MetaFilter posts tagged with nature and books

"...a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals."

jquinby — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:00:28 -0800

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. " - Henry Beston, naturalist and writer. The quote, often seen in veterinary waiting rooms, continues:

We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.

Henry Beston (1888 - 1968) wrote a variety of books - including fairy stories - but is probably best known for The Outermost House, which chronicles a year spent in a tiny 20'x16' shack on the outer tip of Cape Cod. His only companions were the various migrating birds, the sea and the constant shore patrols of the nearby Coast Guard station. He had gone there to spend a bit of time spiritually recovering from his service in WW1, and ended up creating a masterpiece of American nature writing.

"...we see on the ground a number of spots of light, scattered irregularly, some large, some small..."

jquinby — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:26:37 -0800

The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air "Moreover, this book is written for all those who love Nature; for the young people going out into the wide world and gathering together round the camp-fire; for the painter who admires but does not understand the light and colour of the landscape; for those living in the country; for all who delight in travelling; and also for town-dwellers, for whom, even in the noise and clamour of our dark streets, the manifestations of Nature remain." - Marcel Minnaert Marcel Minnaert (1893 - 1970) was a Belgian astronomer whose other interests included (among other things) bubbles and their pulsations, the solar spectrum, and poetry. During World War II, he taught astronomy to his fellow prisoners. In 1951, he was awarded the Bruce Medal. A asteroid and crater on the moon have been named for him, as has a building at Utrecht University. One of his most accessible and abiding legacies is a little book - The Nature of Light & Colour in the Open Air, which is no less than a complete guide to the visual phenomena that surround us. Minnaert explains, in layman's terms, why stars twinkle, illusions of motion, how to build a nigrometer to explore the effects of distance on light and color, what causes the fata morgana, and why, exactly, the sun makes circles when viewed through hair or the twigs of a tree. These and a hundred other visual curiosities are explored and explained at length with helpful diagrams and occasional geometry. The latest edition (linked in the title) has been re-typeset and includes color photography. Edward Tufte calls it a change-your-life classic.

NorthWest Passage

hortense — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:19:13 -0800

Ice:A Victorian Romance , is an exhibition of fifty-five rare books and journals, with lovely illustrations. Online exhibition of rare books and journals commemorating the British "infatuation with the Arctic," which began in 1818 "with the Admiralty trying to find an outlet for naval officers and seamen who had been idled by the end of the Napoleonic wars." from the growing collection found at the Linda Hall Library.

Who was Opal Whiteley?

dersins — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:06:42 -0800

In 1918, at the age of 20, Oregonian Opal Whiteley published "The Fairyland Around Us" (contains full text & pictures), a nature book for children. Two years later, her diary (also contains full text and pictures) was published and became one of the best-selling books in the world. She died in a British mental hospital in 1992. More.

Origins of meteorology

mediareport — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:44:55 -0800

Weathering the Weather: The Origins of Atmospheric Science A "glorious selection" of strikingly beautiful pages from classic publications about meteorology. [via plep].

Islamic Medical Manuscripts

mediareport — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 15:55:00 -0800

Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing An "immensely popular" medieval Islamic natural history text (with simurghs, yew trees, constellations and much more). Found at the Islamic Medical Manuscripts collection, which has more great visuals in the Medical Monographs section.