Crossroads of the Natural World: Exploring North Carolina with Tom Earnhardt

by Tom Earnhardt

In this richly illustrated love letter to the wild places and natural wonders of North Carolina, Tom Earnhardt, writer and host of UNC-TV's Exploring North Carolina and lifelong conservationist, seamlessly ties deep geological time and forgotten species from our distant past to the unparalleled biodiversity of today. With varied topography and a climate that is simultaneously subtropical, temperate, and subarctic, he shows that North Carolina is a meeting place for living things more commonly found far to the north and south. Highlighting the ways in which the state is a unique ecological crossroads, Earnhardt's research, insightful writing, and stunning photography will both teach and inspire.
Crossroads of the Natural World invites readers to engage a variety of topics, including the impacts of invasive species, the importance of forested buffers along our rivers, the role of naturalists, and the challenges facing the state in a time of climate change and sea-level rise. By sharing his own journey of more than sixty years, Earnhardt entices North Carolinians of every age to explore the natural diversity of our state.

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2013

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just reviewed this book for NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARIES, and in the process got to read and keep a lovely hardbound copy. It's an amazing experience to find a single book that so broadens my understanding of the natural history of the state where I've lived since arriving at WFU in 1967. Great coverage of so many things: geology, biodiversity, the intersections of natural communities, conservation, phenology (my favorite word this week: the study of the timing of animal and plant cycles in relation to climate and seasonal change). Yet another voice for the need to immerse ourselves and our children in nature, Earnhardt contributes a favorite phrase to my vocabulary: "....my pantheistic and pro-wilderness theology." I'm so attached to this book I feel the need to just carry it around with me for awhile.

[Tomherndon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is amazing. It provides background to so many topics I've wanted to engage further in the past. I strongly recommend this to anyone who wants to have a summary or introduction to the broad issues of natural history and stewardship of NC resources. He also provides a very broad list of suggested readings in related topics that I will likely follow through on in the coming months and years.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

some good facts, lots of trivia, and some parts are cribbed from teevee shows, but also fun reading, lots of color pictures, fascinating stories of region from pre history and geology to history and current events and folk lifeways. fun introduction to nc. has bibliography and index too

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in Maine during the summer and am glad I own it. Now I can go back to NC and explore many of his places flora and fauna loved this book about a beautiful state... Can we preserve it?