Chasing Clayoquot

First published in 2004, and now with a new preface by the author, this book of natural history, environmentalism, and politics explores one of the earth's last primeval places: Clayoquot Sound. Close to a million visitors come to this unesco Biosphere Reserve along Vancouver Island's west coast, drawn by its unspoiled natural beauty. Robert Kennedy, Jr. writes in the foreword: "I am grateful for this book because it reminds me of what I loved best about being involved in the fight for Clayoquot Sound . . . It was a place that engaged all your senses."

As Barry Lopez did with the north in Arctic Dreams, David Pitt-Brooke, called "a Thoreau for Clayoquot" by the Globe and Mail, takes the reader on twelve journeys, one for each month of the year. Each journey covers the outstanding natural event of that season: whale watching in April, shorebird migration in May, the salmon spawn in October.

David Pitt-Brooke, a veterinarian and researcher, writes for a variety of nature and wildlife publications and has received a Canadian Science Writers' Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Science Journalism. He was an environmental education officer for Parks Canada for ten years. Pitt-Brooke lives in Tofino, British Columbia, on the edge of Clayoquot Sound.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., named of of Time's "Heroes for the Planet," is an activist, environmental lawyer, and co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. He has written several acclaimed books on politics and the environment, including the New York Times-bestselling Crimes Against Nature and The Riverkeepers.

"Pitt-Brooke's study of a beautiful landscape is quiet and engaging throughout, and meant to be relished slowly." -Booklist

"Chasing Clayoquot . . . reads like the ultimate park ranger's tour, balancing a deep knowledge of local ecosystems with an undeniable enthusiasm for them. Pitt-Brooke brings alive the geographical processes that continue to shape Clayoquot Sound and vividly evokes the scenery, flora, fauna and weather that make it unique." -Canadian Geographic

"A wondrous book, an exquisite meditation, beautifully conceived and eloquently written." -Wade Davis

"Though the book's emotional focus is on one singular geographical location, it's a clarion call for the preservation of all wild places." -Publishers Weekly