Traces of an Omnivore

This book presents 17 previously published essays by the late Shepard (The Company of Others), a long-time leader in the fields of human ecology and environmental philosophy. In each piece, from slightly varying perspectives, he attempts to answer the same two questions: Who are we? Where did we come from? Shepard claims that our evolutionary heritage, shaped by our three-million-year history as hunters and gatherers, remains largely intact, making it impossible for us to separate ourselves from nature. Indeed, he interprets many of our social activities, such as dining rituals and the telling of fairy tales, as substitutes for more ancient ones. Despite a prolific publication record, Shepard is not well known. In the introduction, Jack Turner says that this, in part, is because ""Shepard's books are formidably intellectual, devoid of nods to popularization."" This collection demonstrates this point perfectly. A couple of the essays--""The Corvidean Millennium; or, Letter from an Old Crow"" and ""Advice from the Pleistocene""--are a joy to read. The others are largely impenetrable. (Nov.)