Natural Acts

Neither ranting angrily about political issues nor waxing rhapsodic about the beauty of nature, Dean (Caring for the Family Soul, etc.) creates a new kind of environmental handbook. Full of facts relating to everything from zoo conditions to waste management, each of the ten chapters fosters a different sort of ""natural"" interaction. Dean takes us from potentially fearful encounters with wildlife to neighborly greetings at the front porch, ending each chapter with 10 specific things to do, learn or change with regard to the ways we think about nature, or each other. Measures can be a simple as picking berries, or as involved as learning the names of the weeds found outside your window. Dean also advocates larger-scale changes, but rather than pit logger against environmentalist or zookeeper against animal rights activist, she encourages a new kind of activism that ""includes a willingness to not only look at both sides of an issue... but also... a willingness to compromise, to seek some middle ground, so the outcome becomes a win-win situation for both sides."" Twenty-four b&w photos further enhance the appeal of this gently issued ""call of the wild."" (July)