Horizon

Just devastating, his final work. Read after reading about his final days in Granta. Lopez takes us along on his usual treks and wanderings, re-covering some old ground. He wonders about the future, poses hard unanswered questions about warming & fascism.

To learn he lost his home and work to one of Oregon's rampaging fires in the summer of 2020 just before his death is almost too much.

We are right to worry.

This is the first book I read by Lopez. It took a while to get used to his style, but I came to like it. Each chapter is a different place he has traveled in the past 50 years. Apparently it repeats some places from previous works, but the writing is all new. The early chapters are also a min-biography of his early life. The writing straddles art and science, the known and the mysterious, there is a great sense of wonder and amazement of the natural world. There is also a current of foreboding, existential dread about the future, even going as far as wondering if living people today will survive out natural lives to old age. Lopez sees a lack of empathy as a core problem. This is a lengthy generous book at times beautiful and profound. show more It would be easy to criticize because he is among the elite with privileges most of us will never have, but the quality of writing and overall message it is hard to disagree. show less

I enjoyed this very much. Lopez travels to these amazing places and makes them real for the reader by taking tiny details apart and looking at them in unique, insightful and unconventional ways. This is a man who cares about our planet and incites others to care through his thoughtful writing.

3.5. This is the first Barry Lopez book I have read. I probably should have read his book Arctic Dreams first. This was long (500, pages, 20 hours). I love good travel writing and in this book He writes beautifully about the places he has traveled over a long career. Some of the sections of the book were just too self absorbed for my taste.

Got about 2 hours into the 22 hour audio book and found it boring and patronizing, which was disappointing since I feel like I am interested in the things he was writing about and had high hopes.

For me a Big book, will go on my shelf of treasures.