On the Edge of the Wild: Passions and Pleasures of a Naturalist

Passionate outdoorsman Stephen Bodio manages to pull off an important feat in these collected nature writings: he makes the natural world fresh and new. With a seemingly small detail or minor twist, Bodio takes us to the edge of wildness and beyond. Consider his musings on the fierce but seldom seen--and always inscrutable--goshawk, culled from a piece titled "Why I Love Goshawks": "...you may come around a corner of brush in the late afternoon to see a big young female gos sitting in the top of a willow, at eye level, no more than thirty feet away. Her streaked buffy breast glows in the bloody light; her eyes, still the pale yellow of youth, are on yours. She's waiting for you to flush a bird for her; using you, quite consciously, as her dog. We are not used to such arrogance." Bodio writes about other raptors, hunting, some of his favorite books--even a recipe for "reconciliation chili," a dish tailored to local tastes and designed to bring together the frequently warring factions in the American West, or wherever else people are too busy arguing about the land to sit down together over a hearty meal. These essays are not necessarily meant to be read in order; pick up the book, open it anywhere, and find yourself transported to the few remaining nooks and crannies where humanity is still a visitor.