Tigers & Ice: Reflections on Nature and Life - Hardcover

A few years ago, when he was in his late 50s, noted nature writer and essayist Edward Hoagland went blind. For Hoagland, whose work relied on the close study of plants and animals as well as on documentary research, the loss was staggering; as he writes in one of the essays collected in Tigers & Ice, he contemplated suicide after falling victim to near-constant depression. Before he could act, however, an enterprising surgeon restored his sight, and, as Hoagland writes, "In the exalting aftermath of regaining my eyesight, I was incapable of being depressed." His essays--recounting natural-history travel to far-off places like Antarctica, backyard adventures in bird-watching, and explorations within his soul--reflect a change of sensibility: now in his 60s, he finds himself "more moderate, gentler in judgment, less self-conscious, though quite cranky." That self-avowed crankiness shows up seldom in this book, which is instead shot through with the joy of being alive in the world, natural and human, and with great affection. "If 'biology is chemistry with history,' as somebody has written," Hoagland avers, "then nature writing is biology with love." His enthusiasm is contagious, and the result is a hopeful book that, as with all Hoagland's work, is beautifully thought-out and written. --Gregory McNamee

Very few writers have explored the natural world with the distinctive flair and insight of Edward Hoagland. Now, in Tigers & Ice, he provides what might be his most compelling work yet.Edward Hoagland was legally blind for three years until surgery miraculously changed his life. In this powerful essay collection, he serves up a literary banquet celebrating his renewed vision. With the penetrating and entrancing prose that has marked his career as one of the most celebrated essayists, he guides us along the full spectrum of a fascinating life - from the painful stuttering of prep-school days to a vagabond existence as a tiger cage boy in the circus, from enthralling travels in Antarctica to settling into the luscious surroundings of his home in Vermont. Indeed, Tigers & Ice serves full notice of this one-of-a-kind writer at his most evocative, powerful best, exploring his own life and the natural world with trademark honesty and grace. (53/4 X 81/2, 228 pages)