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Saint John's Arboretum Recommended Reading
Visit http://bookstore.csbsju.edu/sjub to search for titles and purchase books. Many of these books are also available at the CSB/SJU Libraries.
Choose from a list of these categories to begin your search:
Biographies
Backes, D. 1997. A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN.
Sigurd Olson (1899-1982) was acknowledged during his lifetime as an activist, writer, and teacher. A Wilderness Within is the first biography of Sigurd Olson which chronicles his life from childhood through his involvement with the protection and preservation of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Backes had access to Olson’s personal journals and conducted interviews with many of Olson’s family members.
Recommended by Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
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Botany
Gibbons, E. 1962. Stalking the Wild Asparagus. Houghton Mifflin, Co: Boston, MA.
Euell Gibbons is one of the few people to have devoted a large part of his life to living off the land. This book recommends wild foods that are largely available everywhere. Stalking the Wild Asparagus contains instructions for identification and preparation of edible wild plants. Recipes include vegetable and casserole dishes, breads, cakes, jellies, jams, and teas.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Gibbons, E. 1966. Stalking the Healthful Herbs. Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston, MA.
Similar to Stalking the Wild Asparagus, but with a focus on the wealth of wild herbs that grow throughout North America. Brings attention to the culinary and medicinal herbs that were well known and used by Native Americans and early settlers.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Gleason, Henry A. and Arthur Conquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden: New York, NY.
The best regional treatment of vascular plants of the northeastern United States, and according to Steve Saupe, the “bible” of vascular plants. This book is ideally intended for professional botanists or experienced amateurs.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
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Burnett, Frances Hodgson. 1909. The Secret Garden. William Heinemann Publishing House: London, UK.
This is the story of a young, sickly orphan named Mary who is sent to live in a mysterious mansion. While exploring the grounds, she stumbles upon a beautiful hidden garden. The flowers and trees seem to have magical healing powers as the more time she spends among them, the stronger and happier Mary becomes.
Recommended by Laura Scott, Student Naturalist Aide
George, Lindsay Barrett. 1999. In the Snow: Who's Been Here? New York: Harper Trophy.
Featured book in the winter 2008 Library Program, "Minnesota's Animal Tracks"
Nail, Jim. 1994. Whose Tracks Are These? A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals. Roberts Rinehart Publishers: Lanham, MD.
Featured book in the winter 2008 Library Program, "Minnesota's Animal Tracks"
Sylverstein, Shel. 1964. The Giving Tree. HarperCollins: New York, NY.
"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." Shel Silverstein's simple moral tale about a boy and a tree is one no child should be without.
Recommended by Rachel Peterson, 2007-08 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
Dr. Seuss. 1971. The Lorax. New York: Random House.
The definitive environmental children's book from the definitive children's author.
Recommended by Rachel Peterson, 2007-08 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
Field Guides
Ladd, Doug and Frank Oberle. 1995. Tallgrass Prairie Flowers: A Falcon Field Guide. Falcon Press Publishing Company: Helena and Billings, MT.
This guide contains over 320 color photographs and detailed descriptions of 259 species found on the Midwestern tallgrass prairie. Flower species are divided by color within the guide which makes it easier for beginners to quickly and easily identify plants.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Moyle, John B. and Evelyn W. Moyle. 1977. Northland Wildflowers: A Guide for the Minnesota Region. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN.
This is another excellent guide for those interested in learning more about wildflowers without much expertise in identifying them. Contains color photos and keys of flower types of over 300 species found across the state of Minnesota.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Peterson, LA. 1977. Edible Wild Plants: Eastern/Central North America. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin, Co: Boston, MA.
Contains more than 370 edible wild plants, 37 poisonous look-alikes, 400 drawings and 78 color photographs illustrating how to accurately recognize each species. This book is designed to work in the field and includes habitat descriptions, lists plants by season, and also contains preparation instructions for various food uses.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Smith, Welby R. 1993. Orchids of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN.
This comprehensive field guide contains illustrations, photographs, and descriptions of Minnesota’s 43 species of orchids. Author, Welby R. Smith has been the botanist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program since 1979 and also coordinates the endangered plant species program with the DNR.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology
Tekiela, Stan. Minnesota Series of Field Guides. Adventure Publications: Cambridge, Minnesota.
Minnesota naturalist Stan Tekiela creates great field guides for those just beginning to learn about the natural world, along for seasoned professionals looking for a bit more natural history information. The field guides include good photographs, detailed natural history information, and interesting ‘gee-whiz’ facts. Tekiela also has similar field guides for other states. Some of the ones I keep handy include:
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Birds of Minnesota
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Trees of Minnesota
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Wildflowers of Minnesota
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Raptors of Minnesota
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Mammals of Minnesota
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Reptiles and Amphibians of Minnesota
Recommended by Sarah Gainey, Assistant Director/Environmental Education Coordinator
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Fiction
Duncan, David James. 2002. The River Why. University of California Press, San Francisco, CA.
Leaving behind a somewhat crazy and fishing-obsessed family, Gus Orviston embarks on an extraordinary voyage of self-discovery along the rivers of Oregon. What he unexpectedly discovers is man’s destruction of nature and a burning desire to commit himself to its preservation. A beautifully and intelligently written coming of age story.
Recommended by Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
Egan, Timothy. 2007. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Recommded by Laura Scott, Student Naturalist.
Galvin, James. 1992. The Meadow. Henry Holt and Company, LLC: New York, NY.
A collection of fragments and prose poems that reads like a novel, centered on an old man named Lyle Van Waning and a meadow in the high elevations on the Wyoming/Colorado border over several decades.
Recommended by Kyhl Lyndgaard, Former Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator/Current Arboretum member
Glancy, Diane. 2001. The Man Who Heard the Land. Minnesota Historical Society Press: Saint Paul, MN.
A novel by Diane Glancy, a professor of English at Macalester College. The story of the mundane yet complicated life and surroundings of an adjunct lecturer at U of M-Morris who teaches a course called "Literature and the Environment." Lots of Central Minnesota references.
Recommended by Kyhl Lyndgaard, Former Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator/Current Arboretum Member
Hoover, Helen, 1969. A Place in the Woods. Knopf: New York.
The true story of Helen and Adrian Hoover, a couple who leave their bustling life in Chicago, Illinois for a small cabin in the north woods of Minnesota. This book chronicles their trials and triumphs as they work to survive and make a life for themselves in the wilderness.
Recommended by Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
Kingsolver, Barbara. 2000. Prodigal Summer. HarperCollins Publishers Inc.: New York, New York
Kingsolver weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives inhabiting the forested mountains and struggling small farms of southern Appalachia. A great read to remind you of the interconnectedness of the human world and the natural world.
Recommended by Sarah Gainey, Assitant Director/Environmental Education Coordinator
Synder, Gary. 2004. Danger on Peaks. Shoemaker and Hoard: Washington, DC.
A collection of poems by Gary Snyder. First all-new collection of poems in 20 years for the Pulitzer-prize winning poet. Snyder's work here is spare, playful, and delightfully varied.
Recommended by Kyhl Lyndgaard, Former Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator/Current Arboretum Member
Quinn, Daniel. 1992. Ishmael. Bantam/Turner Book: New York, NY.
A powerful and inspiring novel that begins simply with a pupil and an unusual teacher; a gorilla named Ishmael. What follows is the struggle to answer the question, “How did the world come to be this way?” Ishmael chronicles the birth of life through pre-human history, recent history, and beyond, through dialogue between teacher and pupil. A novel that forces provocative thought about the way we live our everyday lives.
Recommended by Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
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Non-Fiction
Campbell, James. The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness.
Recommended by Laura Scott, Student Naturalist.
Carson, Rachel. 1998. The Sense of Wonder. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.: New York, New York.
First published in 1956, this hardcover book was reprinted with incredible photographs to accompany Carson’s plea to keep alive the sense of wonder in children and ourselves. The book centers around Carson’s adventures with her young nephew Roger in the natural world. The photographs are stunning and fit well with the message the book carries. A great gift for new parents.
Recommended by Sarah Gainey, Assistant Director/Environmental Education Coordinator
Carson, Rachel. 1962. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin: Boston, MA.
Rachel Carson’s exceedingly influential book on the harmful effects on both humans and the environment of pesticide and other chemical use in the United States. This book raised awareness and ultimately impacted environmental legislation including impacts to land, water, and air.
Recommended by Jeffrey Anderson, CSB/SJU Peace Studies
Colborn, Theo. 1996. Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story. Dutton: New York.
A follow-up to investigations begun in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, this scientific detective story seeks to understand the deeper impacts of industrial pollutants on wildlife and human communities. Discusses topics such as hormone mimics, impacts upon reproductive systems in animals and humans, and bio-accumulation of pollutants worldwide.
Recommended by Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator
Conca, Ken and Geoffrey. D. Dabelko. 2004. Green Planet Blues: Environmental Politics from Stockholm to Johannesburg, 3rd Edition. Westview Press: Cambridge, MA.
A collection of essays and readings on global environmental politics. Paradigms surrounding sustainability, environmental justice, and environmental security are used to discuss global environmental problems such as transboundary pollution, watershed degradation and deforestation. An important reader which contains exercises for critical thinking and debate.
Recommended by Jeffrey Anderson, CSB/SJU Peace Studies
Diamond, Jared. 2005. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Penguin Group: New York, NY.
In the same manner as his highly reputed Guns, Germs and Steel, Diamond takes readers through civilizations of the past and examines what lead to their collapse. Patterns of destruction become apparent as Diamond examines ancient civilizations and offers questions for present day society, so that we may not share the same fate.
Recommended by Ernie Diedrich, CSB/SJU Economics and Environmental Studies
Diamond, Jared. 1999. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W. W. Norton & Company: New York, NY.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Guns, Germs and Steel chronicles over 13,000 years of human history which results in a better understanding of human societies. Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history.
Recommended by Ernie Diedrich, CSB/SJU Economics and Environmental Studies.
Gessner, David. 2004. Sick of Nature. (2004). Dartmouth College Press: Hanover, NH.
A collection of essays by David Gessner. Clever, irreverent, insightful, self-conscious essays, most of which explore the state of nature writing today but with plenty of sidetracks.
Recommended by Kyhl Lyndgaard, Former Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator/Current Arboretum Member
Hawken, Paul, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. 1999. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Little Brown and Company: Boston, MA.
Natural Capitalism introduces a new economic thought process, drastically different that the models that propelled society through the Industrial Revolution to the present day. Discusses how businesses are and can gain profit by being environmentally responsible. Another book that forces thought outside of the box, and concludes that the longstanding conflict between corporate profit and environmental responsibility can and must be resolved.
Recommended by Ernie Diedrich, CSB/SJU Economics and Environmental Studies
Leopold, Aldo. 1949. A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River. Oxford University Press.
Known to many as the father of the modern conservation movement, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is a timeless collection of beautifully written pieces emphasizing the study of ecology, love of the land, and the necessity of a conservation ethic. One of the cornerstones in environmental literature.
Recommended by Jeffrey Anderson, Peace Studies
Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.
Recommended by Cassie Herbst, 2007-08 Environmental Educator Fellow
Orr, David. 2004. The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics and the Environment in an Age of Terror. Island Press: Washington, D.C.
The Last Refuge is a collection of essays which examine the current state of American values and politics. Topics examined include mounting social and ecological problems facing the United States, the misuse of terrorism as a political issue, and the corrosive influence of money. This book also presents realistic vision of the challenges facing our political institutions and the changes that must take place to reform them.
Recommended by Ernie Diedrich, CSB/SJU Economics and Environmental Studies
Speth, James Gustave. 2004. Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT.
James Gustave Speth, renowned as a visionary environmentalist leader, warns that in spite of all the international negotiations and agreements of the past two decades, efforts to protect Earth’s environment are not succeeding. Still, he says, the challenges are not insurmountable. He offers comprehensive, viable new strategies for dealing with environmental threats around the world.
Recommended by Ernie Diedrich, CSB/SJU Economics and Environmental Studies
Steinberg, Ted. Down to Earth: Nature’s Role in American History. Oxford University Press: New York, NY.
A new perspective of American history which centers on social, political and economic interactions with the natural world. Reminds readers of the role of the environment during many of the most important episodes in American history including the California Gold Rush, the Cold War, and the creation of the National Park system.
Recommended by Jeffrey Anderson, CSB/SJU Peace Studies
Steingraber, Sandra. 2001. Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood. Perseus Publishers: Cambridge, MA.
A fascinating journey into how women move through the often toxic terrain of pregnancy to the world of child nourishment and protection. This book examines the subjects of food contamination, environmental toxicology and developmental toxicology.
Recommended by Kyhl Lyndgaard, Former Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator/Current Arboretum Member
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Princeton University Press
In the spring of 1845, Henry David Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts for a cabin on Walden Pond. He lived in the wilderness for two and a half years farming, writing, and observing nature. Walden is a result of that two year experience outside of Concord and consequently has become one of America’s most treasured written pieces.
Recommended by Jeffrey Anderson, CSB/SJU Peace Studies
Natural History
Larson, Gary. 1998. There’s a Hair in my Dirt! A Worm’s Story. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.: New York, New York.
Famous cartoonist Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side, explores the difference between our sometimes idealized view of nature and the reality of the difficulty of survival in nature. The best part of this book is the way he presents the information-in a children’s story book style with great drawings and clever detail. Great for kids and adults alike!
Recommended by Sarah Gainey, Assistant Director/Environmental Education Coordinator
An entertaining yet factual book about some of the common misconceptions of wildlife, including owls, foxes, wolves, deer, and toads. Shedd uses both his personal experiences and factual information to give a whole different picture of animals you thought you knew.
Recommended by Sarah Gainey, Assistant Director/Environmental Education Coordinator
Tester, John R. 1995. Minnesota’s Natural Heritage: An Ecological Perspective. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis.
A guide to the ecology of the state, this book examines the state’s major ecosystems including lakes, rivers, forests, prairies, farmlands, and wetlands. This illustrated guide contains 130 photographs by award winning photographers including Craig Blacklock, Jim Brandenburg, and Bob Firth among others.
Recommended by Steve Saupe, CSB/SJU Biology and Emily Franklin, 2005-06 Arboretum Writer/Office Coordinator