{"product_id":"natural-histories-stories-from-the-tennessee-valley-paperback","title":"Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephen Lyn Bales\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn sixteen thoroughly engaging essays, naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales ventures far and wide among the richly diverse flora and fauna of his native Tennessee Valley. Whether describing the nocturnal habits of the elusive whip-poor-will, the pivotal role the hedge plant Osage orange played in a key Civil War battle, or the political firestorm that attended the discovery of a tiny fish dubbed the snail darter, Bales illuminates in surprising ways the complicated and often vexed relationships between humans and their neighbors in the natural world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccompanied by the author's striking line drawings, each chapter in Natural Histories showcases a particular animal or plant and each narrative begins or ends in, or passes through the Tennessee Valley. Along the way, historical episodes both familiar and obscure - the de Soto explorations, the saga of the Lost State of Franklin, the devastation of the Trail of Tears, and the planting of a \"Moon Tree\" at Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton - are brought vividly to life. Bales also highlights the work of present-day environmentalists and scientists such as the dedicated staffers of the Tennessee-based American Eagle Foundation, whose efforts have helped save the endangered raptors and reintroduce them to the wild.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArranged according to the seasonal cycles of the valley, Bales's essays reveal the balance that nature has achieved over millions of years, contrasting it with the messier business of human endeavor, especially the desire to turn nature into a commodity, something to be subdued and harvested. Filled with delightful twists and turns, \u003ci\u003eNatural Histories\u003c\/i\u003e is also a book brimming with important lessons for us all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephen Lyn Bales\u003c\/b\u003e, now retired, was a naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is also the author of \u003ci\u003eEphemeral by Nature: Exploring the Exceptional with a Tennessee Naturalist\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGhost Birds: Jim Tanner the Quest for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, 1935-1941\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 276\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.75 x 8.96 x 6.36 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 15, 2007\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47521550827741,"sku":"9781572335615","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/brjdIexm2Q9781572335615.webp?v=1772263601","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/natural-histories-stories-from-the-tennessee-valley-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}