Nature Writing

Books That Have Won The John Burroughs Medal

    John Burroughs (1837-1921) wrote many essays and books about nature, and the Association that honours him "...strives to enrich lives through nature by encouraging and promoting nature writing." For most years since 1926 a John Burroughs Medal has been awarded to those authors who have produced "... exceptional nature writing that combines accurate scientific information, firsthand fieldwork, and creative natural history writing."
     If you are Christmas shopping and are tired of the titles du jour or suspicious of the ones recommended by the clerk at the big box store, have a look at the award winners below.
    All of the annual winners for this century are listed. If you live in the London area and have access to the libraries up at Western or use the public London Public Library system, note that I have indicated whether the books are available locally at this time.

The Winner for 2018

"David Haskell has won acclaim for eloquent writing and deep engagement with the natural world. Now, he brings his powers of observation to the biological networks that surround all species, including humans. Haskell repeatedly visits a dozen trees, exploring  connections with people, microbes, fungi, and other plants and animals. He takes us to  trees in cities (from Manhattan to Jerusalem), forests (Amazonian, North American, and boreal) and areas on the front lines of environmental change (eroding coastlines, burned mountainsides, and war zones.)  In each place he shows how human history, ecology, and well-being are intimately intertwined with the lives of trees."

Western Libraries -Taylor Library Stack 6 (S6) - Regular Loan QH541.5.F6H375 

Copies also available in the London Public Library System

The Winner for 2017

“Dave is fourteen years old, living with his family in a cabin on Oregon's Mount Hood (or as he prefers to call it, like the Multnomah tribal peoples once did, Wy'east). Dave will soon enter high school, with adulthood and a future not far off-a future away from his mother, father, his precocious younger sister, and the wilderness where he's lived all his life. And Dave is not the only one approaching adulthood and its freedoms on Wy'east that summer. Martin, a pine marten (of the mustelid family), is leaving his own mother and siblings and setting off on his own as well.” This is a work of fiction which is unusual for a winner of the Medal. Copies available in the London Public Library System.

The Winner for 2016

"In the exploding world of citizen science, hundreds of thousands of volunteers are monitoring climate change, tracking bird migration, finding stardust for NASA, and excavating mastodons. The sheer number of citizen scientists, combined with new technology, has begun to shape how research is conducted. Non-professionals become acknowledged experts: dentists turn into astronomers and accountants into botanists.Diary of a Citizen Scientist is a timely exploration of this phenomenon, told through the lens of nature writer Sharman Apt Russell’s yearlong study of a little-known species, the Western red-bellied tiger beetle. In a voice both humorous and lyrical, Russell recounts her persistent and joyful tracking of an insect she calls “charismatic,” “elegant,” and “fierce.” Patrolling the Gila River in southwestern New Mexico, collector’s net in hand, she negotiates the realities of climate change even as she celebrates the beauty of a still-wild and rural landscape."

N/A -Dec. 2018

Winner for 2015

"A long-time Alaskan, Simpson offers a series of compelling essays on Alaskan bears in both wild and urban spaces—because in Alaska, bears are found not only in their natural habitat but also in cities and towns. Combining field research, interviews, and a host of up-to-date scientific sources, her finely polished prose conveys a wealth of information and insight on ursine biology, behavior, feeding, mating, social structure, and much more."

N/A - Dec. 2018

The Winner for 2014

“In Sightlines, Kathleen Jamie takes us, for the most part, to the northern fringes of human habitation, and then beyond. She looks at gannets in Shetland, whale skeletons in Bergen, petrels in Rona, the northern lights in Greenland.” N/A - Dec. 2018 Here are the rest of the winners for this century with an indication of whether the books are available in libraries in the London area in Dec. 2018.

2013: Hanson, Thor, Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, Basic Books, 2011

Western Libraries has an e-version for those affiliated with Western.

Copies available in the London Public Library System

2012:Hoagland, Edward (Ted), Sex and the River Styx, Chelsea Green, 2011

Copies available in the London Public Library System

2011

Bailey, Elisabeth Tova, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, Algonquin Books, 2010

Copies available in the London Public Library System

2010: Welland, Michael, Sand, University of California Press, 2009
N/A

2009: Burroughs, Franklin, Confluence: Merrymeeting Bay, Tilbury House, 2006
N/A

2008: Whitty, Julia, The Fragile Edge: Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific, 

Taylor Library Stack 6 (S6) - Regular Loan QH198.F74W48 2007 (Western)

Copies available in the LPL System

 2007: Meloy, Ellen. Eating Stone:Imagination and the Lost of the Wild. Pantheon Books. 

Weldon Library 5th Floor - Regular Loan QL737.U53M44 2005   (Western)

2006: Kroodsma, Donald. The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Bird Song,  Houghton Mifflin, 2005. 

Taylor Library Stack 5 (S5) - Regular Loan QL698.5.K76 2005   (Western)

2005: Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses Oregon State University Press, 2003.

Storage - Use "Request Item" Button - Regular Loan QK537.K56 2003   (Western)

2004: Levin, Ted. Liquid Land: A Journey Through The Florida Everglades The University of Georgia Press, 2003.

Storage - Use "Request Item" Button - Regular Loan QH105.F6L47 2003  (Western) 

2003: Safina, Carl. Eye Of The Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival Henry Holt and Company, 

Copies available in the LPL System

2002: Lamberton, Ken. Wilderness and Razor Wire. Mercury House, 2000.
N/A

2001: Carroll, David M. Swampwalker's Journal. Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Storage - Use "Request Item" Button - Regular Loan QH105.N4C27 1999  

2000: Heindrich, Bernd. Mind Of the Raven. New York : HarperCollins, 1999.

Taylor Library Stack 5 (S5) - Regular Loan QL696.P2367H445 1999  (Western)

Copies available in the LPL System

Sources:

For the other winners of the Burroughs Medal dating back to 1926 see the website of the John Burroughs Association. (In some years an award was not given.) An award is also given for the best nature essay. In 2018 the winner is: “The Keeper of the Ghost Bird,” by Jenn Dean, published by the Massachusetts Review, in its October 2017 issue. That periodical is available online at the Western Libraries for those affiliated with Western.
The works of John Burroughs are available over the internet. A list of his books is easily located on the John Burroughs Association website.

You can even read his original journals which were made available by Vassar College to the Hudson River Valley Heritage and are found here. (the journal entries are fairly clear, but transcriptions are also provided.)