First published 2005
In 1953, Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher completed an extraordinary 100-day expedition across 30,000 miles of North America, from Newfoundland to Alaska's Pribilof Islands. Their account became the classic Wild America. Fifty years later, naturalist Scott Weidensaul sets out to retrace their exact route and document how the continent has changed. His journey reveals both loss and resilience. In Newfoundland's coastal towns, he witnesses the ecological devastation following the Atlantic cod fishery's collapse. Florida's once-magnificent wading bird colonies have nearly vanished. Yet Mexico's tropical regions around Xilitla now thrive as ecotourism destinations. Most surprisingly, Weidensaul discovers that significant portions of the landscape Peterson and Fisher explored remain unmarked by industrial development. This comprehensive survey captures the current state of North America's wild places and wildlife, offering readers both sobering realities and unexpected hope about the natural world's endurance.
Genres: nature, adventure, environment, non-fiction, biography-memoir, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-retracing, travelogue
Setting: Newfoundland, Alaska, Pribilof Islands, Florida, Xilitla, North America
Period: 1953, 2003
416 pages · Hardcover · North Point Press