A Road Running Southward

Following John Muir's Journey Through an Endangered Land

A Road Running Southward
Dan Chapman
RRP:
NZ$ 82.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 66.39
Hardback
h229 x 152mm - 232pg
28 Jul 2022 US
9781642831948
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Quantity:
 
 
In 1867, John Muir set out on foot to explore the botanical wonders of the South, keeping a detailed journal of his adventures as he traipsed from Kentucky southward to Florida. One hundred and fifty years later, on a similar whim, veteran Atlanta reporter Dan Chapman, distressed by sprawl-driven environmental ills in a region he loves, recreated Muir' s journey to see for himself how nature has fared since Muir' s time. Channelling Muir, he uses humour, keen observation, and a deep love of place to celebrate the South' s natural riches. But he laments that a treasured way of life for generations of Southerners is endangered as long-simmering struggles intensify over misused and dwindling resources. Chapman seeks to discover how Southerners might balance surging population growth with protecting the natural beauty Muir found so special. Each chapter touches upon a local ecological problem-at-risk species in Mammoth Cave, coal ash in Kingston, Tennessee, climate change in the Nantahala National Forest, water wars in Georgia, aquifer depletion in Florida-that resonates across the South. Chapman delves into the region' s natural history, moving between John Muir' s vivid descriptions of a lush botanical paradise and the myriad environmental problems facing the South today. Along the way he talks to locals with deep ties to the land-scientists, hunters, politicians, and even a Muir impersonator-who describe the changes they' ve witnessed and what it will take to accommodate a fast-growing population without destroying the natural beauty and a cherished connection to nature. A Road Running Southward is part travelogue, part environmental cri de coeur, and paints a picture of a South under siege. It is a passionate appeal, a call to action to save one of the loveliest and most biodiverse regions of the world by understanding what we have to lose if we do nothing.
"Not all journeys in somebody else' s footsteps prove especially comforting. In A Road Running Southward: Following John Muir' s Journey Through an Endangered Land, the Georgia journalist Dan Chapman retraces the ecologist John Muir' s thousand-mile walk through the Reconstruction-era South, and what he finds there today is alarming. . "-- "The New York Times" "A Road Running Southward revisits Muir' s 1867 trip from Louisville, Ky. , to Cedar Key, Fla. , and provides an important, sweeping update of the environmental situation in this part of the world. . . . It is the kind of book that, one can hope, will radicalize the next generation of environmentalists. " -- "The Post and Courier" "In A Road Running Southward: Following John Muir' s Journey Through an Endangered Land, the Georgia journalist Dan Chapman retraces the ecologist John Muir' s thousand-mile walk through the Reconstruction-era South, and what he finds there today is alarming. . . . Humans have done grievous harm to the earth in the past 150 years; it is exhausting at times to look at what we' ve done, and yet we' re running out of time to reverse course and spare the world far more dire consequences. "-- "The New York Times" "[A Road Running Southward alternates] between jeremiad and dark satire. . . [where] walking, for Mr. Chapman, is a form of activism as well as personal penance, a way of making himself see, and feel, the drastic changes in a lacerated landscape he still loves. "-- "The Wall Street Journal"
Dan Chapman is a writer, reporter, and lover of the outdoors. He grew up in Washington DC and Tokyo, the son of a newspaperman and an English teacher. He worked for Congressional Quarterly, The Winston-Salem Journal, The Charlotte Observer, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has also reported from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He currently writes stories about conservation in the South for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information

Details of the product above will be automatically included with your enquiry.