“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.” — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.” — Aldo Leopold
If you love the natural world you should read this splendid book: ‘A Sand County Almanac’ You can download it for free here.
Erratum:
Thank You Michael. I see I have made a mistake. Of course I own the book. I will try to find a link that works. In the meantime, people will have to content themselves with a free look inside at Amazon here, or buy the ebook for a mere US$6.29. Some excerpts here: and here. Apart from the hunting/conservation ethos Leopold unfolds, I’m sure you will delight in his many beautiful line drawings of beautiful creatures.
Some see Leopold as the founder of the ‘modern’ conservation movement (ie pre-WW2), and the father of wilderness conservation. That he was also a keen hunter of many types of game will surprise some – but not many real hunters, eg particularly Field and Game members (which I have been for over thirty years) and the like – who have bought, reclaimed and donated so many thousands of acres of wildlife areas to the public here in Victoria, areas such as the Clydebank Morass for example at the mouth of the Avon River, which if you have not visited, put it on your ‘bucket list’.
There is also a feature length documentary film about the author, ‘Greenfire’ which you should try to access: https://www.aldoleopold.org/teach-learn/green-fire-film/
Trailer here:
It’s an advertisement for the The Sand Country Almanac you’re linking to, not the book itself. The PDF version and the text version are ads, while the EPUB version doesn’t load in my reader.
I don’t think there’s a free version available, though I may be mistaken.
Thank you, though, for your excellent blog.
Thank You Michael. I see I have made a mistake. Of course I own the book. I will try to find a link that works. In the meantime, people will have to content themselves with a free look inside here, or buy the ebook for a mere US$6.29: https://www.amazon.com/Sand-County-Almanac-Sketches-There/dp/0195007778/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/146-5274537-3123162?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0HVCT60J0EN62SCBC5A1 Cheers, Steve.