Walking the High Ridge: Life as a Field Trip Book

Having read and loved Pyle's Wintergreen, I enjoyed reading this memoir, not an autobiography, but memories of his life and his books. A lepidopterist and conservationist, Pyle writes beautifully, with a wide vocabulary and the ability to connect science to art. The first page captivated me with his passion for one specific butterfly, the Erebia magdalena. Several pages are devoted to a justification, or defense, of spending his life as a nature writer. Everything he writes encourages all of us to spend more time outdoors marveling at the beauty of nature.