"For acclaimed writer and environmental activist Rick Bass, it can be wearying to dwell relentlessly upon the broken, the fragmented, the dead and dying and doomed to extinction. Activism is a necessary part of the environmental movement, but so is the time-honored celebration of the beauty that inspires us. Spanning his storied career, these new and selected essays attempt to take a brief step to the side, away from lamentation and prescription, to inhabit, as deeply as possible, the greater depths of the beauty in each moment. Throughout, Bass offers a portrait of our planet that is always alert to its wonders, even in the face of environmental crisis"--

Into the fire -- Rage of the squat king -- Whale song -- Beauty that wills us on -- Ice fishing -- Hunters -- Border patrol -- Larch -- Wolf palette -- Whale shark -- Moon story -- Stamp of the African elephant -- Hearts and bones -- Fifteen dogs -- Swans -- With every great breath -- Descent, with modifications -- A life with bears -- Firebuilder -- Hemingway and nature -- Letter to America