From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands

Book excerpt: From John Smith to Tom Horton—a collection of nature writing about the mid-Atlantic region From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands offers the first collection of nature writing to focus specifically on the attractions of the central Atlantic region. The selections draw on all the outdoor experiences that have brought people closer to the land: exploration, science, travel, country life, conservation, hunting, fishing. Here are Walt Whitman's musings on bird migrations at midnight; John Lederer's account of the first recorded expedition, with native guides, to the summit of the Blue Ridge mountains; Pendleton Kennedy's reflections on a nineteenth-century fishing trip to Blackwater River; and Tom Horton on serious dangers the Potomac continues to face. From the awe and wonder of the first explorers to cries for conservation from contemporary writers, From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands gathers examples of our changing views of the natural world and the values we place upon it.