Carl Safina, author of "The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World," "Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur," "Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival," "Song for the Blue Ocean: Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas," and founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, was named by the Audubon Society one of the leading conservationists of the twentieth century. He's been profiled by "The New York Times," and PBS's Bill Moyers. His books and articles have won him a Pew Fellowship, Guggenheim Award, Lannan Literary Award, John Burroughs Medal, and a MacArthur Prize. He lives in Amagansett, New York.
Winner of the 2012 Orion Book Award"Safina's book soars, adding his
voice to a small chorus that includes the poet Mary Oliver and the
environmentalist David W. Orr.... I had to--and wanted to--read
"The View from Lazy Point "very slowly, allowing myself to digest
its wealth of information, to revel in the beauty of Safina's
writing and to absorb fully the implications of his musings....
What a pleasure it isto be asked to stop rushing about and take
time to think, to grapple with fundamental questions, and to find
such an enlightening, provocative companion for walking and
talking--and reading. We can ask no more from those who warn about
dark days ahead than that they also awaken us to the miracle of
everyday life as they try to illuminate a better path
forward."--Dominique Browning, "The New York Times Book
Review""With the spiral of a year as his structure and with what
Einstein termed the 'circle of compassion' as his moral compass,
MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow Safina illuminates the wondrous
intricacy and interconnectedness of life in a book of beautifully
modulated patterns and gracefully stated imperatives. Safina's
exacting descriptions of coral reefs and polar bears, the
acidification of the oceans, and melting glaciers are matched by
bold observations regarding the consequences of our failure to
incorporate knowledge of how nature, the original network, actually
works into our now dangerously inadequate economic systems and
social institutions.... Safina argues that we must renew the social
contract, free ourselves from the politics of greed, and embrace
the facts about the still thriving yet endangered, immeasurably
precious living world."--Donna Seaman, "Booklist" (Starred
Review)"Not so much a polemic against anthropogenic climate change
as an impression of a world in flux, a lament about the damage
caused by overexploitation, pollution and flawed economics, and a
call to arms in the cause of hope.... Mr. Safina's writing moves
easily from revelatory observation sparked by a flash of bird or
splash of fish to passionate, lyrical philosophy. He rails against
the concept of growth-based development. He tears into Adam Smith's
thoughts on the benefits of selfishness and argues that defending
dirty energy is as morally bankrupt as defending slavery. Mr.
Safina rubs away at the chalk circle that 19th-century thinkers
drew around humanity to separate it from the natural world."--"The
Economist""Captivating.... Each chapter roils with informed,
impassioned descriptions of Lazy Point's abundant wildlife: Loons
and terns and red-winged blackbirds, salamanders and harbor seals,
frogs and flounders, purple-blossomed beach peas and wax myrtle
blooms are just a few of the stars in this ever-changing 'coast of
characters.' But Safina's descriptions are not restricted to Long
Island. During the course of the year he journeys to Alaska and
Svalbard, Palau and Antarctica, and his reflections at home and
abroad range from the sand at his feet to the planet as a whole.
Wherever he is, Safina conveys an accumulation of scientific data
and analysis in poetic prose."--"National Geographic
Traveler""Literate wanderings in a tormented world full of wounds,
led by accomplished traveler, writer and Blue Ocean Institute
founder Safina ... ["Lazy Point"] enfolds two contradictory
impulses: the one to stay home and tend to one's garden, and the
other to travel the planet and chronicle all the damage we're doing
to it. Safina manages to strike a balance.... [He] combines solid
science and excellent storytelling. A superb work of environmental
reportage and reflection."--"Kirkus" (Starred Review)"The
environment's glass is half-full for lyrical conservationist
Safina.... An optimism suffuses this sensible and sensitive
book."--"PW""As the ecologist Carl Safina points out in his
forthcoming book "The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an
Unnatural World," the global economic growth that we've witnessed
since the Industrial Revolution has come on the back of ecological
destruction. Humans are richer, longer-lived and healthier, but
rainforests have been destroyed, species have been driven to
extinction and the oceans have been spoiled. The planet is not
infinite, and it's reasonable to wonder just how much we can take
from it, just how many people Earth can support."--Bryan Walsh,
Time.com "You could call Safina a Thoreau for the 21st
century."--Billy Heller, "The New York Post" "With his grand sense
of adventure, eye for beauty, heart for mercy and high hopes to
shake us from our complacency, Safina seems a godsend among
modern-day prophets. His is a voice worth listening to, and I hope
his song hits the top of the charts. People, animals and ways of
life are dying all over the world, and some of us really do
care."--Alice Evans, "The Portland Oregonian" "Safina has a natural
ebullience. . . . He relies on beauty for his faith and finds that
there is plenty of it."--Susan Salter Reynolds, " Newsday""" "[A]
passionate, thoughtful portrait of the 'natural' world.... Its
deliberate, steady pace acts like a slow-moving camera capturing
the area as animal and ocean life changes month to month, full
circle from one January to the next.... Safina's familiarity and
interest in [birds] while walking or fishing on the nearby sound
can't be missed."--Christine Thomas, "The Miami Herald" "Few have
done more for the world's oceans than Carl Safina. Now he's back
with what might be his best book yet.... No mere naturalist's
journal, "The View from Lazy Point" uses wildlife encounters to
build a passionate case against market-driven measurements of
success."--Bruce Barcott, Outside.com
"Carl Safina's qualifications as a naturalist, marine biologist,
and part-time resident make him the ideal interpreter of "The View
from Lazy Point," which includes broad prospects of Cartwright
Shoals, Gardiner's Island, and Napeague Bay and also the great
variety of wildlife in these coastal and marine habitats; another
qualification, of course, is the high quality of his prose, which
makes all this fascinating information such a great pleasure to
read."--Peter Matthiessen, author of "Shadow Country""What a
marvelously large-handed, energetic, omnivorous book! One can swim
at so many levels in its comprehensive inventiveness."--Ted
Hoagland, author of "Early in the Season""Carl has written a true
masterpiece. The writing is both powerful and poetic, the
observations so keen and telling as to shed new light on so many
subjects: conservation, ethics, politics, economics, and, well,
life. "Lazy Point" just might become the 21st century's "Walden
Pond.""--Gary Soucie, former editor of "Audubon Magazine""For Carl
Safina--and for us--Lazy Point, a resuscitated shack on a lonely
beach at the eastern end of Long Island, is the center of the
natural world, and the point from which he travels, literally and
figuratively, to the ends of the earth. With Safina as our
articulate and sensitive guide, we visit the coral reefs of Belize,
the brown bears of Southeast Alaska and the white bears of
Svalbard, the fisheries of Micronesia, and the penguin colonies of
King George Island, Antarctica. Written by a brilliant stylist and
deeply concerned conservationist, this book brings into sharp (and
often painful) focus the plight of wildlife in a world largely
indifferent to the fate of our fellow travelers on Spaceship Earth.
Alive with fresh ideas to help bring our species in sync with the
natural world."--Richard Ellis, author of "The""Empty Ocean "and"
Tuna: A Love Story"
"Safina's book soars, adding his voice to a small chorus that
includes the poet Mary Oliver and the environmentalist David W.
Orr.... I had to--and wanted to--read "The View from Lazy Point
"very slowly, allowing myself to digest its wealth of information,
to revel in the beauty of Safina's writing and to absorb fully the
implications of his musings.... What a pleasure it isto be asked to
stop rushing about and take time to think, to grapple with
fundamental questions, and to find such an enlightening,
provocative companion for walking and talking--and reading. We can
ask no more from those who warn about dark days ahead than that
they also awaken us to the miracle of everyday life as they try to
illuminate a better path forward."--Dominique Browning, "The New
York Times Book Review""With the spiral of a year as his structure
and with what Einstein termed the 'circle of compassion' as his
moral compass, MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow Safina illuminates
the wondrous intricacy and interconnectedness of life in a book of
beautifully modulated patterns and gracefully stated imperatives.
Safina's exacting descriptions of coral reefs and polar bears, the
acidification of the oceans, and melting glaciers are matched by
bold observations regarding the consequences of our failure to
incorporate knowledge of how nature, the original network, actually
works into our now dangerously inadequate economic systems and
social institutions.... Safina argues that we must renew the social
contract, free ourselves from the politics of greed, and embrace
the facts about the still thriving yet endangered, immeasurably
precious living world."--Donna Seaman, "Booklist" (Starred
Review)"Not so much a polemic against anthropogenic climate change
as an impression of a world in flux, a lament about the damage
caused by overexploitation, pollution and flawed economics, and a
call to arms in the cause of hope.... Mr. Safina's writing moves
easily from revelatory observation sparked by a
"Carl Safina’s qualifications as a naturalist, marine biologist,
and part-time resident make him the ideal interpreter of "The View
from Lazy Point," which includes broad prospects of Cartwright
Shoals, Gardiner’s Island, and Napeague Bay and also the great
variety of wildlife in these coastal and marine habitats; another
qualification, of course, is the high quality of his prose, which
makes all this fascinating information such a great pleasure to
read."—Peter Matthiessen, author of "Shadow Country"“Literate
wanderings in a tormented world full of wounds, led by accomplished
traveler, writer and Blue Ocean Institute founder Safina. . .
["Lazy Point"] enfolds two contradictory impulses: the one to stay
home and tend to one’s garden, and the other to travel the planet
and chronicle all the damage we’re doing to it. Safina manages to
strike a balance. . . . [He] combines solid science and excellent
storytelling. A superb work of environmental re
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