Over the Mountain and Home Again: Journeys of an Adirondack Naturalist

Our family really loved this book. We live in the Adirondacks and found reading it aloud was a delight for all. It reinforced so many of the pleasures of exploring the world around us. We learned lots of new things, and became more observant amateur naturalists.

This book is not really written for those simply looking for a travelogue of the Adirondacks. There are already too many of those available. "Over the Mountain" is for those interested in something more than a superficial tour of the region. Ed Kanze takes you up close to a world many visitors to the park really don't see. He provides a wonderful collection of essays about the natural world of the Adirondacks. Through his writing you feel you are on the ground with him, exploring with wonder all nature has to offer. From scrambling under and around his house to trace mice, to a wonderful night float trip, you are there with him. And it's a wonderful journey. But be forewarned; if you buy the book, your next stop will be to the travel agent to book your own trip to the Adirondacks!

Who hasn't wanted to lay claim to acreage and trees, a brook and an old, abandoned house all in need of human appreciation? Ed Kanze takes you on this journey of watchful discovery, in prose that informs, challenges, inspires and gives ease. You'll float the Saranac River at night, hike toward Pigeon Roost, dunk mice into flourescent orange powder in order to trace their many points of household entry, and climb, shovel in hand, onto the rooftop without using a ladder--on snow piled up from the eighteen feet that fell during Kanze's first Adirondack winter. The moral of these very fine essays: if you're going exploring, take a naturalist.

Over the Mountain and Home Again teaches, inspires, and entertains all at the same time. The reader gets a taste of the Adirondack experience, from the outdoors (the magnificent title essay) to the indoor battle against the "Rodents of Mass Destruction." Both the serious nature lover and the casual reader will be well-satisfied by this book. A great read!

Over the Mountain and Home Again is a gem of a book. Naturalist and author Ed Kanze has assembled 12 essays that are interesting, informative, and a delight to read. In "Rodents of Mass Destruction," Kanze recounts his family's struggle to rid their Adirondack home of shirt-devouring, slipper-chomping deer mice. Determined to expel the gnawing intruders without killing them, he attempts to trace their movements, then block the entry points. Toward this end, Kanze dips captured mice in a bag containing "flaming orange" fluorescent powder hoping to see the now psychedelic colored eating machines scurrying to and fro. This less than successful tactic leads to other strategies, and eventual victory in the great rodent war. Arguably the most fascinating and thought provoking work in the book is "In Search of Something Lost," winner of the John Burroughs Association's award for Outstanding Published Natural History Essay in 2004. By way of his trek to Pigeon Roost Mountain, Kanze tells the tragic story of the North American passenger pigeon which numbered between three and five billion at the time of the European discovery of America, and was extinct by the second decade of the 20th century. Anyone who has visited the Adirondacks, or is contemplating a trip to the park will learn of the rhythm of the seasons, the driving force of life in this wilderness. "The Truth About Snow" is an especially informative essay explaining how creatures ranging from the tiny snow flea to the powerful moose adapt to the eighteen feet of snow that blanket the Adirondack Mountains some years. This is Kanze at his best. Describing how the moose is "perfectly designed" to survive North Country winters he writes: "Start with the torso: bigger than a bathtub...This prodigious mass of muscle, blood, and viscera travels on four legs so long and slender they would look at home, if shaved, in a chorus line." A writer who can portray one of North America's great beasts by evoking an image of heel-kicking show girls knows what he's doing. Kanze has the vision of a naturalist, the soul of a poet, and an engaging, often playful writing style. Readers will finish this book with a deeper appreciation for the magic and beauty that is the Adirondacks. For all those who love the wilderness and savor their time in the natural world, Over the Mountain and Home Again is a must read.