Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I first encountered Loren Eiseley's The Immense Journey by accident in a university's library stacks. I took it down from the shelf and, after glancing at the table of contents, started to read one of the essays. Three hours later I realized that I was still standing in the same place and had read through almost half the book. I had never encountered writing like this before. Eiseley writes about nature with the eyes of a haunted poet who sees the natural world slipping away even as we view it. It is hard to convey to one who hasn't read any of this just what makes his writing so special. He is a master of language. His 'take' on what he observes in nature is original and fresh. The structure of his essays, like arguments in the form of stories, progressing from some general observation to an unexpected conclusion - please and surprise the reader. Each of his essays is, at one and the same time, a lesson, a sermon, a lyrical poem, a travelogue through time and space, a prayer and a great imaginative leap beyond human skin, culture, time and place. These essays deserve to have a much broader audience than they have enjoyed. This is simply some of the best and most original writing that has been done in our century.