{"product_id":"a-natural-history-of-empty-lots-field-notes-from-urban-edgelands-back-alleys-and-other-wild-places-9781643265223","title":"A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn \"instant classic\", this genre-bending blend of naturalism, memoir, and social manifesto is a fascinating study for rewilding the city, the self, and society (Jeff VanderMeer, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e During the real estate crash of the late 2000s, Christopher Brown purchased an empty lot in an industrial section of Austin, Texas. The property--abandoned and full of litter and debris--was an unlikely site for a home. Brown had become fascinated with these empty lots around Austin, so-called \"ruined\" spaces once used for agriculture and industry awaiting their redevelopment. He discovered them to be teeming with natural activity, and embarked on a twenty-year project to live in and document such spaces. There, in our most damaged landscapes, he witnessed the remarkable resilience of wild nature, and how we can heal ourselves by healing the Earth. Beautifully written and philosophically hard-hitting, \u003ci\u003eA Natural History of Empty Lots\u003c\/i\u003e offers a new lens on human disruption and nature, offering a sense of hope among the edgelands. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Brown lives far from any conventional battlefield, but he is surrounded by the wreckage of a different war, and he, too, finds hope in cultivating the ruins of nature...\u003ci\u003eA Natural History of Empty Lots\u003c\/i\u003e is less a departure from the nature writing tradition than a welcome addition to its edgelands.\" --\u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"The nature writing we need now.\" --Michelle Nijhuis, author of \u003ci\u003eBeloved Beasts\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Incredible\" --Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChristopher Brown\u003c\/b\u003e is the Philip K. Dick, World Fantasy and John W. Campbell Award-nominated author of the novels \u003ci\u003eTropic of Kansas\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRule of Capture\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFailed State\u003c\/i\u003e. Also an accomplished lawyer, he has worked on two Supreme Court confirmation hearings, led the technology corporate practice of a major American law firm, and been the General Counsel of two public companies.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Timber Press (OR)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51635503104274,"sku":"9781643265223","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_815dd25e-67f2-41f8-b3b7-eb38c8916395.jpg?v=1759239681","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-natural-history-of-empty-lots-field-notes-from-urban-edgelands-back-alleys-and-other-wild-places-9781643265223","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}