Always the Mountains

A writer embruces the tough and often ignored questions about our place on earth; Over the past decade, David Rothenberg has emerged as one of our most eloquent observers of the interplay between nature, culture, and technology. These nineteen works exemplify what has been called Rothenberg’s “”amiable”” mix of interests, styles, and approaches. He moves effortlessly among nature writing, Eastern and Western philosophy, and environmental advocacy. “”Go against the grain of species,”” Rothenberg beckons to us, “”and think for more than for ourselves.”” In settings that range from wildest Norway to his own front porch in upstate New York, Rothenberg discusses the Hudson River School of painters, the hazy provenance of Chief Seattle’s famous speech, ecoterrorism, suburbia, the World Wide Web, and much more. He asks if we can save a place less obtrusively than by turning it into a park. He muses on the plight of a pacifist beset by a swarm of mosquitoes. He ascends Mt. Ventoux with Petrarch and Mt. Katahdin with Thoreau. In Always the Mountains, Rothenberg dares us to “”enjoy the fundamental uncertainty that grounds human existence,”” to wean ourselves from the habit of simple answers and embrace the world’s vastness.