About the Book

Global warming is changing the world around us in ways that can be subtle or overwhelming. These changes, and the steps people are taking to respond to them, are explored in refreshing ways by the 67 contributors to this new anthology. The writers selected for Thoreau's Legacy include scientists, students, grandparents, activists, veterans, journalists, evangelical Christians, artists, and businesspeople. Their muses are as diverse as their backgrounds.

We see the changes in New England's natural beauty through the eyes of an observant ninth-grader. We learn how pollution and a warming climate are affecting the Yakama Indians' way of life. We follow a family whose faith has led them on a journey to protect the planet. We look into the fearsome eyes of an old polar bear crossing the Alaskan ice. And we get a useful if painful lesson from a New Orleans native who can never go home again and who worries about the future of other American cities. These are just a few of the many personal accounts about climate change in this insightful and timely collection.

As Barbara Kingsolver says in her foreword, to find hope in our future "we must radically reconsider the power relationship between humans and our habitat." Thoreau's Legacy is one step toward understanding this vital relationship, the latest entry in a history of moving reflections on America's natural beauty.