Posted by Richard Primack

“Thoreau would be pleased to read this volume.”—Science

For the past 14 years, our research group has been investigating the effects of climate change on the plants, birds, and insects of Concord. We have published our results as scientific articles, and journalists have written about our work for the public. However, I wanted to reach a wider audience with the story of our work and how Thoreau’s insights can be used to address the growing crisis of climate change. Earlier this year, my popular book on this topic was published as Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods. 
 

In his new book, Primack discusses the effects of climate change on birds migrating through Massachusetts, like the Veery pictured above.

Since that time, there have been many favorable reviews of the book. Here are some excerpts:

“This book is more than a clarion testament to the real and present effects of climate change. It is an exhortation to become more engaged in the natural world whether through citizen science or observation, and, in so doing, recognize and limit our own impacts on the earth. A constant presence throughout this book, Thoreau would be pleased to read this volume, which weaves together science, nature, ethics, and human action as part of a single whole.”—Science (Read the full review here)
 

In Walden Warming, Primack details the challenges and joys of working with Henry David Thoreau's field notes.

“Walden Warming shows compellingly how a place and its ecosystems can alter dramatically in the face of climate change.”—Times Higher Education (Read the full review here)

“The book tells the story of Primack’s struggle to replicate Thoreau and find changes in flowering times, but soon broadens into a hymn to citizen science. Primack finds many others who are not conventional scientists but keep careful records of myriad things, from the times that migratory birds arrive to the date butterflies emerge and ice melts on ponds. It is these extraordinary people who make the book a rich, rewarding read. And there is also the inspiring message that anyone with a keen eye for nature can make a difference, with an afterword on how to become a citizen scientist.”—New Scientist (Read the full review here)

Buy the book from the University of Chicago Press HERE.