Raven's Witness

August 1, 2020

Lentfer, lifelong Alaskan and author of Faith of Cranes, offers this tribute to friend, anthropologist, and environmental writer Richard K. Nelson (1941-2019). Readers will be fascinated to learn how Nelson, who grew up in Wisconsin with an interest in reptiles, developed into a scholar of Alaska Native cultures, and how those academic pursuits would morph, more generally, into studies of humankind's relationship to nature. Those interests would be expressed in acclaimed books (Hunters of the Northern Ice; The Island Within), activism, and, much later, radio programs; Nelson would earn recognition as host of the public radio series Encounters. Lentfer, a biologist by training, provides a generous sampling from Nelson's books, letters, and journals. Drawing on these, and not infrequently his own imaginative license, the author gives compelling shape to his subject's vigor and curiosity, showing the contradictions of his life, including Nelson's dislike of winter. Along the way, readers can savor his brilliant, sensitive observations of Alaska Natives, along with the state's flora, fauna, and land. VERDICT For those unfamiliar with Nelson's thought and work, this book serves as an engaging introduction, and probable precursor, to more exhaustive critical biographies to come.--Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2020
Cultural anthropologist, conservationist, and nature writer Richard Nelson was an Alaskan icon, revered for his decades of immersive work on the cultures of Alaskan indigenous groups. Prior to his 2019 death, he cooperated significantly with biographer and fellow Alaskan Lentfer (Faith of Cranes, 2011) for this outstanding biography, which takes a deep look at not only Nelson's inquiries, but also his education in the bush and the friendships he forged there. Relying on extensive journals, letters, recordings, publications, and interviews, Lentfer weaves Nelson's work around the larger story of his extraordinary life, beginning with his arrival in the Inupiaq village of Wainwright. In prose that powerfully evokes the richness of the landscape he writes about, Lentfer takes readers on a touching and remarkable journey, managing to create a heartfelt portrait not only of his complex and fascinating subject but also of the people Nelson loved and the place he called home. With its artful presentation of a writer's life and struggles, Raven's Witness takes readers on a profoundly American adventure that soars through last word.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)