Status
Available
Publication
New York : Pantheon Books, c2005.
Description
Long believed to be disappearing and possibly even extinct, the Southwestern bighorn sheep of Utah's canyonlands have made a surprising comeback. Naturalist Ellen Meloy tracks a band of these majestic creatures through backcountry hikes, downriver floats, and travels across the Southwest. Alone in the wilderness, Meloy chronicles her communion with the bighorns and laments the growing severance of man from nature, a severance that she feels has left us spiritually hungry. Wry, quirky and perceptive, Eating Stone is a brillant and wholly original tribute to the natural world.
User reviews
LibraryThing member co_coyote
If I were talented, and didn't have to work for a living, this is the kind of book I would write. It is my kind of book. Some of these paragraphs are absolute magic. Ellen Meloy has been living in the desert Southwest for a long time, and for much of that time she has been watching big-horn sheep.
Each year I spend a day or two hiking above timberline in the mountains of central Colorado where I live to help a Division of Wildlife friend observe and count sheep. The day we got a short glimpse of 18 rams flowing up a hill and out of sight is still one of the biggest thrills I have even gotten in the out-of-doors. And we can watch the ewes and young lambs frolicking in the snow fields for most of the day. (Or until the thunder and lightening arrives.)
This year I'm going to know a whole lot more about big-horn sheep, and I might even take a copy of this book with me. There could be no better place to read these sweet, sweet words than on a hillside, watching wild sheep. This is a book I would highly recommend.
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This is a long extended essay of what she learned about them, what they mean to her, and why we should care.Each year I spend a day or two hiking above timberline in the mountains of central Colorado where I live to help a Division of Wildlife friend observe and count sheep. The day we got a short glimpse of 18 rams flowing up a hill and out of sight is still one of the biggest thrills I have even gotten in the out-of-doors. And we can watch the ewes and young lambs frolicking in the snow fields for most of the day. (Or until the thunder and lightening arrives.)
This year I'm going to know a whole lot more about big-horn sheep, and I might even take a copy of this book with me. There could be no better place to read these sweet, sweet words than on a hillside, watching wild sheep. This is a book I would highly recommend.
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LibraryThing member stephensepe
A book that endorses the rights of animals and the legitimacy of their lives. Really a wonderful book.
LibraryThing member breic
I wanted to like this. The subject, bighorn sheep in the Southwest, is interesting to me, and I want to learn more about them. I love good nature writing.
But while a lot of the writing is good, a fair amount isn't. Some of the imagery is jarring (e.g., mesas scudding under the clouds instead of
I learned some about bighorn sheep, but much less than I wanted.
But while a lot of the writing is good, a fair amount isn't. Some of the imagery is jarring (e.g., mesas scudding under the clouds instead of
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vice versa), it can be repetitive (all the sheep look the same), it is often vague (she loves visiting a small museum in a small town---why not give us the names?). The worst part is that the book severely needs editing. Especially in the first half, so much of the story has nothing to do with bighorn sheep... or anything. This gets much better in the second half, when she joins a few scientists who study the sheep and relocate a band to try to expand their habitat. I learned some about bighorn sheep, but much less than I wanted.
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LibraryThing member dele2451
Well worth the extra weight in your desert backpack. A beautiful tribute to one of the desert's most ancient and magnificent beasts.
Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — General Nonfiction — 2005)
John Burroughs Medal (Winner — 2007)
Utah Book Award (Nonfiction — 2005)