The Meadowlands: Wilderness Adventures at the Edge of a City
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.92 (703 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0385495080 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 220 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-06-22 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
With only a touch of irony, the author refers to his stomping ground as "Big Sky Country, east," imagining he's "in a National Geographic special and visiting little tribes of people unknown to everyone else." He pursues the history of the Meadowlands with equal enthusiasm. Revealed in these stories is a landscape bursting with nature amid the curious man-made detritus of urban consumption. By foot he tramps through the muck, and by canoe he navigates polluted rivers and marshes, noting the variegated species
Imagine a grunge nort Jersey version of John McPhee's classic The Pine Barrens and you'll get some idea of the idiosyncratic, fact-filled, and highly original work that is Robert Sullivan's The Meadowlands. Just five miles west of New York City, this vilified, half-developed, half-untamed, much dumped-on, and sometimes odiferous tract of swampland is home to rare birds and missing bodies, tranquil marshes and a major sports arena, burning garbage dumps and corporate headquarters, the remains of the original Penn Station--and maybe, just ,maybe, of the late Jimmy Hoffa. Robert Sullivan proves himself to be this fragile yet amazingly resilient region's perfect expolorer, historian, archaeologist, and comic bard.
Entertaining but Over-Hyped A Customer Perhaps it was the aggressive marketing, but I found myself disappointed with the book. There is much of interest and entertainment to be found here, but a number of vignettes (including the search for the ruins of Penn Station) came off oddly anti-climactic (perhaps because so little of the station still remains to be found) and the technique of the book (intro of a Meadowlands feature/area and a quirky personality to go with it) grows repetitive, so that by the end of the book one starts to know what to expect.There are a number of gaps in coverage, including construction of the Meadowlands c. William Hilger said Engaging and informative. I enjoyed this light set of anectdotes about urban North Jersey's backyard. As I child I'd often make similar explorations in the 'meadows', so Sullivan's stories remind me of wonderful times. (Of course, his explorations are like that of Sir Hillary's compared to my own forays.) The writing is easily digestible, with each anectdote standing alone - if you prefer to read in smaller sessions. I was quite happy to read all his adventures at once. Anyone with an interest in the outdoors, and even an urban local like myself can learn a lot from this book - including an interesting mystery or two. I. "A book on New Jersey�s Meadowlands? Why not!" according to richards@popkin.com. If you've never set foot in New Jersey's Hackensack Meadowlands - New York City's Okie trailer-like front yard - journalist Robert Sullivan's "The Meadowlands" is a suitable and whimsical introduction to that quirky splotch of urbanity-surrounded wilderness. For most readers, this boggy unfamiliar realm is how the author describes it: a nearly uninhabitable patch of land, perhaps only glimpsed through a plane window as you land at Newark Airport from the north, or from your car window as you soar over the grassy flat lands on the elevated N.J. Turnpike. Weaving legend and fact in sprightly and