[…] The book is a series of love letters, written by the author about the wilderness and the inhabitants that he cherishes. Each letter details qualities that endear the wildlife to the author along with a plea to the reader to consider feeling the same way.Most of the book is adapted by a series of blog posts that Davis authored on www.essexonlakechamplain.com, and that history is actually to the book’s benefit. It gives a natural structure and a concise focus to each topic. While the book is not a story and couldn’t be described as earth shattering literature, it’s organized into brief sections with short, very accessible descriptions of animals that currently live in the wildway, animals that used to live there, and ones the author hopes to see introduced or returned.
The intent of the author is to introduce readers to the concept of a wildway, a corridor for safe passage that many species may use, from frogs and salamanders to apex predators like cougars and wolves. The lack of the corridors limit diversity in the Adirondacks and makes the ecology unbalanced. Davis argues that wildways would be beneficial not only to the wildlife but also to the human inhabitants. He is convincing as he describes how the presence of wolves benefit the songbirds.
A charming addition to the book is the artwork throughout. Seven different artists contributed their work to help illustrate chapters. Photographs, watercolors and sketches augment the descriptions Davis gives and add their own emotional plea to preserve the area. […]
Read the full review: Adirondack Daily Enterprise, “A plea for co-existing in the wild” by Heidi Moore on Feb. 21, 2018.
