Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Signs - Softcover

Rezendes, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062735241 ISBN 13: 9780062735249

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

In this newly revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed field guide, renowned nature photographer and tracking expert Paul Rezendes brings the fields and forests to life with his unique observations on North American wildlife and their tracks and sign. Illustrated with hundreds of his original photographs, Tracking & the Art of Seeing provides complete information on the behavior and habitat of over 50 animal species and shows you how to identify animals by their tracks, tail patterns, droppings, dens, scratches and other signs.

About this title

Review:

"If Thoreau's Concord neighbors led lives of quiet desperation, many people today rush through lives of frantic, noisy alienation. Paul Rezendes's book is about tracking, but also much more; it shows how to find your way home to the great web of life. For the woods walker, this book offers the key to a new kingdom." -- "The Boston Globe""Paul Rezendes's work reflects his commitment to living in concert with the planet and his breadth of knowledge and insight into animal tracks and sign. His book is a central resource to our environmental awareness program at Earthlands International." -- Larry Buell, Director, Earthlands International"Better than any other field guide to tracking I've seen." -- "Pittsburgh Post Gazette""This book is a step beyond a guide to tracking. The illustrations and photographs are superb, another world beyond traditional guidebooks on the subject." --" Spokane Review" "Rezendes has produced a fascinating book filled with beautiful color photographs and detailed illustrations. Hunter and hiker alike will find this book helps them to see the world of nature with a more knowing and appreciative eye."--" Albuquerque Tribune"

From the Author:

Submitted by Paul Rezendes
As the author, I was very pleased to get two star reviews for The Wild Within. One from Booklist and one from Publisher's Weekly. I'd like to share them with you. They are as follows:

Booklist:

Rezendes, author of Tracking and the Art of Seeing (1992), acquired his vast knowledge of the wildlife of New England not in academia but in the woods themselves. The story of why and how he attained his expertise begins with Rezendes leading a group of novice trackers across precariously icy terrain on the trail of a bobcat. As he describes their adventure, he explains that he doesn't track animals to hunt them but rather to enter into their world, to achieve a heightened awareness of his surroundings, and to tap into a state of being beyond thought that he calls "the wild within." Writing as precisely and patiently as he tracks, Rezendes uses personal experiences as teaching stories just as Buddhist writers do, sharing incidents from his radical past as a motorcycle gang leader, ashram founder, yoga teacher, and wildlife photographer to illustrate parallels between our behavior and that of animals. Tracking is a form of meditation for Rezendes, and his unique narrative is rich in spiritual insights as unfettered and full of grace as the animals he loves.

Publisher's Weekly:

Rezendes (Tracking and the Art of Seeing) takes readers on a hauntingly beautiful journey into the woods of the American Northeast. Drawing on his treks taken alone, with experienced nature adventurers and with neophyte students, he depicts a variety of human encounters with bears, loons, deer, bobcats, coyotes, fox and moose, and ultimately, with the nature of the universe, life, humanity and self. He also brings an uncommon wisdom and depth of insight to his chronicle, explicating the Zen principles of patience, compassion, silence and stillness; of the web of all that exists; and of awareness of the present moment. The author's unusual background (he was at various times a leader of two motorcycle gangs, devout Catholic and a spiritual ascetic, teaching hatha yoga and founding a Jainist ashram) gives him a fresh, unexpected viewpoint. Rezendes offers a glimpse into the "wild within" through quietly "stalking" wild animals -- not to kell them, but to observe and learn from them. The meaning of love is illustrated by a pair of loons, spiritual connection by a moose, and "true intelligence" by a coyote; their lessons, as interpreted by the author, are profound and unforgettable. Includes striking nature photographs by Rezendes.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0062735241
• ISBN 13: 9780062735249
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 336