<p>
	Summer is upon us! And while the woods, shorelines,&nbsp;lakes, prairies, gardens, streams, and mountains call our names, so do the stories that connect us to those places. Lands far away physically, historically, or from reality. &nbsp;As you make your summertime story selections, we polled our faculty, staff, and students for their nature favorites, both of the last year and of all time, to peak your interest. Happy reading!</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Ryan_OConnor_144pxl.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 180px; " /></h2>
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	Ryan O&rsquo;Connor<br />
	Board Member, Alumni Representative</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Searching for Hickories by Tom Springer</strong><br />
	<em>Searching for Hickories</em> is a collection of essays by rural southwest Michigan native Tom Springer. &nbsp;Topics range from natural history to fishing to the author&rsquo;s own efforts to be a steward of his land and the larger landscape around him. &nbsp;Both humerous and tragic personal experiences are woven through the book as the author intertwines pieces of his own story, with many essays culminating in wisdom and insights drawn from both his rural community and the natural world. &nbsp;A strong tone of stewardship underlies the book, with subtle references to faith mixed in as the author shares observations, rural life, and a moving story of restoration not only of place but of life as well. &nbsp;Those with ties to the Midwest, and especially southwest Michigan will particularly enjoy this book.</p>
<p>
	<strong>My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir</strong><br />
	John Muir&rsquo;s <em>My First Summer in the Sierras</em> details the famous conservationist&rsquo;s first foray into the Sierra Nevada mountains of California as he accompanies a small sheep ranching operation to summer pastures. &nbsp;Muir&rsquo;s vivid prose paints a picture of the landscape as he keenly observes plants, animals, and the geology that shaped the landscape while recognizing the hand of the Creator as he explores natural cathedrals of towering forests and granite peaks. &nbsp;Notable is Muir&rsquo;s passion and boundless enthusiasm, which leap off the page to both inspire and rekindle a joyful heart in the 21st century student, scientist, naturalist, or nature lover. &nbsp;First published over 100 years ago, this is a classic not to be missed.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Paul-Wiemerslage-Head-Shot.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 144px; " />Paul Wiemerslage<br />
	Environmental Education Coordintor</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Wild Comfort: The Solace of Nature by Kathleen Dean Moore</strong><br />
	For many of us, spending time in nature brings healing and restoration to the body and mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the wake of tragedy and transition in her life, Kathleen Dean Moore pulls thread after thread of metaphor out of her experiences in nature dealing with grief.&nbsp;&nbsp;For those who find awe in wandering and pondering, <em>Wild Comfort</em>&rsquo;s analogies of life, death, and nature will give you plenty more to chew on during your long walks, and more still to be thankful for.</p>
<p>
	<strong>The Big Burn by Timothy Egan</strong><br />
	In the summer of 1910, the largest forest fire in American history swept across Washington, Idaho, and Montana, consuming nearly 3 million acres and claiming 86 lives. An amazing story in and of itself, what makes the Big Burn more remarkable is the context in which the fire takes place. Young rangers freshly minted in Gifford Pinchot&#39;s Forest Service are left to fend for themselves at the mercy of a completely untamable fire while Congress squabbles over the concept of public lands. &nbsp;Timothy Egan received the National Book Award for <em>The Big Burn. &nbsp;</em>It&#39;s a fascinating dissection of&nbsp;the early struggles of visionaries like Gifford Pinchot and Teddy Roosevelt to establish the US Forest Service in light of this natural catastrophe and claim the book&#39;s subtitle: &ldquo; Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America&rdquo;. &nbsp;Go Teddy!</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Michelle-Gooch-144pxl.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 156px; " />Michelle Gooch<br />
	Au Sable Graduate Fellows, University of Wisconsin-Madison</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Diversity and Dominion: Dialogues in Ecology, Ethics, and Theology, by Kyle S. Van Houtan and Michael S. Northcott, eds. 2010.</strong><br />
	This is a book of short essays by leaders in science, theology, and philosophy. The editors take a unique, multidisciplinary approach to bridging the divide between nature and humanity&rsquo;s relationship with nature, arguing &ldquo;the very notion of nature is problematic&rdquo; (pg. xi) and the way the &ldquo;environmental crisis&rdquo; is portrayed leads to unhelpful division. The essays, each followed by a response, are written by experts in different fields with different training. The book is filled with wisdom paired with humility and a willingness to learn from others. Reading this was a refreshing eye-opener into the current state of Christian environmental discourse. The editors do a wonderful job of paving the way forward in this realm; rather than rehashing what has already been said, they use the wisdom of many to challenge assumptions in both the religious and environmental communities, and illuminate the cultural (rather than purely scientific) shift that is needed, particularly in the West, to prevent ecological disaster. It would be a great book to read and discuss as a group, as if offers many challenging viewpoints regarding worldviews and the way we perceive history.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. 1974.</strong><br />
	This is the book that travels with me everywhere. My copy is beat up, containing multiple tabs throughout, designating important passages and covered in underlining and margin notes. The book is a series of &ldquo;creative nonfiction&rdquo; essays that build off of each other but can also be read in isolation. Though not specifically an &ldquo;environmental&rdquo; book, Dillard writes about her own experiences in nature in a way that continuously asks the questions &ndash; &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; and &ldquo;What for?&rdquo; Never presuming to know the answers, her sometimes-whimsical writing brings the reader through and beyond the apparent &ldquo;messiness&rdquo; of nature and points toward something greater. She combines quirky facts with musings about the universe, unafraid to delve into the ugly and seemingly dark parts of reality along with celebrating the beautiful and extravagant. It&rsquo;s fun to read and re-read, and always seems to offer some new insight.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Rolf-Bouma-144.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 194px; " />Rolf Bouma<br />
	Au Sable Graduate Fellows Coordinator</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Seeing Further: &nbsp;The Story of Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society by Bill Bryson, ed.</strong><br />
	This collection of essays would be improved only if Bill Bryson had written them all himself. &nbsp;The essays are written by the world&rsquo;s best science writers and cover topics ranging from astronomy to chemistry to biology and ecology. &nbsp;An essay in evening before bed is guaranteed to produce sweet and erudite dreams and an appreciation for the scientific quest.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Great Lakes Water Wars by Peter Annan</strong><br />
	Although this book has been out a few years, it remains the best history of the Great Lakes and efforts to protect them from exploitation, pollution, and diversions. &nbsp;Makes the reader appreciate the singularity of the Great Lakes as a phenomenon of nature and their vulnerability as reservoirs of legacy water.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Jonathon-Schramm.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 171px; " />Jonathon Schramm<br />
	Au Sable Graduate Fellows, Michigan State University</h2>
<p>
	<strong>The Failure of Environmental Education (And How We Can Fix It) by Charles Saylan and Daniel Blumstein</strong><br />
	This book is a very useful one for encouraging thinking about the state of humanity&rsquo;s relationship to the natural world, especially in North America, where decades of environmental education efforts at many levels have apparently not resulted in a populace much more knowledgeable about or protective of our home. The authors begin with a discussion of the factors leading to our society&rsquo;s recalcitrance to change, including some insightful criticism of those of us who are educators, but also discussing other important influences and institutions that have hindered development of an environmental sensitivity and ethic in our culture. Importantly, they also spend a good deal of time on innovative examples of environmental education that represent possibilities for changing society more thoroughly. By expanding the view to what educational institutions can do to build environmental understanding, this book makes a good companion reading to Richard Louv&rsquo;s <em>Last Child in the Woods</em>.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Leavings: Poems by Wendell Berry</strong><br />
	Fans of Wendell Berry&rsquo;s perceptive and thoughtful critique of our culture will not want to miss this recent collection of his poems. A number of these poems carry the same fiery indictments of our society&rsquo;s wanton destructiveness that have characterized Berry&rsquo;s work for many years, but they are balanced by many that speak tenderly of the natural world, both human and otherwise, that he has known over his long life in the hills of Kentucky. As the name suggests, the book has an elegiac tone, full of moments where Berry acknowledges his own mortality, not in fear, but in acknowledgement of its correlation to the lives of all those he has ever known. And underneath it all runs a clear trust in God, to provide when all is said and done not only for Berry as an individual, but for the whole of creation. Many of these poems are hauntingly beautiful and stick with you long after reading &ndash; I can&rsquo;t recommend them more highly!</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Michael-Ferber-144.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 182px; " />Michael Ferber<br />
	ASI Faculty, International Development and Environmental Sustainability</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Empire of the Beetle by Andrew Nikiforuk</strong><br />
	This volume discusses how, due to warming winters, the mountain pine beetle (<em>Dendroctonus ponderosae</em>) is multiplying and destroying the forests of western Canada. The book is especially meaningful to me as I was in Prince George, British Columbia in April when an explosion and subsequent fire destroyed one of the major lumber mills of the city, killing two workers and injuring many others. The explosion was most likely caused by sawdust from trees killed by the beetles.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada by Julian Agyeman and Randolph Haluza-DeLay,&nbsp;</strong><strong>eds.</strong><br />
	This collection of essays covers issues of environmental inequity and injustice in Canada, written primarily in an aboriginal voice. &nbsp;The book bridges indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, public policy, planning and sustainability.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Dieter-in-Nepal-144pxl.jpg" style="float: left; width: 144px; height: 156px; " />Dieter Bouma<br />
	Communications, Development, and Recruitment Coordinator</h2>
<p>
	<strong>Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt</strong><br />
	This wide-ranging story about the life of a misunderstood middle school boy interweaves the amazing, avian artwork of John James Audobon. Author Gary Schmidt uses a different bird to color the mood for each chapter. Following the bully character in his previous book, <em>The Wednesday Wars</em>, Schmidt captures this moving story about the awkwardness and trials of adolescent youth, overcoming stereotypes,and finding true friendships. This is one of the best books I&#39;ve read in a while.</p>
<p>
	<strong>The Wilderness World of John Muir by Edwin Way Teale, ed.</strong><br />
	I first encountered this book in my senior year of college. It is simply delightful, and the perfect companion for an evening on the porch or a day at the beach. Editor Edwin Way Teale, a wonderful nature writer in his own right, collects tales penned by Muir that offer insight into the myriad wilderness landscapes he encounters, his head-shaking adventures, and his environmental and theological worldview. Helpfully, Muir is the type of writer that requires little work on the part of the reader: a wonderful characteristic for summer reading material.</p>
