David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work

Author: Jack Nisbet

During a meteoric career that spanned from 1825 to 1834, David Douglas made the first systematic collections of flora and fauna over many parts of the greater Pacific Northwest. Despite his early death, colleagues in Great Britain attached the Douglas name to moreThis volume is the companion book to a major museum exhibit about Douglas's Pacific Northwest travels that opened at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane in September 2012. than 80 different species, including the iconic timber tree of the region. David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work is a colorfully illustrated collection of essays that examines various aspects of Douglas's career, demonstrating the connections between his work in the Pacific Northwest of the 19th century and the place we know today. From the Columbia River's perilous bar to luminous blooms of mountain wildflowers; from ever-changing frontiers of technology to the quiet seasonal rhythms of tribal families gathering roots, these essays collapse time to shed light on people and landscapes.

This volume is the companion book to a major museum exhibit about Douglas's Pacific Northwest travels that opened at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane in September 2012.

This volume is the companion book to a major museum exhibit about Douglas' Pacific Northwest travels that opened at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane in September 2012

David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work: An Illustrated Exploration Across Two Centuries in the Pacific Northwest

The Guardian (UK):

 

During a meteoric career that spanned from 1825 to 1834, David Douglas made the first systematic collections of flora and fauna over many parts of the greater Pacific Northwest. Despite his early death, colleagues in Great Britain attached the Douglas name to more than 80 different species, including the iconic timber tree of the region. David Douglas, a Naturalist at Work is a colorfully illustrated collection of essays that examines various aspects of Douglas's career, demonstrating the connections between his work in the Pacific Northwest of the 19th century and the place we know today. From the Columbia River's perilous bar to luminous blooms of mountain wildflowers; from ever-changing frontiers of technology to the quiet seasonal rhythms of tribal families gathering roots, these essays collapse time to shed light on people and landscapes. 

If you enjoyed the author's biography of David Douglas, The Collector, you should enjoy this book. 


Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Crow Planet:

This new volume will delight anyone with an interest in wild Northwest history and the naturalist's adventure. In these elegantly crafted essays, Nisbet guides us beneath the surface of Douglas's narrative, and into deeper questions of plants, people, and place. The journey leaves the reader inspired, challenged, and more attuned to this unique landscape than ever before.


Estella B. Leopold, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington:

The young David Douglas comes alive with the reading of this incredible thoughtful account, where upon revisiting the exact sites where Douglas collected 199 years ago, the author charmingly describes the species of plants and animals that Douglas encountered. This is a must read for any of us interested in the natural history of the Pacific Northwest.


The Seattle Times:

A beautifully illustrated companion to The Collector, the author's best-selling biography of Douglas that won the 2010 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, this volume offers 10 essays that examine the Scottish naturalist's three trips to the Northwest between 1825-1834 and connects them to modern reality.

The Bellingham Herald:

David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work makes perceptive connections between people and place, and tantalizing connections across time.

 

The Oregonian:

The history of the Northwest is rich and vital, and readers interested in the region are well-served by motivated historians and publishers committed to quality books. This season's list is highlighted by another beautifully designed and written book about David Douglas by Jack Nisbet of Spokane.


Cascadia Weekly:

As exemplified in David Douglas: A Naturalist at Work, Nisbet’s method of interpreting regional history isn’t the usual staid recitation of dates and facts. In pursuit of bringing stories nearly 200 years old to life, he walks trails, visits reservations and tribal elders, charters pilot boats, climbs trees and wild-harvests food. His studies may begin by perusing old maps or historical journals in dusty archives, but his curiosity soon has him bounding out the door and into the same landscapes his subjects once roamed... What is noteworthy about his approach -- by first reporting, then inhabiting and finally extending these early explorations -- is that he actually places himself in direct lineage with the great literary naturalists of America. Nisbet is a modern-day John Muir, climbing to the tops of precarious fir trees to collect cones, and a contemporary of Henry David Thoreau, digging up native camas bulbs in order to taste the earthy fruits of the land.


Barbara Lloyd McMichael, The Bookmonger:

David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work makes perceptive connections between people and place, and tantalizing connections across time.