The Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley, 0812907469, Lowest Book Price Finder

Customer Reviews:

Literary treasures from a scientist-humanist

The Star Thrower, The Night Country, The Immense Journey all are wonderful perspectives on nature. I feel privileged to have met the author at an event in Washington, DC when a book of his poetry was published. Years before that he participated in geological/anthropological hunts with Dr. Bertrand Schultz, and my uncle and others connected to the University of Nebraska. Dr. Schultz went on to head Morrill Hall Museum at the University of Nebraska and became an advisor to James Michener on the paleontology for "Centennial." (and I worked with Dr. Schultz's daughter on the yearbook staff at the University of Nebraska) Loren Eiseley is/was one of my favorite essayists. If you enjoy the writing of Carl Sagan, you should also give Mr. Eiseley a try.

"the mundane world gives way to quite another dimension..."

I was sitting in a coffeeshop, when a guy I had been talking to earlier placed Loren Eiseley's "The Star Thrower" in front of me. "Read it," he said.

And so I did.

The title initially intrigued me, but my interest was held by the poetic quality to Eiseley's stories. Seeing the natural world through his eyes is a departure into another realm. His words cast new light onto seemingly simple ideas in nature. He sees a moth pass by while watching an outdoor opera and wonders, "whose is the real play?" Eiseley's writings capture the sheer beauty and innocence of nature. Only he can turn a chance encounter in the woods with a fox into a spiritual event. Only he can gain confidence by coming across a web-spinning spider: "the mind, it came to me as I slowly descended the ladder, is a very remarkable thing; it has gotten a kind of courage by looking at a spider in a street lamp."

So I shall give the simple advice I have been given: read it.

View more reviews or product details from Amazon.co.uk