Ephemeral review

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Of all things fragile and beautiful, we feel for thee. By the late 1940s, there were roughly only 24 whooping cranes left alive in the world. Today they are far more but they still are very much endangered. 

We are not actors on Broadway, so we don't go to Sardi's to wait for the reviews to come in. When a book is published, it is cast upon the wind like milkweed seeds. Authors wonder, "Will they land on futile ground?"

No, I wasn't at a glamourous restaurant on Times Square. I was on the sofa nursing a cold and reading Sy Montgomery's book on octopuses. The only thing worse than a bad review is no review. The only thing better than strawberry yogurt on a stick is a good review.  

With deep appreciation, this author thanks, Maria Browning for her review in Chapter 16: A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby  

Browning writes, "These are difficult days for nature lovers. Pollution, habitat destruction, the decline of countless species, climate change—anyone who takes an interest in the condition of planet Earth had better be prepared for bad news. This state of affairs should make someone like Stephen Lyn Bales, senior naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, more than a bit gloomy. But his collection of essays, Ephemeral by Nature, shows him to be, if not exactly optimistic, at least deeply philosophical about the fate of life as we know it. He makes a convincing case for joy and curiosity despite—or perhaps because of—the transience of all living things..."

For the rest of Browning's review click: 

Ephemeral by Nature review

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