Edge Effects: Notes From An Oregon Forest (American Land & Life) - Softcover

Chris Anderson is Assistant Professor of English and Composition Coordinator at Oregon State University.
Thomas Green, MD Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics Children's Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University Chicago, Illinois

Wayne Franklin, MD Physician-Director, CME Programs Associate Professor of Pediatrics Children's Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University Chicago, Illinois

Robert R. Tanz, MD Professor of Pediatrics Director, Diagnostic and Consultation Services Children's Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University Chicago, Illinois

This is a very impressive group of authors. Dr. Green is Chairman of Pediatrics at Northwestern, and Physician-in-Chief at Children's Memorial Hospital, one of the top pediatric hospitals in the U.S. (He succeeds James Stockman, who left the position to become President of the American Board of Pediatrics). Dr. Franklin is a pediatric cardiologist who coordinates all CME and recertification review activities for Children's, as such he is expert in the content of the recertification exam and its structure. Dr. Tanz directs the consult service at Children's and thus has a wide breadth of clinical knowledge. All three are widely published in the journal literature but this will be their first book.

A sensitive observer who mixes nature writing with personal tales, freelance essayist Anderson offers episodic reflections on life on the edge of McDonald-Dunn Forest, a 12,000-acre research forest outside Corvallis, Ore. When residents responded to a planned clear-cutting, Anderson--who had moved to the forest for silence--found himself embroiled in theories and words. Speaking to a forestry class on behalf of local homeowners, he thoughtfully catalogues what makes a landscape pleasing and discusses the importance of learning to observe and read the forest slowly and regularly. Yet his affection for his surroundings fosters ambivalence: he becomes weary of the responsibility of having to learn about and master the forest. When he ventures afar, Anderson remains interesting: in the "biosphere" of the enormous Edmonton Mall, he finds everything the frigid city lacks. Reflecting on his forest walks, he acknowledges feeling neither Thoreauvian intensity nor deep Benedictine contemplation; rather, the repetition "has the effect of meditation or liturgy." Portions of the essays were first published in magazines like Commonweal and the Georgia Review. Photos not seen by PW.
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