About This Life by Barry Lopez

A Review by Sarah Moore

Reading this book of essays reminded me again why I like Barry Lopez' writing. He cares about the people, places, plants, and animals that he observes, and he writes about them in a way that makes the reader care about them too. These essays are wide-ranging in subject, some of them are very personal and all of them are interesting. One ("Flight") is about a journey on 747 freighters that takes him to different climates, time zones, and cultures throughout the world, while accompanying an amazing array of cargo to and fro, and ends up being a confusing whirlwind of a trip covering tens of thousands of miles over a period of about 10 days. Another ("Speed") begins with Barry and a friend, two college students, speeding across Indiana in a Corvette convertible and is all about the car, equipment, and speed. The young men are confident and self-assured, until they reach their destination - the country of the Mennonites, where they begin to feel foolish driving their racy car through a region where people live simply, work with hand tools, and farm with horses. It is an interesting contrast in ways of thinking and ways of life. Another essay ("A Passage of the Hands") is about the life experiences of his own hands, the knowledge they have gained, the levels of skill they have acquired, the textures they have felt. All of these essays are interesting. By reading them you will perhaps learn about some things you have never before thought of and re-think some things you only just thought you already knew about.

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