Field guides are wonderful things – particularly those that feature top-quality photographs or illustrations of their subjects. But sometimes, high quality as they may be, it’s simply difficult to get a sense of the animal, plant, or what-have-you as it is in life without being able to see it life-size. Which is why so many naturalists have been praising University of Chicago’s “Six Hundred Life-Size” books; they present their subjects, just as the title says, in life-size.
When it comes to people from history about whom I never tire of reading, Theodore Roosevelt is right up at the top of my list. Whether it be his self-development from a sickly boy into the famously robust man he became, his fascinating and unconventional political life, or his many and varied outdoor adventures, T.R. was a boundless source of interesting material for authors. Which is why my interest was immediately piqued by word of a new book from University of Chicago Press by Michael R. Canfield titled Theodore Roosevelt in the Field.
Whenever I travel, I not only like to take along a relevant field guide to at least one form of life to be found in the area to which my journey takes me, I also like to take along a book I’m considering for a review that has a subject related to my destination as I find that when I read a book “on site” I can often pick up subtle details in it that I might otherwise miss.
As the United States becomes increasingly urbanized, how its citizens experience and interact with the natural world will become more and more influenced by how the nation’s cities are arranged.