Ryerson Reads ~ Season 8

September 14, 2011 Miracle Under the Oaks: The Revival of Nature in America  by William K. Stevens A history of local-hero conservationist Steve Packard's habitat restoration work in the 1970s and 80s along the north branch of the Chicago River, and especially at Northbrook's Somme Prairie Grove.  *Join us for a field trip to Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook with Steve Packard on Sunday, September 18 from 1-3pm.

November 16, 2011 The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston Preston's characters are real-world scientists examined with a novelist's particularity as they examine previously undescribed ecostystems in the summits of "super-tall trees."

January 11, 2012 The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed by John Vaillant Vaillant explores a shocking act of eco-vandalism – the felling of an ancient rare tree in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands.

March 14, 2012 American Chestnut: The Life Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree by Susan Freinkel This study of a lost North American tree chronicles the Chestnut blight that killed millions of trees in the first decade of the twentieth century, assesses the impact on forest ecology and human culture of the blight, and discusses the ongoing project to breed a disease-resistant Chestnut.