The Thunder Tree: Lessons from a Secondhand Landscape

When people connect with nature, they do so in a specific place, and The Thunder Tree shows how that connection can change a life forever, how roots in the earth can be as important as roots in a family. For Bob Pyle, that place was the Highline Canal in Colorado. When he first discovered it as a boy in the 1950s, the canal and its surroundings were largely a wasteland, an accidental wilderness on the edge of a growing city. But as he grew up, the canal became his sanctuary, his teacher, the place where he developed a passion for the natural world. Once, a stately cottonwood along its banks literally saved his life during a freak hailstorm.
By showing how the course of a life can be changed by a piece of land, Robert Michael Pyle argues eloquently that if we fail to preserve our opportunities to explore nature, we will diminish our lives and our culture immeasurably. Rich in history, poignant, and beautifully written, this is a book you will never forget.