A collection of essays on the ecology, biodiversity, and restoration of the Texas Hill Country.
For most of five decades, evolutionary biologist David Hillis has studied the biodiversity of the Texas Hill Country. Since the 1990s, he has worked to restore the natural beauty and diversity of his Mason County ranch, the Double Helix. In his excursions around his ranch and across the Edwards Plateau, Hillis came to realize how little most people know about the plants and animals around them or their importance to our everyday lives. He began thinking about how natural history is connected to our enjoyment of life, especially in a place as beautiful and beloved as the Hill Country, which, not coincidentally, happens to be one of the most biodiverse parts of Texas.
Featuring short nontechnical essays accompanied by vivid color photos, Armadillos to Ziziphus is a charming and casual introduction to the environment of the region. Whether walking the pasture with his Longhorn cattle, explaining the ecological significance of microscopic organisms in springtime mud puddles, or marveling at the local Ziziphus (aka Lotebush, a spiny shrub), Hillis guides first-time visitors and long-term residents alike in an appreciation for the Hill Country's natural beauty and diversity.
Show moreA collection of essays on the ecology, biodiversity, and restoration of the Texas Hill Country.
For most of five decades, evolutionary biologist David Hillis has studied the biodiversity of the Texas Hill Country. Since the 1990s, he has worked to restore the natural beauty and diversity of his Mason County ranch, the Double Helix. In his excursions around his ranch and across the Edwards Plateau, Hillis came to realize how little most people know about the plants and animals around them or their importance to our everyday lives. He began thinking about how natural history is connected to our enjoyment of life, especially in a place as beautiful and beloved as the Hill Country, which, not coincidentally, happens to be one of the most biodiverse parts of Texas.
Featuring short nontechnical essays accompanied by vivid color photos, Armadillos to Ziziphus is a charming and casual introduction to the environment of the region. Whether walking the pasture with his Longhorn cattle, explaining the ecological significance of microscopic organisms in springtime mud puddles, or marveling at the local Ziziphus (aka Lotebush, a spiny shrub), Hillis guides first-time visitors and long-term residents alike in an appreciation for the Hill Country's natural beauty and diversity.
Show moreDavid M. Hillis is the director of the Biodiversity Center at the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1999 and was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2008. He is also known for his discovery of numerous new species, including Austin’s iconic Barton Springs Salamander.
Harry W. Greene is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University and the author of Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art, among other books.
Hillis brings encyclopedic scientific knowledge to the task of
explaining the Hill Country’s 'natural wealth.' He doesn’t allow
scientific jargon or Latin taxonomy to muddy his prose, however.
Using plain, understandable language, he paints accessible
portraits of the land he’s spent a lifetime walking and
exploring...He dissects the region with both practiced ease and
great authority, tapping his wisdom as a scientist, as a scholar
and as a lover of nature. Reading the book feels much like perusing
a personal journal that captures a lifetime of
experiences...Armadillos to Ziziphus is one of those books that can
be read in one sitting or used as a go-to compendium, whereby the
reader looks up something sparked by a curious moment.
*San Antonio Report*
[A] charming new primer on the region's environment.
*Austin Monthly*
This book is intensely delightful...Hillis writes short,
entertaining essays on nature...Hillis writes in a fluid, open,
sometimes awed manner, primed for enjoyment by the reasonably
curious reader.
*Austin American-Statesman*
One of the most practical and pleasing new Texas books of 2023. . .
I will read these incandescent essays . . . again and again.
*Austin American-Statesman*
[Hillis]'s decades of personal and professional experience in the
region are evident in the text . . . [Armadillos to Ziziphus] will
be of great interest to naturalists and scholars as well as general
readers interested in developing their ecological knowledge of this
region, and could serve as an informative prerequisite for
environmental tours or individual outdoor enthusiasts planning a
visit to the area.
*Choice*
[Armadillos to Ziziphus] lovingly catalogs the region’s
environmental components, making seemingly familiar features new.
More important, Hillis offers practicable pathways toward not only
safeguarding the region’s endangered environments but also
repairing and rejuvenating them...The succinct essays are packed
with information, and Hillis’s writing style balances scientific
precision with conversational ease. It is a wonderful addition not
only to the environmental writing on Texas but also to
environmentalist activism in Texas.
*H-Net Reviews*
I go back to these elegant, accessible essays again and again.
There's just something so appealing about an accomplished scientist
such as David M. Hillis, who can speak and write in way that's open
to just about everybody, including the neighbors of his ranch in
Mason County. Chief of the Biodiversity Center at the University of
Texas, he explains the interplay of the elements in transparent
prose in Armadillos to Ziziphus: A Naturalist in the Texas Hill
Country (University of Texas Press). If I owned a Hill Country
cabin, this book would be waiting to delight and inform every
guest.
*Austin-American Statesman*
Armadillos to Ziziphus serves as both an education and celebration
of the Hill Country’s natural beauty and diversity… Hillis infuses
his encyclopedic knowledge of the Hill Country into charming and
casual explanations of everything from the ecological significance
of microscopic organisms in springtime mud puddles to a spiny shrub
called Ziziphus.
*UT News*
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