Oregon Hikers. Org member book review

Just finished a fine little book called Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window, by Seattle writer Woody Wheeler. Much of the book has a Pacific Northwest focus. Here’s my Amazon review:

This isn’t a birding guide, it’s the book you should read before you buy a birding guide. In fact, you really don’t have to be a birder to enjoy it. It’s a wonderful collection of thoughtful little nuggets on natural history, our relationship with nature, and most importantly, the importance of tearing our eyes from our phones and computers and looking up in wonder at the nature right in front of our noses, in our own neighborhoods. While birds take center stage in this book, the essays range farther afield, to wolves, pikas, Patagonia, and even the virtues of rakes over leaf blowers. If you imagine a dollop of David Attenborough’s natural history, mixed with a modern-day backyard-philosopher Thoreau, leavened by the folksy storytelling of Garrison Keillor, you have some idea of what Woody Wheeler’s writing is like. One of my favorite things about this book is its optimism. It’s full of good news about our relationship with nature: neighbors working together to save a favorite local natural spot, or visionary philanthropists saving entire ecosystems. All you have to do is look up to see it.