Barry Lopez is widely known for his books about the far north, ARCTIC DREAMS and OF WOLVES AND MEN, and for his frequent appearance in HARPERS where he has been a contributing editor since 1984. Lopez is part naturalist and part philospher and the direction of his writing circles constantly from outward observation toward introspection. Ever aware of the cultural biases that comprise our mental baggage when we venture across national, biotic, even temporal lines, he sees through the veils and helps the reader step outside assumptions that bind.
This assemblage of previously uncollected material does not disappoint. From the urban landscapes of his youth, the author carries readers to the four winds and seven continents, touching down in remote Japanese islands, Antarctica, Johannesburg, Seoul, Amsterdam, south Georgia, and among wolf packs in his old Arctic haunts. He climbs over linguistic walls, endures considerable physical discomfort, wonders at the oddments of terrain and biota, and returns again to the collective self. What are our motives? How can we better understand?
While he is best known for naturalistic jaunts, the author is nothing if not curious. What is this business of modern air transport? Start at the beginning: and so he does, visiting Boeing to watch the final assemblage of a 747 - 6 million parts that all fit, precisely. Thence to the skies: logging 50,000 miles in cargo bays and cockpits, reporting on the freight, the flights, the crews, the vibes, and always the terrain. Rockets expode far below over Chechnya, the steel grey ocean shimmers along the Siberian coast, ice runs off to forever
in the polar reaches, and new galaxies of electric illumination range across the planet. Steel pipe, ostrich meat, thoroughbred horses, Ferraris, sneakers, computers, flowers, gold ingots, frozen fish, tropical fish, and 132 tons of stage equipment for a Michael Jackson concert in Buenos Aires are the flotsam and jetsam of air transport these days.
"Perishable" has taken on new meaning as deadlines and fashion collide, making the latest shoe style as perishable as an unfrozen fish in the spoiling heat of just-in-time delivery.
A fine read, rich and alluring, thoughtful and deep.Get more detail about ABOUT THIS LIFE.
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