The Common Uncommon: A Forest Journey
Author(s): Bernd Heinrich (Author)
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
- Publication Date: April 21, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 224 pages
- ISBN-10: 1324021101
- ISBN-13: 9781324021100
Book Description
From the renowned author of A Year in the Maine Woods, the intimate reflections of a lifetime spent observing the natural world.
For forty years, Bernd Heinrich has been ensconced in the woods of the northern, or boreal, forest, living in his log cabin amidst a vast sea of spruce, fir, and larch in the mountains of western Maine. In a land of winter snow, summer heat, and at times fire, drought, and flood, all life confronts vast and occasionally rapid environmental changes, as one day, and one season, may be a completely different environment from the next.
The Common Uncommon captures the rhythms of Heinrich’s seasonal life. From the forest he first encountered as a child of German refugees, Heinrich combines his powers of observation with professional expertise, as he notes the beautiful, but not entirely idiosyncratic characteristics―the “common uncommon”―of spiders, ants, chestnut trees, porcupines, owls, and mice. From the elusive single-cell organism called a euglena, which swims in fresh water and is part animal, part plant, to the resourceful wood frog, which nearly freezes into ice each winter while protecting its cells with glucose, Heinrich’s musings on life in the forest stunningly capture the five states of Being, Becoming, Interbeing, Remembering, and Returning. With sharp, evocative prose, The Common Uncommon is a narrative of small surprises in nature, some delightful and some―brought on by climate change―devastating, all seen through the hawk eyes of a world-renowned naturalist.
Editorial Reviews
Review
― Amy Tan, New York Times-bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles
“Lyrical… This quietly revealing book immerses us in both the short- and long-term alterations Heinrich observed in his woods and gently teaches important environmental messages.”
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“Fascinating… You’ll always learn something new and intriguing along the way.”
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“Touching… An eloquent account of a long life well spent in the woods.”
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“A soothing but purposeful reflection… A great recommendation for readers interested in nature and travel.”
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About the Author
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