A young Native American raised in the forest is suddenly thrust into the modern world, in this novel by the author of The Dog Who Came to Stay.
Thomas Black Bull's parents forsook the life of a modern reservation and took to ancient paths in the woods, teaching their young son the stories and customs of his ancestors. But Tom's life changes forever when he loses his father in a tragic accident and his mother dies shortly afterward. When Tom is discovered alone in the forest with only a bear cub as a companion, life becomes difficult. Soon, well-meaning teachers endeavor to reform him, a rodeo attempts to turn him into an act, and nearly everyone he meets tries to take control of his life. Powerful and timeless, When the Legends Die is a captivating story of one boy learning to live in harmony with both civilization and wilderness.
The inspiring classic on the virtues of embracing the great outdoors from the nationally bestselling author of The Dog Who Came to Stay.
Over the course of his career, Hal Borland wrote eight nature books and hundreds of 'outdoor editorials' for the Sunday New York Times, extolling the virtues of the countryside. From his home on one hundred acres in rural Connecticut, Borland wrote of the natural wonders, both big and small, that surrounded him every day. Beyond Your Doorstep is his guide to venturing into the outdoors around your home, wherever it is, and discovering the countryside within reach.
The beauty to be found in roadsides, meadows, woodlands, and bogs are explored in elegant prose. Borland takes up birds, animals, and plants—both edible and poisonous—and the miraculous ways in which they are threaded together throughout the natural world. Part introductory field guide and part incitement to exploration, Beyond Your Doorstep is a classic of nature writing and a must-listen for anyone looking to renew his or her relationship to the outdoors.
'Some dogs, like some people, just can't abide a quiet life,' writes the author of the national bestseller, The Dog Who Came to Stay, in this warm and touching memoir.
Penny the basset shows up at the Borlands' Connecticut farmhouse on a cold, snowy day—head held high, tail wagging, as if she were a long-awaited guest. Hal and Barbara Borland were no strangers to strays. Pat, the rabbit hound thousands of people came to know in The Dog Who Came to Stay, had also appeared one winter, staying to become the family's dear companion. Now, Pat is gone, and Hal and Barbara are bereft without canine company. They fall in love with Penny—and she seems to fit right in.
Penny is a delightful dog—short-legged, flop-eared, full of fun and curiosity. And she loves people, so much so that she leaves the Borlands to go visiting elsewhere, often settling in with a different family for days on end. Indeed, Hal and Barbara admire her for her spirit of individuality and independence.
Though she never truly belonged to them, the Borlands agreed that Penny was a dog well worth loving—and so will listeners.
A memoir of a year immersed in nature on a New England farm, by the national bestselling author of The Dog Who Came to Stay.
After a nearly fatal bout of appendicitis, Hal Borland decided to leave the city behind and move with his wife to a farmhouse in rural Connecticut. Their new home on one hundred acres inspired Borland to return to nature. In this masterpiece of American nature writing, he describes such wonders as the peace of a sky full of stars, the breathless beauty of blossoming plants, the way rain swishes as it hits a river, and the invigorating renewal brought by the changing seasons. The delights of nature as Borland observes them seem boundless, and his sense of awe is contagious.
A memoir of youthful years spent in Colorado as the American West was transformed, by the author of High, Wide, and Lonesome and The Dog Who Came to Stay.
Country Editor's Boy picks up where Hal Borland's classic memoir High, Wide and Lonesome left off: with Borland, on the cusp of adulthood in the early twentieth century, making his way in an eastern Colorado town that still retained all the flavors of the Old West. Borland's father, the editor of a local weekly newspaper, was working to help his publication transition along with the town around him. At the same time, young Hal was experiencing dramatic social and economic change in his own way. In a matter of a decade, Borland's Colorado town shifted from a frontier outpost to part of a rapidly urbanizing new America. This memoir shows a boy entering adulthood as the world around him comes of age.
Evocative and wholly engrossing, Country Editor's Boy is a vividly drawn portrait of western life, by one of the greatest naturalist writers of his age.
One dark and stormy winter night, outside his remote New England farmhouse, Hal Borland heard howling. At the door were a half-starved black-and-white mutt and his puppy companion. While reluctant to welcome these uninvited guests into their home, Hal and his wife gave them refuge, finally naming them Pat and Mike. When a local boy lost his dog, and the Borland's gave Mike to him, Pat's strong personality blossomed, and he becomes a treasured companion and member of the family.
Accompanying Hal on hunts (and himself proving a formidable threat to local wildlife), Pat is the ideal touchstone for insights into the natural world. The Borlands learn valuable lessons from Pat—trust, relationships, and harmony with nature—the same values that led their move from city to country. Through this process, they develop a deeper appreciation for the place they call home. The Dog Who Came to Stay is a first-rate memoir detailing the immeasurable bond between humans and their beloved companions. With touching insight and wry humor free from sentimentality, it's a compelling tale for all ages!
A memoir of a childhood homesteading in frontier Colorado: 'A book from the heart . . . the stuff of the American dream' (The New York Times).
In this memoir of a lost America, Hal Borland tells the story of his family's migration to eastern Colorado as homesteaders at the turn of the twentieth century. On an unsettled and unwelcoming prairie landscape, the Borlands build a house, plant crops, and eke out a meager existence. While life is difficult—and self-reliance is necessary with no neighbors for miles—the experience brings the family close and binds them closer to the terrible and beautiful natural patterns that govern their lives. Borland would grow up to study journalism and become an acclaimed nature writer, and it was these childhood years on the prairie that shaped the author's heart and mind.
