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NONFICTION | COMING MAY 2026
ASTONISHED BY BEAUTY:
A Field Guide to the Practice of Paying Attention
by THOMAS LOWE FLEISCHNER
“An inspiration and an ode to the natural world.”
—MICHAELA CARTER, Peregrine Book Company
An invitation to slow down and experience the world through the mindful practice of natural history.
What happens when we truly pay attention to the natural world? Astonished by Beauty offers a thoughtful and practical guide to reconnecting with nature through the practice of natural history. Through a series of brief, intimate stories from the Alaskan Arctic to the Amazon, Fleischner reveals how both easy and meaningful it is to deepen our connection with the land and its creatures. Readers are invited to learn how to look closely, see clearly, and feel deeply the living world around them, while recognizing the vital link between our well-being and the health of the Earth. Offering simple, grounded steps to nurture this bond, the book is part reflection, part guide, calling for a life lived with care, presence, and respect for the wild beauty that surrounds us.
Trade Paper Original | ISBN: 9798890920386 | $16.95 | 108 pp | Trim: 6.875 in X 4.25" | May 2026
“No one I know has so creatively bridged environmental sciences and arts in a manner that can help us restore our sense of alertness, contemplation, joy, and tenderness.”
—GARY PAUL NABHAN, Against the American Grain
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
THOMAS LOWE FLEISCHNER, a naturalist and conservation biologist, is a leading voice advocating for the importance and rejuvenation of natural history. He is the author of numerous articles and professional papers, and author or editor of four books, including The Way of Natural History, and Nature, Love, Medicine: Essays On Wildness and Wellness. He was the founding director of the Natural History Institute, Faculty Emeritus at Prescott College, and elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. He has served as Chair of the Natural History Section of the Ecological Society of America, on the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology, and as President of its Colorado Plateau Chapter. Recently, he has led and coordinated efforts to recognize the high biodiversity values of the Mogollon Highlands Ecoregion of the American Southwest. He lives in Prescott, Arizona.
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
NATURE LOVE MEDICINE: Essays on Wildness and Wellness
Throughout this illuminating collection, a diverse array of people—psychologists and poets, biologists and artists, a Buddhist teacher—share personal stories that reveal a common theme: when we pay conscious, careful attention to our wider world, we strengthen our core humanity. Nature Love Medicine: Essays on Wildness and Wellness declares that nurturing a love for our biologically and culturally diverse planet is essential in this time of turbulence and change.
"A beautiful collaboration that brings together diverse perspectives…While each offering is unique and each voice tells a specific story, a common passion and sense of beauty unites the book and transcends any expectations."
—BOOKLIST
PRAISE FOR ASTONISHED BY BEAUTY
“An inspiration and an ode to the natural world, this book explores the character and importance of perception, reminding us of our vital role as humans in the greater community of beings.”
—MICHAELA CARTER, Peregrine Book Company
“Writing that is engaging, evocative, and heartfelt.”
—MITCHELL THOMASHOW, To Know the World
"Fleischner reminds us that the humming wild world embodies evolutionary truth, the only pure truth, to which natural history is the perfect access."
—BROOKE WILLIAMS, Encountering Dragonfly
“With humility and compassion, Fleischner invites our attentive exploration of the natural world and of what it means to fully engage in kinship with all life. In so doing, he shows us how, with senses wide open, to find beauty, healing, and love in nature.”
—DR. CRISTINA EISENBERG, The Wolf’s Tooth
“In clear and generous prose, Fleischner invites us into a deeply personal landscape—one shaped by attention, care, and a lifetime of engagement with the natural world. Astonished by Beauty is a luminous addition to the enduring tradition of nature writing that renews.”
—PETER H KAHN, JR., Technological Nature
“Astonished by Beauty is a must have for any of us who delight in natural history and is perfect for those seeking an alternative to screens and canned entertainment.”
—JOHN ANDERSON, Deep Things Out of Darkness
“By engaging our minds and our hearts in a spirit of reciprocity, this book’s smart, elegant prose shows how we can more effectively care about all of life on Earth.”
—HARRY W. GREENE, Tracks and Shadows
“If natural history can be described as ‘the practice of falling in love with the world,’ this book would be the ideal companion. Filled with lively vignettes of personal encounters with nature and deeply insightful guidelines to follow, this is the trailhead marker I wish I had when I started my own journey into natural history.”
—DAVID LUKAS, Language Making Nature
“Astonished by Beauty invites us to awaken our senses to the natural world with wonder and care. This is a book for anyone grieving the loss of wild beauty and seeking the hope and courage to protect what remains.”
—RICHARD J. NEVLE, The Paradise Notebooks
“This field guide is a vital call to arms, advocating that our future lies in what is beneath us, around us, and before us in the natural world—not in a pixelated virtual one."
—DANIELLE BEAZER DUBRASKY, co-editor of Blossom as the Cliffrose
“Privileging experience over data, Fleischner learns from nature at every turn and transports the reader “into the realm of the greater psyche of the world.”
—ALISON HAWTHORNE DEMING, Zoologies
