John R. Waldman

Atlantic coast rivers 'ran silver' with schools of salmon, shad, and other fishes during early colonial times, the spawners pushing their way upstream to complete life cycles that once replenished marine fisheries along the Eastern Seaboard. Over the centuries these stocks were so stressed that virtually all are now severely depressed, with many extinct and some simply forgotten. Running Silver is an important and fascinating look at the fish whose history, life cycles, and conservation challenges are so poorly understood. Drawing on the author's thirty-year career as scientist and educator, the book tells the story of the past, present, and future of these sea-river fish through research, historical accounts, personal anecdotes, interviews, and images. 

This book brings into conversation diverse and intriguing perspectives on the relationship between nature and America's most prominent city. How can a hawk nesting above Fifth Avenue become a citywide phenomenon? Or a sudden butterfly migration at Coney Island energize the community? Why does the presence of a community garden or an empty lot ripple so differently through the surrounding neighborhood? Why does nature even matter to New Yorkers, who choose to live in the concrete jungle? Still the Same Hawk examines these questions with a rich mix of creative nonfiction that ranges from analytical to anecdotal and humorous. Waldman's sharp, well-crafted introduction presenting dualism as the defining quality of urban nature is followed by contributions from Betsy McCully, Christopher Meier, Tony Hiss, Kelly McMasters, Dara Ross, William Kornblum, Phillip Lopate, David Rosane, Robert Sullivan, Anne Matthews, Devin Zuber, and Frederick Buell. 

Forty years after the Clean Water Act began to resurrect New York Harbor, John Waldman has delivered a new edition of his New York Society Library Award-winning book tracing the arc of the harbor's environmental history from pristine estuary to pollution-choked dump. This lively, accessible narrative of the animals, water quality, and habitats of the harbor includes accounts of the author's explorations of a shad camp near the George Washington Bridge; the Arthur Kill; the Hackensack Meadowlands; and the Gowanus Canal. A new epilogue details some of the remarkable changes in recent years: ultimately, environmental awareness and action has allowed the harbor to begin cleaning itself. Although it will never regain its native biological glory, the return of oysters, herons, and a host of other creatures is an indication of New York Harbor's rebirth.