On Trails

June 20, 2016
In this engrossing meditation on trails in animal and human societies, journalist Moor surveys the natural and social histories of trail-making, from the half-billion-year-old fossilized trails of Ediacaran blobs to the pheromone trails of ants, the well-judged and emotionally meaningful trails of elephants (they may carve routes to the graves of relatives), and the ancient Native American trails that underlie much of the modern U.S. road network. He styles these disparate trails as a kind of "external memory" whereby, as one individual follows in the tracks of another for prosaic reasons, a larger template for collective movement is unwittingly constructed. In fine participant-journalist fashion, the author dives into the trail-blazing himself, doing a stint as a shepherd trying to guide wayward sheep and goats through the countryside; mapping out hiking trails in Morocco, where the locals are baffled by the notion of foreigners traipsing around on barren mountainsides; and walking the Appalachian Trail, where exhaustion and rain are leavened by intense camaraderie. Moor combines vivid reportage told in supple prose with lucid explorations of science and history in an absorbing account of how travelers shape and are shaped by the land they pass through. Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Literary Agency.

October 1, 2016

Moore, an award-winning environmental journalist, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2009, an experience that led him to contemplate the nature and history of trail making. The book that resulted from this exploration details a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee; a stint herding sheep in Black Mesa, AZ, near Navajo and Hopi reservations; and a hunt for old Cherokee trails in the Southeast. While the book itself defies easy categorization and resembles the kind of walking Moore engages in, meandering and immersive, the author primarily concerns himself with why humans, animals, and insects form trails; and why some survive while others disappear. Elephants create routes that lead them to the graves of their loved ones, while shepherds and sheep mold one another, collaborating in the mapping of effective paths. Most modern American roads were formed by the Native Americans who resided here for thousands of years. Native American pathmaking grew from the need to stalk game, and Moore notes that the Cherokee trekked across landscapes in moccasins heel-to-toe as if on a tightrope. Today we clomp through in heavy hiking boots; the goal is no longer to stalk or hunt but wandering for its own sake. VERDICT For fans of Annie Dillard and Jared Diamond alike, this book is suitable for all readers and is well worth the journey.--Barrie Olmstead, Sacramento P.L.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.