Books by Edward Hoagland

An acclaimed travel and nature writer recounts his experiences during four months in the Sudan, sharing his keen responses to the land itself and to the grinding poverty of the tiny towns.

This year's wonderfully diverse collection features such respected writers as Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Frazier, Mary Gordon, and Arthur Miller. These essays range widely across the American landscape -- from a California monastery to a Manhattan apartment -- and along the way introduce us to a fine array of talented new voices. Called by John Updike "the best essayist of my generation, " Edward Hoagland has assembled a powerful volume that vividly showcases the art and craft of the contemporary essay. "Essays are how we speak to one another in print -- sharing thoughts not merely in order to convey a certain packet of information, but with a special edge or bounce of personal character in a kind of public letter ... A layman who has diligently looked something, walking in the mosses of regret after the death of a parent, for instance, may acquire a tangible authority, even without being memorably angry or funny or possessing a beguiling equanimity. He cares; therefore, if he has tinkered enough with his words, we do too."

Fiddler, an intelligent young man, has joined the circus because he is broke. He's the Cat Man, and his hands are covered in scratches and scars to prove it. Through Fiddler, Hoagland provides us with an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of life at the circus, from his freakish cohorts to the big cats themselves: Chief, the Indian boss; Brownie, the Animal Department head; One-Arm Bingo; and the big cats themselves-especially the cats. The panther, the jaguar, the cheetah, the tigers, the enormous lazy male named Joe, and Rita, the killer leopard--all become intriguing characters in their own right, populating this brilliantly written novel. The train crew, the seat department, the prop men, the winos, and the townies all play vital roles in the surreal, yet altogether real, setting of the circus. Hoagland's knowledge of the circus comes firsthand--and we are all the richer for his having lived it and written CAT MAN in its honor.

Award—winning nature writer Edward Hoagland explores the people, places, events, and themes that have shaped him and work in this luminous memoir of a life richly lived.

From his childhood in rural Connecticut to some of the earth’s last remaining wilderness, from New York parties to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Animal Department, through literary friendships with such as John Berryman, Edward Abbey, and Archibald MacLeish that endured and marriages that didn’t, Compass Points is an entertaining and moving account of the days and nights of one of our most prescient literary voices.

"On tops of mountains, as everywhere to hopeful souls, it is always morning", Thoreau wrote. J. Parker Huber is along for the climb, comparing what Thoreau saw in his era to what we can see today. Part of "The Spirit of Thoreau Series". 20-30 drawings by Thoreau.

In this collection of four new and thirty-one previously published essays, the author offers his observations on a remarkably broad range of topics, including life, love, marriage, children, suffering, the city, and isolation.

Besides WALDEN, Thoreau's A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS is the only one of his works to be published in his lifetime. Written while he lived in the Walden cabin, this book is a tribute to the trip he took with his older brother John, who died of lockjaw in his brother's arms when Thoreau was 25. WALDEN, his classic account of the solitary life, describing his attempts to simplify his life and sort out his priorities by living alone in a cabin beside Walden Pond for nearly two years, is one of the most influential books ever written. When he died, Thoreau was working on THE MAINE WOODS; Published posthumously in 1864, it is a brilliantly evocative journey into the world of Maine's inland wilderness. His account of his travels and explorations on Cape Cod is considered his most genial book, and one of his most appealing. Thoreau's CAPE COD, which was published in 1865 after his death, remains an indispensable guide to the area.

Muir's 1894 classic, a record of his years in the Sierras, is illustrated with his own engravings.

Nineteen essays by the acclaimed contemporary author present his memories and knowledge of life in American woods and cities.

The famed American adventurer, geologist, and naturalist recounts his experiences, impressions, and discoveries during four trips to Alaska between 1879 and 1890.

A collection of personal essays includes biographical studies, unusual travelogues, journalistic pieces, elegiac mood essays about the wilderness, and other examples of discursive writing.