Return to Wild America by Scott Weidensaul – Book Discussion
Join us for the fourth and final book of our Wild America book club series, featuring Return to Wild America by Scott Weidensaul.
In 1953, birding guru Roger Tory Peterson and noted British naturalist James Fisher set out on what became a legendary journey – a 100-day trek over 30,000 miles around North America. They traveled from Newfoundland to Florida, deep into the heart of Mexico, through the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and into Alaska’s Pribilof Islands. Two years later, Wild America, their classic account of the trip, was published.
On the eve of that book’s fiftieth anniversary, naturalist Scott Weidensaul retraces Peterson and Fisher’s steps to tell the story of wild America today. How has the continent’s natural landscape changed over the past fifty years? How have the wildlife, the rivers, and the rugged, untouched terrain fared?
The journey takes Weidensaul to the coastal communities of Newfoundland, where he examines the devastating impact of the Atlantic cod fishery’s collapse on the ecosystem; to Florida, where he charts the virtual extinction of the great wading bird colonies that Peterson and Fisher once documented; to the Mexican tropics of Xilitla, which have become a growing center of ecotourism since Fisher and Peterson’s exposition. And perhaps most surprising of all, Weidensaul finds that much of what Peterson and Fisher discovered remains untouched by the industrial developments of the last fifty years.
A classic in its own right, Return to Wild America is a sweeping survey of the natural soul of North America today.
Led by RTPI Scholar-in-Residence, Jenn Lodi-Smith, founder and director of The Spark Bird Project (www.spark-bird.org), as well as authors Kenn Kaufman and Scott Weidensaul. This continuation of our four-part program is part of this year’s first main-floor exhibition, Art that Matters to the Planet: Wild America, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of this classic in environmental literature.
These sessions will be held via Zoom. One book per session. Read each book in advance (or as much as you can.) Jenn will lead the discussion for each book. Bring your questions, your insights, and your curiosity for a fun and lively discussion.
Monday, June 2, 6:00-7:30 pm EST Wild America, Roger Tory Peterson & James Fisher
Tuesday, August 12, 6:00-7:30 pm EST Kingbird Highway, Kenn Kaufman
Wednesday, October 8, 6:00-7:30 pm EST Looking for the Wild, Lyn Hancock – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85676087135?pwd=84WFcuzL739orBURriemUbaIa3Cgog.1
Thursday, December 4, 6:00-7:30 pm EST Return to Wild America, Scott Weidensaul