Geoff Wisner :: Books
A Year of Birds

To Be Published in 2024 by Mercer University Press

A work of art as well as a work of literature, A YEAR OF BIRDS will be welcomed by nature lovers, art lovers, and birders. With 150 watercolors and field sketches by renowned bird artist Barry Van Dusen and a foreword by celebrated naturalist Peter Alden, the author of numerous Audubon Field Guides, Henry David Thoreau's writings on birds are showcased in a way never seen before.

Now Comes Good Sailing

Published in 2021 by Princeton University Press

The world is never done catching up with Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), the author of Walden, “Civil Disobedience,” and other classics. A prophet of environmentalism and vegetarianism, an abolitionist, and a critic of materialism and technology, Thoreau even seems to have anticipated a world of social distancing in his famous experiment at Walden Pond. In Now Comes Good Sailing, twenty-seven of today’s leading writers offer wide-ranging original pieces exploring how Thoreau has influenced and inspired them—and why he matters more than ever in an age of climate, racial, and technological reckoning.

Thoreau’s Animals

Published in 2017 by Yale University Press

Many of the most vivid writings in the renowned Journal of Henry David Thoreau concern creatures he came upon when rambling the fields, forests, and wetlands of Concord and nearby communities. A keen and thoughtful observer, he wrote frequently about these animals, always sensitive to their mysteries and deeply appreciative of their beauty and individuality. Whether serenading the perch of Walden Pond with his flute, chasing a loon across the water’s surface, observing a battle between black and red ants, or engaging in a battle of wits with his family’s runaway pig, Thoreau penned his journal entries with the accuracy of a scientist and the deep spirituality of a transcendentalist and mystic.

This volume, like its companion Thoreau’s Wildflowers, is arranged by the days of the year, following the progress of the turning seasons. A selection of his original sketchbook drawings is included, along with thirty-five exquisite illustrations by naturalist and artist Debby Cotter Kaspari.

Thoreau’s Wildflowers

Published in 2016 by Yale University Press

Some of Henry David Thoreau’s most beautiful nature writing was inspired by the flowering trees and plants of Concord. An inveterate year-round rambler and journal keeper, he faithfully recorded, dated, and described his sightings of the floating water lily, the elusive wild azalea, and the late autumn foliage of the scarlet oak.

This inviting selection of Thoreau’s best flower writings is arranged by day of the year and accompanied by Thoreau’s philosophical speculations and his observations of the weather and of other plants and animals. They illuminate the author’s spirituality, his belief in nature’s correspondence with the human soul, and his sense that anticipation—of spring, of flowers yet to bloom—renews our connection with the earth and with immortality.

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African Lives: An Anthology of Memoirs and Autobiographies

Published in 2013 by Lynne Rienner Publishers

African Lives is a pan-African collection of autobiographical writings by Africans of various ethnic groups, from Ibn Battuta to Binyavanga Wainaina. The book is organized by geographical region.

The anthology presents selections from the work of many of Africa's finest writers and most significant personalities from across the continent and spanning several centuries. The introduction and biographical notes enhance the material by providing an important context for the selections and also highlight the challenges that African memoirs pose to the preconceptions of Western readers.

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A Basket of Leaves: 99 Books that Capture the Spirit of Africa

Published in 2007 by Jacana Media

From the desert of Algeria to the savannahs of Kenya and the jungles of Equatorial Guinea, this quintessential reader's guide includes reviews and excerpts from notable books for each of Africa's 54 countries.

A Basket of Leaves explores many of the best-known works on Africa, such as Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria), All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou (Ghana), The Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin (Benin), Age of Iron by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa), Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey (Rwanda), and When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head (Botswana).