Nature’s multi-shaded red and gold rock sculptures appear to rise into the sky. My first visit to the Valley of Fire northeast of Las Vegas left me in awe of these sandstone formations that are over 150-180 million-year-old. I cannot imagine 150 million of anything, let alone years. I would later learn that their red color [...]

Yoon is a scientist with storytelling skills. She disentangles the mysterious world of taxonomy and takes us on a historical journey from Linnaeus to DNA sequencing.

The perfect book for the aspiring mushroom hunter wishing to safely discover, harvest and enjoy wild mushrooms. It’s the next best thing to being in the field with Gary Lincoff.

Hudler untangles the complex topics and trends in the fungi kingdom with the gift of a true storyteller. I understand his fungi course at Cornell University was popular with the entire student body, not just the science majors.

Author Phillip Roth pits a courageous protagonist against the brutality and cruelty of polio in this novel set in the US Northeast in 1944.

Michael Pollan is both articulate and diplomatic. What he calls “edible foodlike substances,” I call “corporate chemical concoctions.”

Foraging field guides are worth collecting, since no two foragers have the same recipes and techniques.

Thinking out loud preparing for an engaging presentation on winter wildlife tracking.

The Lacuna: A Novel is a page-turner worth reading and re-reading. Barbara Kingsolver’s ability to weave the predictive elements into the plot is so subtle, that I’m compelled to find out what happens next. I pick up more details on every read-through. It’s a lot like traveling that perfect cross-country ski hill. After the first [...]

This is a celebration of the human spirit. A discarded physics book turns up in a third-world library enabling a boy too poor to attend school to bring electricity to his home, and eventually his village.