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Articles by Wade Davis
Have a B.C. book lover on your gift list? Here are 10 picks from 2025
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.If you still have a few names on your holiday gift list, you’re in luck.The gift of a great book is a perfect last-minute option.
North star: Reflections on Canada and being Canadian
The strongest memories of my youth in Montreal are of ice storms roaring out of the Arctic, snapping oaks and maples at the base. I remember boys playing hockey on the St. Lawrence River, slapshots disappearing over the ice floes, the black spire of the Catholic church dissolving in the winter winds that turned sky and land into an infinite whiteness without contour or relief. On school mornings, the sound of snow creaking beneath my boots.
Explorer John Hemming awarded Lawrence J. Burpee Medal
On May 12, I had the honour of helping to recognize an extraordinary scholar, activist, and dear friend, John Hemming, with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Lawrence J. Burpee Medal, which celebrates outstanding contributions to the advancement of the field of geography. Honour, decency, kindness, and generosity are aspirational traits of character in many lands; in Canada they come to you as birthmarks.
Conflictuados por la coca
Invasión de territorios y control de los mercados de coca lícitos e ilícitos A pesar de la condición sagrada de la coca para algunos Pueblos Indígenas y de su importancia en la identidad política de otros, la expansión del cultivo ilícito de coca en territorios indígenas está planteando una grave amenaza a la seguridad y autonomía de las comunidades que viven allí.
Here are the 30 bestselling books from international authors this week
Skip to Content Advertisement 1 Here are the 30 bestselling books from international authors this week. • • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content NEW RELEASES We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Beneath the Surface of Things
Apr. 2024. 264p. Greystone, $27.95 (9781778400445). 814. REVIEW. First published March 1, 2024 (Booklist). Global explorations of anthropological and ethnobotanic intent seeded Davis’ many previous books, including Magdalena: River of Dreams (2020). The essays collected here report on the world traveler’s at-home journeys through books and memories during the COVID-19 pandemic. A writer of breathtaking precision, Davis is as intrepid and original a thinker as he is an astute observer.
How Decades of Drought and the Climate Crisis Could Mean the Twilight of the American West
I first visited the Grand Canyon in 1967 with two school friends and an elderly teacher who filled his summers by taking young students on long road trips, camping across the country. I mostly remember the color of the sky and the immensity of the chasm, with the Colorado River as seen from the canyon rim just a dirt thread lying across the bottom of the world. The nearest we got to the river was a mule ride down the Bright Angel Trail, three hours that left us sunburnt and swarming with ticks.
Leaders Are Readers: Q2 Reading List
The suggested readings in the second installment of the "Leaders Are Readers" series examine the relationship between health and leadership, the value of intuition, the benefits of systems thinking, and the role authentic purpose plays in motivating teams and moving organizations forward. Recently, my love for leadership and learning has taken me to exciting places.
exploration | The Walrus
Understanding our universe, from the centre of earth to the far reaches of space
Riverman by Ben McGrath: 9781101973615
In a Sunburned Country Paperback $18.00 The Salt Path Paperback $18.00 Into the Silence Paperback $20.00 Bill Bryson’s African Diary Hardcover $13.00 The Ride of Her Life Paperback $18.00 Ernest Hemingway Paperback $20.00 Turn Right at Machu Picchu Paperback $18.00 Madhouse at the End of the Earth Paperback $18.00 Out of Africa Hardcover $24.00 Mr. B Hardcover $40.00 A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker “A portrait of forgotten American byways and the eccentric characters who populate...
Around the Bend | Literary Review of Canada
Wade Davis begins his book Magdalena near the mouth of Colombia’s principal river, in Bocas de Ceniza on the northern coast, on a jetty that extends many kilometres into the Caribbean Sea. Men and women who work the surrounding waters live in shacks that precariously line the breakwater, and on their bleached walls, they’ve painted humble poetry that praises the fishing, the peace, and the sound of the waves.
Why Anthropology Matters
In 2012, both Kiplinger and Forbes ranked anthropology as the least valuable undergraduate major, unleashing a small wave of indignation as many outside the field rushed to defend the study of culture as ideal preparation for any life or career in an interconnected and globalized world.
Top Longreads of 2020 From Rolling Stone
Each year we publish tens of thousands of stories, covering music news and trends, political analysis, how culture is constantly shifting, and critical takes on our entertainment landscape. So we realize some may get lost in the shuffle — especially in a year when it seemed we were consuming more media than ever before as we tried to make sense of the world in which we live. And there are always interviews, investigative features, and provocative storytelling that deserves to be revisited.
Eight essential books for geographers
A list of books that everyone interested in geography should have on their shelves PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall Author, journalist and Geographical columnist Tim Marshall demonstrates the importance of geography in shaping and defining global politics – a reminder that despite being the ‘the most overlooked’ factor in world affairs analysis, geography is always there, often forcing the hand of world leaders.
ENTANGLED LIFE: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Future by Merlin Sheldrake book review
There aren’t many science books that thank pieces of music and particular locations in their acknowledgments, but this isn’t an ordinary science book. It’s a discipline-disregarding eruption that blows the subject of mycology wide open and poses far more questions than it answers. Stay connected with the Geographical newsletter! In these turbulent times, we’re committed to telling expansive stories from across the globe, highlighting the everyday lives of normal but extraordinary people.
The best books of 2020: Nature, climate and the environment
A key category for us here at Geographical, we review all the best nature and environment books in our monthly magazine. Here’s our pick of the best from 2020... IRREPLACEABLE: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places by Julian Hoffman Nature and place aren’t mutually exclusive ideas.
THE NINE LIVES OF PAKISTAN: Dispatches From A Divided Nation by Declan Walsh book review
There are a number of common ways to structure books that tell the story of one particular country. An author might choose to do so geographically, moving from region to region, or chronologically.
The best books of 2020: history of place
Our own category, ‘history of place’ covers all those books that tell the story of a particular location – its landscapes, people, wars, celebrations and culture.
MAGDALENA: River of Dreams by Wade Davis book review
Here is a towering revelation of the magnificent, tragic country of Colombia. One of the most biologically rich and most diverse states in the world and yet, throughout its turbulent history, it has been ravaged by savage conflict and rapacious commercial abuse, culminating in La Violencia, the period of violence that lasted for ten years from 1948 to 1958.
The Thrilling Adventure Story To Read This Christmas
Where did you get the idea for the book, Ed? I read a couple of paragraphs about Wilson in another book about Everest (the brilliant Into the Silence by Wade Davis) and the story stuck with me. There was something so vivid and thrilling about the tale: a man with no climbing experience who attempted to fly to, then scale, the world’s highest mountain, alone. Over the next few years, Maurice Wilson wouldn’t leave me alone. I sometimes used to wake up thinking about him.
The Best Reviewed Science, Technology, and Nature Books, September Edition
Wade Davis’ Magdalena, Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s World of Wonders, Jill Lepore’s If Then, Jenny Kleeman’s Sex Robots and Vegan Meat, and Richard Seymour’s The Twittering Machineall feature among September’s best reviewed science, technology, and nature books. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.” 1.
Exploration Is a Flawed Notion
“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” —T. S. Eliot Most of the Earth remains unexplored. We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the floor of the ocean. We spend billions sending probes into space to seek evidence of water on Mars or ice on the moons of Jupiter while largely ignoring what lies below the seas that cover 70 percent of our blue planet.
A river runs through it
Wade Davis is an anthropologist, ethnobotanist, photographer and author whose fieldwork has taken him to some of the world’s most remote places. The Caribbean sky is the color of dreams, and the clouds appear as shadows on the still surface of Colombia’s Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. Our skiff scudded over the water as we left the narrow neck of shoreline behind at Tasajeras. The wetland expanded in every direction.
Thank You John Lewis
In this bonus “thank you” episode, Jen shares a goodbye letter from Rep. John Lewis, updates the list of the COVID infected in Congress, and reads lots of excellent, information rich comments from the Congressional Dish producers.
Subscribe to read | Financial Times
Become an FT subscriber to read: Wade Davis on the art of exploring An intelligent take on global lifestyle, arts and culture Insightful...
Wade Davis on the art of exploring
We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first...
Has COVID-19 signalled the end of the American era?
Has COVID-19 signalled the end of the American era? Professor Wade Davis argues that the virus reveals what America has become, and even if President Donald Trump is defeated, a profoundly polarized nation may not be able to find a way forward.
The tragic mountain: the making of The Epic of Everest | Sight & Sound
John Noel was a soldier by profession but an artist in spirit, whose contributions as a pioneering photographer and cinematographer are only now, with the release of The Epic of Everest (1924), coming to be recognised.
How Covid-19 Signals the End of the American Era
Wade Davis holds the Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. His award-winning books include “Into the Silence” and “The Wayfinders.” His new book, “Magdalena: River of Dreams,” is published by Knopf. Never in our lives have we experienced such a global phenomenon.
The tragic mountain: the making of The Epic of Everest and the fall of Tibet | Sight & Sound
John Noel was a soldier by profession but an artist in spirit, whose contributions as a pioneering photographer and cinematographer are only now, with the release of The Epic of Everest (1924), coming to be recognised.
The tragic mountain: the making of The Epic of Everest
John Noel was a soldier by profession but an artist in spirit, whose contributions as a pioneering photographer and cinematographer are only now, with the release of The Epic of Everest (1924), coming to be recognised.
Seven books to experience the outdoors while in isolation
The Overstory by Richard Powers The 2019 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, The Overstory is an ambitious work that centers on the stories of nine characters who form close relationships with trees and later turn to environmental activism in an impassioned struggle to protect the world’s threatened forests. The trees themselves, with their own fascinating lives, become characters in a novel about humans’ connection with the natural world — and their separation from it.
How Covid-19 Signals the End of the American Era
Wade Davis holds the Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. His award-winning books include “Into the Silence” and “The Wayfinders.” His new book, “Magdalena: River of Dreams,” is published by Knopf. Never in our lives have we experienced such a global phenomenon.
River of Dreams: Davis,Wade: Amazon.com.au: Books
Magdalena: River of Dreams and millions of other books are available for instant access. | Start reading on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Where They Sing to the River: Sierra Nevada, the Heart of the World
Under orders from the Spanish Crown, Rodrigo de Bastidas reached the coast of South America in 1501. Sailing westward from the Guajira, his eye drawn to the snowcapped mountains that soared higher than any in the known world, he met the Tairona, the most elaborate civilization encountered by the Spaniards up to that time.
Immersion
From reviews in Science and Nature to high praise from Carl Safina, E.O. Wilson, and Alan Weisman, everyone is buzzing about Immersion. We caught up with author Abbie Gascho Landis to talk about the book, freshwater mussels, and our relationship to the natural world. Read our conversation below, and don't forget to read Chapter 1 of Immersion in last week's #ForewordFriday. You’re a veterinarian, meaning your background is with vertebrates like cats and dogs.
Patrick Wilcken - Troubled Waters
The Magdalena river, which forms the centrepiece of writer and anthropologist Wade Davis’s rich and rewarding new book, is like an inverted Mississippi. Running from south to north, it rises in the Andes and crosses the length of Colombia, flowing through cloud forests, tropical jungle, mangrove swamps and wetlands before disgorging into the Caribbean Sea. Its enormous drainage basin covers a quarter of the nation, including Colombia’s largest cities, Bogotá, Medellín and Cali.
Natural Defense
On the fourth of July, 1985, as the sun shone and the temperatures rose, people celebrated by eating watermelon. Then they got sick — becoming part of one of the nation’s largest episodes of foodborne illness caused by a pesticide. The outbreak began with a few upset stomachs in Oregon on July 3; by the next day, more than a dozen people in California were also doubling over with nausea, diarrhea, and stomach pain. A few suffered seizures.
The Problem With the Frozen Poop Knife Study
When, some weeks ago, I was first contacted by an online scientific publication asking me to review a submission on the subject of “shit knives”, I initially thought it was a hoax or some kind of practical joke. I had in mind the deliberately nonsensical papers written by Peter Boghossian, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay that were accepted for publication by academic journals such as Gender, Place and Culture. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
The Problem with the Frozen Poop Knife Study
In an experiment designed to test whether a tool forged by the cold from human waste could be used to kill a dog, surely the frozen implements created in the lab ought to have been tested on the skin of a dog.Photograph by K.H.Trudeau / Shutterstock When, some weeks ago, I was first contacted by an online scientific publication asking me to review a submission on the subject of “shit knives”, I initially thought it was a hoax or some kind of practical joke.
The Problem with the Frozen Poop Knife Study
Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . When, some weeks ago, I was first contacted by an online scientific publication asking me to review a submission on the subject of “shit knives”, I initially thought it was a hoax or some kind of practical joke. I had in mind the deliberately nonsensical papers written by Peter Boghossian, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay that were accepted for publication by academic journals such as Gender, Place and Culture.
Why Indigenous languages matter
In 1992 Michael Krauss, then head of the Alaska Native Language Center in Fairbanks, published The World’s Languages in Crisis, one of the most disturbing scientific papers ever written. It began with a litany of loss. Among the Eyak of Alaska’s Copper River, where Krauss had worked, there remained but two speakers of the language, both elderly.
Why Indigenous languages matter
Some 600 languages, Krauss reported, had fewer than 100 surviving speakers. Half the world’s languages were being kept alive by a fifth of one per cent of the global population. Of the 7,000 extant languages, fully half were not being taught to children. Every fortnight, some elder passes away and carries with him or her into the grave the last syllables of an ancient tongue. Every two weeks, another language dies. Krauss’s paper was widely read.
‘A Death in the Rainforest’ Review: To Hear a Dying Tongue
As a young anthropologist, in 1985, Don Kulick traveled to the most remote reaches of Papua New Guinea to study how a language dies. Motivating his quest was a haunting consensus then emerging among linguists that fully half of the world’s 7,000 languages are teetering on the brink of extinction.
5 Book Titles Selected by FLUX Power Contributors » FLUX
We asked contributors from the FLUX Power issue: What’s a recent read that empowered you lately? Images by Skye Yonamine 1. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Recommended by Timothy A. Schuler “Tells the story of the Osage tribe in the 1920s, shortly after oil is discovered under land deeded to them by the U.S. government. When tribe members begin dying off in increasingly suspicious manner, the then nascent FBI sends agents to investigate.
Book Feminista Jones for Speaking, Events and Appearances | APB Speakers
Biography Feminista Jones is a Philadelphia-based feminist writer, public speaker, retired social worker, and community activist. She is an award-winning blogger and the author of four books, including the critically acclaimed 2019 release, Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World From the Tweets to the Streets.
A narwhal frolics with the belugas: Why interspecies adoptions happen
Adoption poses an evolutionary dilemma, so why is it so well-documented in the animal kingdom? Since the age of the Roman Empire and the story of how the twins Romulus and Remus were raised by a wolf, tales of interspecies adoptions have captivated the human imagination. The story that emerged from Canada’s St. Lawrence River in July of 2018 was no exception.
On Ecological Amnesia
[Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the new book, Memory, published Oct. 1, 2018 by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at UBC.] Some years ago, I visited two places that in a different, more sensitive world would have surely been enshrined as memorials to the victims of the ecological catastrophes that occurred there. The first was the site of the last great nesting flock of passenger pigeons, a small stretch of woodland on the banks of the Green River near Bowling Green, Ohio.
Year four: Tracing Mount Polley’s toxic legacy
It was one of the largest environmental disasters in Canada’s history. Now, four years after the failure of the tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine, scientists and local residents alike grapple with the uncertain impacts of millions of cubic metres of contaminated waste that still linger in Quesnel Lake This is part one of a two-part feature on the impacts of the Mount Polley mine spill, four years in. Read part two.
Identity of a New World Psychoactive Toad
, and The Poisons of the Tropical Toad Bufo Aqua . : – . A Pointer to a New Hallucinogen of Insect Origin . : – . Hunting and Hunting Magic among the Amahuaca . : – . , , and Biogenic Amines. In , edited by , pp. – . , . , and A Pharmacognostic Study of Ch'an Su, the Dried Venom of the Chinese toad . : – . The Shadow of the Olmecs. Horizon Autumn: – . , and Chemistry and Pharmacology of Frog Venoms. In , edited by and , pp. – . Venomous Animals and Their Venoms, vol. . , . Ritual Enemas and Snuffs in the Americas .
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