kickerdad -
As the son of a forester, even though my own path went in a different direction, I developed an interest in 'the woods' and having enjoyed 'Walden' many, many years ago, I was looking forward to reading "Faith in a Seed." Wow! What mind-numbing rambling. I have decided that Thoreau had some variation of OCD. What he chose to observe, and the detailed recording of these observations, was fascinating only from the stand point that someone would spend so much time on so many details to reveal so little. Of course, it is difficult to separate what we 'know' today from what was known in his time. And numerous others, more qualified than I, have written regarding his conclusions and the approach of his 'scientific method'. Normally, I would have put this book down after the first 40-50 pages, but . . . interwoven in his documentation of which seeds fell straight to the ground and which went aloft on a windy days, were, ahem, seeds of poetic wisdom. And it was about the time I would consider putting the book aside that one of these kernels would open before me, and yes, this was enough to keep me moving forward to the end. "Faith in a Seed" is not a difficult read, though I am fairly versed in the types of plants he most often discusses and can envision many of the scenarios in my head as he describes them. I can see where someone not familiar with the difference between a pitch pine and scrub pine or a beech and elm might have a difficult time because a substantial number of the details would lose their meaning. Other than the interspersed philosophical meanderings, what I found truly intriguing were not the details but the more general references, providing insight into the environment during his day. Worth a read? Sure, why not, you can always say you're reading Thoreau!
