Through much of history our relationship with the earth has been plagued by ambivalence--we not only enjoy and appreciate the forces and manifestations of nature, we seek to plunder, alter, and control them. Here Paul Shepard uncovers the cultural roots of our ecological crisis and proposes ways to repair broken bonds with the earth, our past, and nature. Ultimately encouraging, he notes, "There is a secret person undamaged in every individual. We have not lost, and cannot lose, the genuine impulse.

Paul Shepard (1925-1996) was Avery Professor of Natural Philosophy and Human Ecology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. He is the author of twelve books, a number of which are available from the University of Georgia Press.

Categories

• Environmental Conservation & Protection - General
• Ecology
• Sociology - General

Product Details

ISBN: 9780820319803
ISBN-10: 0820319805
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication Date: April 1st, 1998
Pages: 200
Language: English

"[Shepard] demands of ecology nothing less than a shift in our whole frame of reference and our attitudes toward life itself."--New York Times Book Review

"Much of what we value in contemporary thought about 'nature and culture' grew up in the seedbed of Shepard's thinking. His writing about child development, physical and cultural anthropology, animal behavior, art and mythology, the history of agriculture, and other subjects is endlessly fascinating."--Barry Lopez

"[In] Shepard's texts, we can once again take a deep breath and remember that life is holy and a wildness of spirit is not only something to be retrieved and honored but the very essence of our humanity."--Terry Tempest Williams

"This is an extraordinary book. Buy it, read it, and begin to remember what it means to be a human animal."--Bloomsbury Review