The Best of Beston

by Beston, Henry; Coatsworth, Elizabeth Jane

• ISBN13: 9781567921045
• ISBN10: 1567921043
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: David R Godine Pub

Summary

Henry Beston, whose Outermost House is generally considered an imperishable classic of nature writing, was a poet who just happened to write prose. He was a meticulous observer, an early (and unsung) conservationist, and a prolific writer of letters, essays, and poetry, as well as books. Here, selected by his wife, Elizabeth Coatsworth (no mean writer herself), is a selection of his best ¿ from The Outermost House to lengthy pieces from Northern Farm, Herbs and the Earth, and American Memory (one of the first studies to give the proper perspective on the role of the American Indian). The last section, "North of Maine," contains portions of The St. Lawrence, one of the most memorable of the "Rivers of America" series. Beston was as close as this past century came to Henry David Thoreau. Anyone involved with nature, its protection and its celebration, should know his work.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vi
Dedication	viii
Foreword	1	(12)
SOUTH OF MAINE
About the Outermost House	13	(4)
From The Outermost House	17	(24)
IN MAINE
Chimney Farm and the Herb Attic	41	(2)
From White Pine and Blue Water	43	(2)
First Days	45	(4)
From Herbs and the Earth	49	(11)
Early Years	60	(13)
From Northern Farm	73	(69)
Letters	142	(7)
From American Memory	149	(16)
NORTH OF MAINE
A Last Word on The St. Lawrence	165	(1)
From The St. Lawrence	166