Favorite Non-Fiction Reads

The Sun is a Compass, by Caroline Van Hemert

A true story about a husband-and-wife team that travel under their own power (paddling, hiking, mountain climbing) for 4000 miles from Bellingham Bay to the wilderness above the Arctic Circle.  It is a riveting memoir of adventure, danger, wildlife, swarms of mosquitoes, ornithology and love.  

Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America, by Leila Philip

An excellent book that takes you through the role of beavers in North America, including its history, western expansion, culture and economy.  These "rodent engineers", once trapped to near extinction, are truly inspiring for their resilience, ingenuity and impact on our environment.  Read it and you will become a "beaver believer"!

New York Times Editors' Choice and ‘Best Book’ 2022

NPR Science Friday Book Club Selection

The Wild Trees, by Richard Preston

Hidden away in uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the few that remain are among the great wonders of nature. This is a spellbinding story of a group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that explore the redwood canopy–a vertical “Eden” filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems.  It is an amazing account of exploration that is terrifying, moving and fascinating.

New York Times Best Seller 2008