A High Uintas Bookshelf

In this column we’ll list 2-4 interesting articles, books or the like that have caught our attention. They aren’t necessarily recent or recently read-- sort of a random compilation. Within a year, hopefully, we’ll have an established and detailed reading list. It won’t be complete without your additions. Please send suggestions and a descriptive sentence or two.

This review is by Dick Carter

Even Mountains Vanish. Searching for Solace in an Age of Extinction. SueEllen Campbell. University of Utah Press. 2003
This beautiful book manages, in less than 150 pages, to knit a personal journey filled with hope and despair to the natural world and its story of evolution and extinction. Campbell confronts the harsh life on the Southwest deserts, the harshest of existence in the Arctic, spirits, the sacredness and deep beauty of all life, and our meaningless march toward destruction. She directs us with ease to see how to live and the glory of what we call nature, yet wonders whether we are capable of grasping such splendor.

The author doesn't ask the obvious question of how does an animal survives in the months-long abrasive cold-darkness of an arctic winter, but what goes on in its daily life as it settles into that dark winter. It is wonderful book, a deep and personal reflection to be read by poet and scientist.