The Natural World

Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, award-winning author, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator who writes for children as well as adults. Sy lives with her husband, author Howard Mansfield and their Border Collie, Thurber, in New Hampshire.

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2015) “Has science ever been this deliciously hallucinatory?…. If there is a Mother Nature, her name is Sy Montgomery.” says New York Times bestselling author, Vicki Constantine Croke.

Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur (Atria/ Simon & Schuster, 2010).

The Good, Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood  (Ballantine Books/PenguinRandomhouse, 2006) A New York Times bestseller. “Sometimes it takes a too-smart-for-hi-own-good pig to open our eyes to what matters most in life.” wrote John Grogan, author of Marley and Me.

In Search of the Golden Moon Bear (Simon & Schuster, 2003) covers the mystery of this illusive animal and documents what may be a new species. To be republished by Chelsea Green.

Journey of the Pink Dolphin: An Amazon Quest (Simon & Schuster, 2000) chronicles Sy’s odyssey into the heart of the Amazon guided by
pink river dolphins. Says Joni Praded of Animals Magazine: “like reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez – with natural history.” To be republished by
Chelsea Green.

Seasons of the Wild: A Year of Nature’s Magic and Mysteries (Chapters, 1995). To be republished by Chelsea Green.

Spell of the Tiger: Man-Eaters of the Sunderbans (Houghton Mifflin, 1995) was praised by Christopher Lehman-Haupt of The New York Times as “fascinating and moving.” Sy and her book were the subjects of a National Geographic documentary which aired in the fall of 1996.

Nature’s Everyday Mysteries: A Field Guide to the World in Your Backyard (Chapters, 1993).

Walking With the Great Apes (Houghton Mifflin, 1991) is a study of primatologists Fossey, Goodall, and Galdikas. The New York Times Book Review described it as “fascinating, shrewd, sensitive, and thought-provoking.” It was listed in The New York Times’ Most Notable Books, 1991.

Julian Crandall Hollick

Ganga: A Journey Down the Ganges River (Random House India, 2007; Island Press, 2007)

Katherine Payne

Katherine Payne has attracted international attention as a naturalist and acoustic biologist for her semibnak work on elephant communication. She is currently at Cornell University’s Biocoustical Research program. She lives in Ithaca, New York, and is the mother of four (now adult) children.

Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants (Simon & Schuster, 1998; Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998; Penguin, 1999) is Katie’s moving personal account based on a ten-year study of how elephants communicate that interweaves science with autobiography, myth, and spirituality.

*Work in Progress: Based on Katie Payne’s continuing work, a memoir of her recent experiences with the elephants of Central Africa in creating an elephant dictionary documenting the many messages elephants are able to communicate.

Dick Russell

Dick Russell is an award-winning environmental journalist.

The Striper Wars: An American Fish Story (Island Press, 2005).

“…This is the saga of the greatest, most hard-won fisheries management success story in the world…” Carl Safina, author of The Blue Ocean.

“…We are grateful for Dick Russell’s brilliant writing, but the stripers are even more grateful for his efforts on their behalf.” Richard Ellis, author of
The Empty Ocean and Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn.

Eye of the Whale: An Epic Journey from Baja to Siberia (Simon & Schuster, 2001/Paperback edition Island Press, 2004) is the account of Russell’s investigative and spiritual journey as he follows the route of the 19th century whaling captain turned naturalist, John Melville Scammon, from Baja, California to Siberia, in search of the Gray whale in its habitat.

In praise of the book, Robert F. Kennedy writes, “Dick Russell has done for the gray whale what he did for the striped bass – taught us to love both the fish and the fisherman…” Robert Michael Pyle – author of Chasing Monarchs, “If there is an Ishmael for our times, it is Dick Russell.”

With Governor Jessse Ventura (see History,Politics, and Current Affairs) the following New York Times bestsellers:
Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me (Skyhorse, 2009).
American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies that the Government Tells Us (Skyhorse, 2010)

63 Documents the Government Doesn’t Want You to Read (Skyhorse 2011

Democrips and Rebloodlicans: No More Gangs in Government (Skyhorse, 2013)

They Killed Our President: 63 Reasons to Believe There Was a Conspiracy to Assassinate JFK (Skyhorse, 2014)

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Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D.

Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D. is associate professor of science and mathematics at the College of General Studies, Boston University.

True Skepticism and Psychic Phenomena: One Hundred and Twenty Five Years of Scientific Research on the Paranormal
(Tarcher, 2007).

Pyramid Quest: Secrets of Giza and the Dawn of Civilization (Tarcher, 2005). With Logan Yonaviak.

Voyages of the Pyramid Builders (Tarcher, 2003).

Voyage of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes & Ancient Civilizations (Harmony, 1999). With Robert Aquinas McNally. “Schoch’s courage and honesty emerge on every page…it reads like a thriller.” Colin Wilson, author of From Atlantis to the Sphinx.

Brenda Peterson

is the author of four acclaimed novels, three collections of essays, and non-fiction. She is the editor of numerous anthologies. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, and the Utne Reader. Brenda is “one of the most eloquent nature writers of our time.”

I Want to be Left Behind: My Rapture Here On Earth (A Merloyd Lawrence book, 2010).