The Bookshelf: April 6, 2016

Trib+Water is joining with respected books authority Kirkus Reviews to bring you select reviews of books of note in the field of water studies. For more book reviews and recommendations, visit Kirkus.com.

THE GREAT CLOD: Notes and Memories on the Natural History of China and Japan

by Gary Snyder

Snyder (This Present Moment, 2015, etc.) was an environmentalist before that word was widely applied … He has also been a student of Asian religions for seven decades. … The author begins on a rueful note that will be repeated elsewhere: that he had imagined, in his exuberant youth, that by going to China and Japan he would be immersing himself in civilizations that treated the land better than the materialist West did. Not so, he writes ... “large, civilized societies inevitably have a harsh effect on the natural environment, regardless of philosophical or religious values.” … Elegant and thoughtful, with much to read between the lines in commentary on a long life’s work. Students and admirers of Snyder will be enchanted and intrigued.

For the full review, visit Kirkus.com.