.
In a time of rapid environmental degradation, The Paradise Notebooks offers a way forward—a whole-minded, learned, loving attention to place that rekindles our joyful relationship with the living world.
Over the course of twenty-one pairs of short essays, Nevle and Nightingale contemplate the natural phenomena found in the Sierra Nevada. From granite to aspen, to fire, to a rare, endemic species of butterfly, these essay pairs explore the natural history and mystical wonder of each element with a balanced and captivating touch. As they weave in vignettes from their ninety-mile backpacking trip across the range, Nevle and Nightingale powerfully reconceive the Sierra Nevada as both earthly matter and transcendental offering, letting us into a reality in which nature holds just as much spiritual importance as it does physical.
In a time of rapid environmental degradation, The Paradise Notebooks offers a way forward—a whole-minded, learned, loving attention to place that rekindles our joyful relationship with the living world.
- GenresNonfictionNaturePoetry
192 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2022
20 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Richard J. Nevle
2 books3 followersRichard J. Nevle is a Texas-born father, husband, teacher, naturalist, and scientist with roots on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. He serves as the Deputy Director of the Earth Systems Program at Stanford University, where he is devoted to the intellectual formation of the next generation of interdisciplinary social-environmental changemakers. Nevle has authored numerous scientific articles, and he received Stanford’s highest teaching honor in 2018. He is a graduate of Amherst College and received his Ph.D. at Stanford University. He lives in San José, California, with his wife, singer-songwriter Deborah Levoy, next to a garden full of wild things.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 29, 2023
I can’t give this book enough praise. Every single page is full of wisdom worth pondering over and over. The science is beautiful. The poetry is beautiful. I will come back to this book for the rest of my life. I’m floored at the beautiful experience I had over the last week as I slowly devoured every word.
January 17, 2023
We talked of the way that the qualities of the Sierra held such power and wonder, of how they might be honored and understood using the whole mind- that is, by bringing to this legendary mountain range the insights, taken together, of natural history, of poetry, storytelling, and spirituality. I have found that the pursuit of scientific inquiry- its own kind of truth seeking- can be as much an act of devotion as it is scholarly meditation. For to pay attention to the world, to seek its stories, to run your fingers along some crack of rock or furrow of tree bark, to look, closely at the wildflower- to wonder and seek answers to how those things might have come to be in the world- are themselves acts of devotion, ways of knowing.
As Diane Ackerman has written, “There is a way of beholding nature that is itself a form of prayer.” I have sought wild animals if for no other reason than to bear witness to their existence. There is something numinous and joyful in these encounters, a way in which the boundary between the world we sense and the world that is beyond our senses becomes, for the briefest moments, thin-almost transparent.
A beautiful, generous book of all the ways the earth has meaning, synthesizing so many ways of seeing and absorbing this world. This is my love language. There was so much here, it is a book to own and revisit. It could have been written about the Rockies in some ways, and some ways diverged, but was a song, poem, and prayer for the earth.
What we need most is a fearless generosity and fierce hunger for truth, so that we have a chance to make this land our homeland. Through learning to see and know and love a singular place in its life-giving, wild, true reality, perhaps we might learn to see and know and love each place in the world for all its mystery and beauty. Perhaps we might arrest our calamitous way forward- and bend the arc of history to the invigorating work of healing what we can of the world’s brokenness- for ourselves, for one another, and for the future.
Imagine, for a moment, if we could peer through a lens that sped up time so that centuries hurtled by in seconds. Trees would leap into the sky as they snaked their roots into fissures, wedging and prying apart the granite. Lichens would spread across the rocks, enlivening its surface with colorful splotches, secreting acids and digesting minerals. Exposed to the weathering, stone monuments would decompose over the course of a few, brief, time-warped days into soil. If our lens allowed time to race even faster, whole eons drifting by in hours, we would learn that granite is a product of life, a rock unique to earth, made possible by photosynthesis.
Serrated ridges rise like an archipelago from the forest. Peaks warm, send plumes of air lofting skyward. Air ascends, cools, and expands, condensing wisps of cottony clouds. We see clouds every day, but what if were to take the time to observe them, live for a spell of time as students of their beauty and movement? Where does the water vapor come from that composes a cloud? From all the earth and its life: rivers and lakes, from the oceans and forest ponds, from our sweat, the moisture in our breath, from melting ice and drops of dew that offer a script of light across every Sierra meadow. The vapor rises invisibly into the light and becomes visible with slow beauty. This play of luminosity and presence brings to mind the established definition of sacrament: the outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.
There is nothing more powerful than the movement toward beauty. As we walked, this thought sustained us. What we needed was to keep moving: one more day, and in each day, all day, one more step. It struck me as the simplest rule of life and of reflection: keep moving. Stay in readiness. Cultivate openness, clarity, affection, an easygoing revelry of the senses, a trust in our luck that we are here on earth at all, that we have this moment at all. Movement along a trail is movement
within the mind. In the long run, the revelation of beauty is not a matter of chance, it is the centermost surety in life. The forest is in league with our dreams.
We might ask, as we look at any landscape, how its history resembles a land we carry within. What if our capacities of mind have a direct relation to the workings of earth? That there is some deep resemblance between the making of a mountain and the making of a mind? Walking among the granite peaks, over the lichen, near the black bear, close to the marmot and among the meadows, we came to understand the whole Sierra is a most unlikely gift. In the sweep of time, it is a gift made just now, just here; a gift with the power to awaken us to our chance to watch and listen. Sometimes the land turns into words; sometimes into proverbs.
One day, could the earth come round
To you, around you, within you?
So that you are fully inhabited?
So that you are empty at last of yourself
But full of world?
Rivers run down your veins, stars
Form in your sweat?
Your hands know how to weave
All sunlight through a single pine?
All your joy comes together
In favor of a journey work within you?
When we hiked through any portion of the Sierra rich in wildflowers-which was often- the surprise never lost its forcefulness. It was as if a door in the air had been thrown open to show us the first and best jewels of the world-the original and real jewels, of which the hard and hoarded kind are a mere imitation. And the treasury is that of the most abundant sensuality, combined with teaching both gentle and ebullient.
And we must do more than protect the mind: we must protect our eyes, as we work. It is our daily labor to look straight ahead and do the hardest task of all! To see what is right in front of us. If we can, then there is hope to protect with clarity and resolution the most compelling possibilities of life. We can try to work for deliverance, whether we are in a market in the middle of a rambunctious city or in a golden canyon in a wilderness full of strange beauty. We watch, we learn, in hopes of fortifying the defenses we have for our mind.
Finally, by such means, if we carry on with our labors, we might find sustenance and refuge. We might learn something of what we need to survive, We might begin to make ourselves a place to live--a place that, as time goes on, we can offer as a refuge to others.
It's a straightforward model we can be grateful for: protect the mind and eyes, do our work, and offer the yield of our lives to those we love and those who come after us. If we do our work, then we might open a way forward to a logic of life that is within nature and that offers us joy in proportion to our readiness.
As Diane Ackerman has written, “There is a way of beholding nature that is itself a form of prayer.” I have sought wild animals if for no other reason than to bear witness to their existence. There is something numinous and joyful in these encounters, a way in which the boundary between the world we sense and the world that is beyond our senses becomes, for the briefest moments, thin-almost transparent.
A beautiful, generous book of all the ways the earth has meaning, synthesizing so many ways of seeing and absorbing this world. This is my love language. There was so much here, it is a book to own and revisit. It could have been written about the Rockies in some ways, and some ways diverged, but was a song, poem, and prayer for the earth.
What we need most is a fearless generosity and fierce hunger for truth, so that we have a chance to make this land our homeland. Through learning to see and know and love a singular place in its life-giving, wild, true reality, perhaps we might learn to see and know and love each place in the world for all its mystery and beauty. Perhaps we might arrest our calamitous way forward- and bend the arc of history to the invigorating work of healing what we can of the world’s brokenness- for ourselves, for one another, and for the future.
Imagine, for a moment, if we could peer through a lens that sped up time so that centuries hurtled by in seconds. Trees would leap into the sky as they snaked their roots into fissures, wedging and prying apart the granite. Lichens would spread across the rocks, enlivening its surface with colorful splotches, secreting acids and digesting minerals. Exposed to the weathering, stone monuments would decompose over the course of a few, brief, time-warped days into soil. If our lens allowed time to race even faster, whole eons drifting by in hours, we would learn that granite is a product of life, a rock unique to earth, made possible by photosynthesis.
Serrated ridges rise like an archipelago from the forest. Peaks warm, send plumes of air lofting skyward. Air ascends, cools, and expands, condensing wisps of cottony clouds. We see clouds every day, but what if were to take the time to observe them, live for a spell of time as students of their beauty and movement? Where does the water vapor come from that composes a cloud? From all the earth and its life: rivers and lakes, from the oceans and forest ponds, from our sweat, the moisture in our breath, from melting ice and drops of dew that offer a script of light across every Sierra meadow. The vapor rises invisibly into the light and becomes visible with slow beauty. This play of luminosity and presence brings to mind the established definition of sacrament: the outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.
There is nothing more powerful than the movement toward beauty. As we walked, this thought sustained us. What we needed was to keep moving: one more day, and in each day, all day, one more step. It struck me as the simplest rule of life and of reflection: keep moving. Stay in readiness. Cultivate openness, clarity, affection, an easygoing revelry of the senses, a trust in our luck that we are here on earth at all, that we have this moment at all. Movement along a trail is movement
within the mind. In the long run, the revelation of beauty is not a matter of chance, it is the centermost surety in life. The forest is in league with our dreams.
We might ask, as we look at any landscape, how its history resembles a land we carry within. What if our capacities of mind have a direct relation to the workings of earth? That there is some deep resemblance between the making of a mountain and the making of a mind? Walking among the granite peaks, over the lichen, near the black bear, close to the marmot and among the meadows, we came to understand the whole Sierra is a most unlikely gift. In the sweep of time, it is a gift made just now, just here; a gift with the power to awaken us to our chance to watch and listen. Sometimes the land turns into words; sometimes into proverbs.
One day, could the earth come round
To you, around you, within you?
So that you are fully inhabited?
So that you are empty at last of yourself
But full of world?
Rivers run down your veins, stars
Form in your sweat?
Your hands know how to weave
All sunlight through a single pine?
All your joy comes together
In favor of a journey work within you?
When we hiked through any portion of the Sierra rich in wildflowers-which was often- the surprise never lost its forcefulness. It was as if a door in the air had been thrown open to show us the first and best jewels of the world-the original and real jewels, of which the hard and hoarded kind are a mere imitation. And the treasury is that of the most abundant sensuality, combined with teaching both gentle and ebullient.
And we must do more than protect the mind: we must protect our eyes, as we work. It is our daily labor to look straight ahead and do the hardest task of all! To see what is right in front of us. If we can, then there is hope to protect with clarity and resolution the most compelling possibilities of life. We can try to work for deliverance, whether we are in a market in the middle of a rambunctious city or in a golden canyon in a wilderness full of strange beauty. We watch, we learn, in hopes of fortifying the defenses we have for our mind.
Finally, by such means, if we carry on with our labors, we might find sustenance and refuge. We might learn something of what we need to survive, We might begin to make ourselves a place to live--a place that, as time goes on, we can offer as a refuge to others.
It's a straightforward model we can be grateful for: protect the mind and eyes, do our work, and offer the yield of our lives to those we love and those who come after us. If we do our work, then we might open a way forward to a logic of life that is within nature and that offers us joy in proportion to our readiness.
November 13, 2021
Requested an advance electronic copy from Cornell University Press.
With a prose reminiscent of "Desert Solitaire"-era Edward Abbey, this novel is a gem. Not only is it about the geography and geology of one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but the novel also does a great job at exploring familial and societal values when it comes to nature and each other. The interspersed poetry by Mr. Steven Nightingale elevates both his and Nevle's writings, and makes you want to hit the trail before you hit the end of the sentence. I can't wait to see what is in store for Richard Nevle, as he has secured his place in the world of literature with his first novel. Also, check out his poems and essays on his website. I have already pre-ordered a physical copy, and I can not wait to go on this journey again. This is a must-read for everyone.
Bonus points for the Freud diss, too.
With a prose reminiscent of "Desert Solitaire"-era Edward Abbey, this novel is a gem. Not only is it about the geography and geology of one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but the novel also does a great job at exploring familial and societal values when it comes to nature and each other. The interspersed poetry by Mr. Steven Nightingale elevates both his and Nevle's writings, and makes you want to hit the trail before you hit the end of the sentence. I can't wait to see what is in store for Richard Nevle, as he has secured his place in the world of literature with his first novel. Also, check out his poems and essays on his website. I have already pre-ordered a physical copy, and I can not wait to go on this journey again. This is a must-read for everyone.
Bonus points for the Freud diss, too.
November 14, 2021
This is a story of Richard and Steven and their families and the 90 mile hike they completed through the Sierra Nevada together in August of 2017.
Richard is a geologist, a scientist and it comes out strong in his writing. In the beginning he talks about wanting the reader to experience a more holistic vision of the natural splendor of the Sierra Nevada. He’s very descriptive of his surroundings. He goes in depth about the rocks and minerals that make up the mountains and how they were formed geologically speaking. How they became the Sierra Nevada. He’s giving the reader the history of the mountain formation and it is beautiful. The information he shares is so interesting. Every chapter is made up of short essays, journal entries and poetry that keeps me engaged. His descriptions of the weather, the clouds, the freezing mist, the animals and the terrain puts me, the reader, right there hiking with him. He elaborates on certain points in their hike as he passed through the river, the forest, trees and where fire has swept through in the past. It seems like everything he comes across he elaborates on facts and history so I can better understand how he views them.
His journal entries are shorter that I’d anticipated. I’d like to hear more about his actual hike. The strengths and struggles that occurred during his 90 mile trek.
This was a great read. Describing the beauty of the outdoors and this majestic mountain range. It truly is a love letter to the Sierra Nevada.
Richard is a geologist, a scientist and it comes out strong in his writing. In the beginning he talks about wanting the reader to experience a more holistic vision of the natural splendor of the Sierra Nevada. He’s very descriptive of his surroundings. He goes in depth about the rocks and minerals that make up the mountains and how they were formed geologically speaking. How they became the Sierra Nevada. He’s giving the reader the history of the mountain formation and it is beautiful. The information he shares is so interesting. Every chapter is made up of short essays, journal entries and poetry that keeps me engaged. His descriptions of the weather, the clouds, the freezing mist, the animals and the terrain puts me, the reader, right there hiking with him. He elaborates on certain points in their hike as he passed through the river, the forest, trees and where fire has swept through in the past. It seems like everything he comes across he elaborates on facts and history so I can better understand how he views them.
His journal entries are shorter that I’d anticipated. I’d like to hear more about his actual hike. The strengths and struggles that occurred during his 90 mile trek.
This was a great read. Describing the beauty of the outdoors and this majestic mountain range. It truly is a love letter to the Sierra Nevada.
June 6, 2022
This was a wonderful book. It was so unique, being part travel writings and part poetry book. It was just a magical journey to take with the authors. I loved every minute of this book. I learnt so much from reading it. The authors tell this wonderful journey of there families travels through the Sierra Nevada. This story includes the science and Geology of the area along with the flora and fauna. Then there is the element of poetry inspired by the surroundings. It was an amazing experience to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this book to all those who love travelling from the comfort of their armchairs. Also those who love poetry of nature and natural surroundings. I will be looking out for more books by these authors.
So much praise goes out to the authors and publishers for creating this magical emotive journey through the Sierra Navada.
So much praise goes out to the authors and publishers for creating this magical emotive journey through the Sierra Navada.
March 23, 2022
If exploration of the beautiful Eastern Sierra is your ‘thing’ coupled with a love of all things nature snd geology, you’ll find in this book a treasure for your bookshelf. Having traveled from the UK to Las Vegas and hired a car to explore the US395 which lies on the eastern side of this stunning mountain range, I was excited to be accepted to review this book by NetGalley. It brought back wonderful memories of the surgery there, and the depth of the descriptions in the book brought that trip back to life.
It’s beautifully presented, with little sketches and thoughtful poetry before each descriptive essay and diary entry,
It’s beautifully presented, with little sketches and thoughtful poetry before each descriptive essay and diary entry,
January 7, 2025
I guess you have to admire two fellows who turned a two-week backpacking trip with their families into a book -- it seems too short a trip for a book, even though it is in a beautiful region of the country.
The book is a mixture of poetry and ecological information -- some of which was really interesting (especially the chapter about frogs) and some that didn't interest me in the slightest (I find geology to be an incredibly dull topic.)
Each chapter contains about a paragraph about that day's particular hike.... I probably would have liked this more if it focused more on the hike itself.
The book is a mixture of poetry and ecological information -- some of which was really interesting (especially the chapter about frogs) and some that didn't interest me in the slightest (I find geology to be an incredibly dull topic.)
Each chapter contains about a paragraph about that day's particular hike.... I probably would have liked this more if it focused more on the hike itself.
April 12, 2022
This was the perfect book for my trip to yosemite, it was so beautifully written I just got lost in it. The author has such a talent for writing about nature, I figured I was reading old journals of John Muir. I highly reccommend to hiker readers, or lovers of nature.
April 15, 2025
Candy for the spirit.
A beautiful, delicious read. I savored each chapter like a midnight treat. It informs and awakens. If you have wilderness in your bones, this book is a treasure.
A beautiful, delicious read. I savored each chapter like a midnight treat. It informs and awakens. If you have wilderness in your bones, this book is a treasure.
March 10, 2025
poetic and thoughtful reflections on the nature encountered backpacking in the Sierra Nevada - 2 very sweet dad buddies
June 26, 2025
A clarion call to see, learn, and feel the beauty of the Sierras, and how it might show us the way forward.
August 21, 2025
Read little by little this summer. Loved the bits of poetry.
"To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent thinking."
"To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent thinking."
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews