A Naturalist in Florida: A Celebration of Eden

Archie Carr (1909-1987) was an eminent naturalist, writer, conservationist, and world authority on sea turtles. Throughout his life he wrote on many aspects of natural history, but he was particularly entranced by the wildlife and ecosystems of Florida, where he lived for more than fifty years. This captivating book-a collection of essays on Florida-provides memorable details and anecdotes about the flora, fauna, and humans that have inhabited this colorful landscape. Carr describes the eating rituals of the snakebird; the personality, courtship, and copulation of box turtles; the way skinks (a type of lizard) use their tails when foraging; and the characteristics of Spanish moss. He ponders why fish migrate to create "jubilees" in certain streams, the effects of disappearing ponds on the plants and animals that live in them, and the captivating activities of alligators and alligator snapping turtles. Carr's essays, many but not all previously published in such magazines as Audubon, Field and Stream, and Wildlife Conservation, are a kind of testimony to and celebration of an exuberant natural landscape that is now seriously threatened.