Mariposa Road

"Mariposa Road is a mighty slice of North America, seen through the eyes of one of its most eloquent naturalists. This is extreme butterflying at its best."--Martin Warren, Chief Executive, Butterfly Conservation, Wareham, Dorset, U.K. Lepidopterists will appreciate Bobs sightings, chases, and captures, and natural history remarks on species both familiar and unknown. A reader with only a general interest in natural history can vicariously join Bob on his rays, enjoying the adventures, learn much about regional biotas, and either elect to look up specific butterflies in a field guide or choose not to. There is much for anyone among a wide readership to consume and ponder.Michael M. Collins, author of Moth Catcher Mariposa Road is at one and the same time both a serious endeavor in consciousness-raising in conservation biology, and a set of deeply personal reflections based on a lifetime of commitment to the conservation of invertebrates and butterflies in particular.Francie Chew, Tufts University In Mariposa Road were invited along as Bob Pyle crisscrosses the country on a yearlong hunt for butterflies. He writes of the land and the creatures in it with such extraordinary vividness and gracedescribes his adventures and unexpected challenges with such good humorthat we are borne aloft, we can see it all and love it, as he does. Youll never have so much fun armchair traveling!Molly Gloss, author of The Hearts of Horses What Roger Tory Peterson was for birds, Bob Pyle is for butterfliestheir most impassioned advocate and ceaseless popularizer. From the dusty heat of Texas and the tropical lushness of Hawaii to the legendary outhouse of the Midnight Sun in the Alaskan Arctic, Pyle is a traveling companion who never grows dull.Scott Weidensaul, author of Of a Feather and Return to Wild America Toss out any notion you might have had about butterfly watchers and meet Bob Pyle: scientist and daredevil, philosopher and magician, pioneer and rebel, and the finest of companions for a vagabond journey. Follow him down the rip-roaring Mariposa Road and youll never look at a butterfly, or the world, in the same way again.Kenn Kaufman, author of Kingbird Highway -- Kenn Kaufman Lepidopterists will appreciate Bobs sightings, chases, and captures, and natural history remarks on species both familiar and unknown. A reader with only a general interest in natural history can vicariously join Bob on his rays, enjoying the adventures, learn much about regional biotas, and either elect to look up specific butterflies in a field guide or choose not to. There is much for anyone among a wide readership to consume and ponder.Michael M. Collins, author of Moth Catcher -- Michael M. Collins Mariposa Road is at one and the same time both a serious endeavor in consciousness-raising in conservation biology, and a set of deeply personal reflections based on a lifetime of commitment to the conservation of invertebrates and butterflies in particular.Francie Chew, Tufts University -- Francie Chew In Mariposa Road were invited along as Bob Pyle crisscrosses the country on a yearlong hunt for butterflies. He writes of the land and the creatures in it with such extraordinary vividness and gracedescribes his adventures and unexpected challenges with such good humorthat we are borne aloft, we can see it all and love it, as he does. Youll never have so much fun armchair traveling!Molly Gloss, author of The Hearts of Horses -- Molly Gloss What Roger Tory Peterson was for birds, Bob Pyle is for butterfliestheir most impassioned advocate and ceaseless popularizer. From the dusty heat of Texas and the tropical lushness of Hawaii to the legendary outhouse of the Midnight Sun in the Alaskan Arctic, Pyle is a traveling companion who never grows dull.Scott Weidensaul, author of Of a Feather and Return to Wild America -- S

Robert Michael Pyle is the author of sixteen books, including Chasing Monarchs and Wintergreen, winner of the John Burroughs Medal. He has studied and written about natural history throughout his career, and as a butterfly conservation consultant, writer, and teacher he has worked in every state and many countries. He lives along a tributary of the Lower Columbia River in southwest Washington.