{"product_id":"a-natural-history-of-the-spirits-on-ecology-belonging-and-the-sublime-1","title":"A Natural History of the Spirits: On Ecology, Belonging, and the Sublime","description":"\u003cp\u003eby Jori Lewis\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\/10\/2026, hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSKU: 9781620979631\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the winner of James Beard, Harriet Tubman, and Whiting Awards, a shimmering and unexpected vision of the world we inhabit together\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the celebrated journalist whose work has been hailed by Tiya Miles as \"broad, complex, and unexpected,\" and by \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e as \"informative and compassionate,\" award-winning author Jori Lewis's stunning new book blends scientific research, myth, folklore, and cultural analysis in a lyrical literary work that observes the natural world as an entry point into understanding the traumas of our history and the unexplored dimensions of our spiritual lives\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Natural History of the Spirits\u003c\/em\u003e offers profound meditations on the history of colonialism, racism, and social and ecological change, exploring such wide-ranging subjects as the reproduction crisis of the long-lived African baobab tree in the face of climate change; the evolutionary history of the watermelon and how racist stereotypes related to it developed and persist in the United States; the disquieted spirits of the Senegalese island Sangomar in the wake of new oil and gas exploration in the area; and how, by observing the habits of plants and animals, we may more deeply understand how we create home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor readers of Robin Wall \u003cem\u003eKimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass\u003c\/em\u003e and Barry Lopez's \u003cem\u003eArctic Dreams\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Natural History of the Spirits\u003c\/em\u003e grapples with how we have made, and continue to make, meaning of the world by reading the land, the animals, the water, and the skies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A sweeping and singular mix of vast planetary timescales with intimate lived experiences.\" -- \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e (starred review) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Lewis's essays range from termites to language to folklore and convey careful observations of a changing world in a curative tone.... Highly recommended.\" -- \u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In this numinous meditation, journalist Jori Lewis turns her gaze to trees, insects, and rocks to decode the traumas and triumphs of the places we call home. By seamlessly blending scientific research, myth, and cultural analysis, she reminds us that the land holds memory, and that our survival requires deep reverence for the seen and unseen.\" -- Emily Raboteau, author of \u003cem\u003eLessons for Survival\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJori Lewis\u003c\/strong\u003e writes narrative nonfiction that explores how people interact with their environments. Her reports and essays have been published in \u003cem\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eOrion Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e, among others, and she is the editor in chief of \u003cem\u003eAdi Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e, a literary magazine of global politics. The author of \u003cem\u003eSlaves for Peanuts\u003c\/em\u003e (winner of a Whiting Award, a Silvers Grant, a James Beard Award, and the Harriet Tubman Prize), Lewis splits her time between Illinois and Senegal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Burning Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54585036669211,"sku":"Natural History of the Spirits","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0466\/5121\/files\/81IZ6dv6UnL._SL1500.jpg?v=1794356388","url":"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/a-natural-history-of-the-spirits-on-ecology-belonging-and-the-sublime-1","provider":"Burning Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}