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Jan 25, 2018JLMason rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Although published in 1949, the eloquent words of Aldo Leopold resonate today as he warns about the steady damage to and depletion of the natural world to the detriment of humanity. The book is divided into three sections of short essays. The first consists of his delight in experiencing and observing nature on his farm in Wisconsin, with stories collected by month, and told in a homey and chatty way. The second explores the loss of wilderness and prairie and the implications to our world, most powerfully told in one essay called "Odyssey", which compares the life cycles of an atom or mineral in a healthy vs degraded environment. The final section lays out his conservation philosophy and the need for a "land ethic" that respects the biota of which humans are an integral part. We will all recognize ourselves as "trophy hunters" of nature, even those who take photos and leave only footprints.