In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season; The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights; threatening the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the herons; owls; and snowy egrets that Williams; a poet and naturalist; had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random; the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother; and Terry herself; had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation; Refuge transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace; resulting in a work that has become a classic.
#1156501 in Books Random House 2001-01-09 2001-01-09Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.53 x 1.79 x 6.42l; #File Name: 0679462961576 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Thank God for all the VoicesBy Lane WillsonI have been blown away by this collection. I have lived in East Tennessee all my life; and generations before that. I think every emotion that one could have about the birth defect of America; slavery and the racism that has followed; is included in this work. While it is an inspiring road marker of how far we have come; it is also a sobering and frightening reminder of how far we have to go.15 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Readable anthology; not always about the movementBy bleary in NYCI was amazed when I first saw the contents of this anthology--had had no idea that so many big names had written about the civil rights movement. But when you actually read the anthology; a lot of these pieces; as fun as they may be to read in general; aren't really about the civil rights movement at all or only very tangentially; or are "think pieces" without much first-hand observation. The editor goes for star power over relevance. There's a Eudora Welty piece with some African-Americans in it (not sure how else it's related); a Maya Angelou memoir fragment (she reflects to a limited extent on race in her upbringing; but it's not really about civil rights); a Ralph Ellison article about Harlem (excellent writing; partly about Harlem as the place where Southern fantasies about freedom meet reality; but it's about Harlem...) Meacham deserves praise for trying to put together a literary and readable anthology--others about the movement tend to be full of "documents;" sometimes boring to read; whereas this is usually entertaining. But he missed the chance to include some less well known writers who really wrote about events in the movement--Lillian Smith; Ted Poston; Robert Coles; Mike Thelwell; Gordon Parks; Paul Good; Bayard Rustin; Anne Moody...0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent ReadBy Rachel S CourteauMeacham is one of my husband's favorite authors. His books are always well researched; factual; and well written; interesting; and easy to read.
