Sign-In
Cart
A Natural History of Quiet Waters
Paperback
Environmental StudiesGeneral Nature
Publisher Price: $24.95
ISBN13: 9780813953656
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: Aug 12 2025
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.36 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.25
Language: English
Although swamps today are recognized as one of the richest and most prolific natural systems on Earth, they have long held a mysterious and tenuous place in America's history and culture. Ernest Hemingway equated them with madness and death in Big Two-hearted River. We have images of Humphrey Bogart covered with leeches while slogging through a swamp in the film The African Queen. In our culture, swamps have been associated with mystery and evil, and we spent generations draining, filling, and otherwise destroying them. Indeed, in the four centuries since the European colonists arrived, we have lost more than half of the forested wetlands that were native to America.
Swamps have until now received little attention, despite recent efforts to protect them. With A Natural History of Quiet Waters: Swamps and Wetlands of the Mid-Atlantic Coast, Curtis Badger takes us on a personalized trip to the swamp, providing an insightful look at the nature of these special places, and arguing persuasively that these natural systems should be protected, not destroyed.
Using such locations as the Pocomoke River and the Great Dismal Swamp as exemplars of swamps in general, Badger examines the natural history of wetlands, and also relates the role they have played in the history and culture of the mid-Atlantic coast. A great iron furnace and its surrounding village once stood in a cypress swamp along Nassawango Creek in Maryland. The Great Dismal was a safe haven for runaway slaves, and it has been the source of many ghostly tales and legends.
Although swamps have for centuries been cast in a negative light, they are wonderfully productive places, a refuge for migrating songbirds, insects, fish, animals, and rare plants. Swamps and wetlands provide us with clean water, they protect uplands from flooding, and their waters serve as a spawning ground for valuable fish and shellfish. And, Badger writes, they provide us with an island of forested wilderness, a place where one can launch a canoe and temporarily escape the irritations of the modern world.
Notwithstanding the government's goal of no net loss of wetlands, swamps are still being drained, filled, and paved over each year. With this book, Badger invites us to appreciate these special places and the natural communities they support.
Also from
Badger, Curtis J.
Wilderness Regained: The Story of the Virginia Barrier Islands: SECOND EDITION: The Story of the Virginia Barrier Islands
Badger, Curtis J.
Paperback
Letters Home of Gold Fields, Lost Ships, and Sunken Treasure: Correspondence from Thomas W. Badger and Thomas N. Badger to Relatives on Virginia's Eas
Badger, Lynn M.
Badger, Thomas H.
Badger, Curtis J.
Paperback
Virginia's Wild Side: 50 Outdoor Adventures from the Mountains to the Ocean
Badger, Curtis J.
Paperback
Also in
General Nature
A Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North America
Peterson, Roger Tory
Paperback
The Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life
Savage, R. J. G.
Cox, Barry
Gardiner, Brian
Hardcover
North American Bird Watching for Beginners: Field Notes on 150 Species to Start Your Birding Adventures
Stiteler, Sharon
Paperback
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska
MacKinnon, Andy
Pojar, Jim
Paperback
Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game: Beef, Veal, Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Rabbit, Venison
Mettler, John J.
Paperback
Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms
Yerich, Kathy
Marrone, Teresa
Paperback
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern & Central North America, Seventh Ed.
Peterson, Roger Tory
Paperback
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants & Herbs of Eastern & Central N. America: Third Edition
Duke, James A.
Foster, Steven
Paperback
Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest: A Visual Guide to Harvesting and Cooking with 40 Common Species
Hammerquist, Natalie
Paperback
The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
Thayer, Samuel
Paperback
Fungi Decoded: Adventures in the Mycosphere--Encounters with Thirty Fungi
Bunyard, Britt A.
Paperback
The Trails of M-22: 48 of the Most Beautiful Paths Along Michigan's Most Beautiful Highway
DuFresne, Jim
Paperback
The Backyard Birdsong Guide Eastern and Central North America: A Guide to Listening
Kroodsma, Donald
Hardcover
Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America, Second Edition
McKnight, Karl B.
Rohrer, Joseph R.
McKnight Ward, Kirsten
Paperback
Wild Rescues: A Paramedic's Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton
Grange, Kevin
Paperback
How to Read the Wilderness: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural Wonders of North America
Nature Study Guild
Hardcover
The Backyard Birdwatcher's Bible: Birds, Behaviors, Habitats, Identification, Art & Other Home Crafts
Perrins, Christopher
Ellis, Sonya Patel
Sterry, Paul
Hardcover
Mushrooms of the Northeast: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms
Marrone, Teresa
Sturgeon, Walt
Paperback
The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go
Lexa, Rebecca
Paperback
The Trees Around You: How to Identify Common Neighborhood Trees in the Pacific Northwest
Clapp, Casey
Paperback
The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees
Wilson, Joseph S.
Carril, Olivia Messinger
Paperback
Modern Bushcraft: The Complete Guide to Outdoor Survival, Shelter, Firecraft, Foraging, and More
Macwelch, Tim
Hardcover
National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States 9th Edition
National Geographic
Paperback
Seashells of Georgia and the Carolinas: A Beachcomber's Guide
Witherington, Blair
Witherington, Dawn
Paperback
Where the Green Light Shines: A Fifty-Year Odyssey from the Boundary Waters to the Far North
Rodgers, Ryan
Hardcover
Audubon Engagement Calendar 2027: A Tribute to Nature and Its Spectacular Landscapes
National Audubon Society
Workman Calendars
Other
Yosemite Falls: Reckoning with California History and the Gospel of John Muir
Duane, Daniel
Hardcover
Rocks & Minerals of the Pacific Coast: Your Way to Easily Identify Rocks & Minerals
Lynch, Dan R.
Lynch, Bob
Paperback
Habitats of North America: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists
Campbell, Iain
Chaon, Phil
Paperback
Northeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plums to Wineberries
Meredith, Leda
Paperback
The Solstice Yearbook: A Year of Rituals, Festivals and Ancient Magic for Modern Life
Harrison, Victoria
Paperback
Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States: Your Way to Easily Identify Bees and Look-Alikes
Holm, Heather
Paperback
Whelks to Whales: Coastal Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest, Newly Revised and Expanded Third Edition
Harbo, Rick M.
Paperback
Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern & Central North America
Powell, Robert
Collins, Joseph T.
Conant, Roger
Paperback
Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest
Kaufman, Kimberly
Kaufman, Kenn
Sayre, Jeffrey P.
Paperback
Fungi of Temperate Europe: Keys to the Basidiomycotes
Petersen, Jens H.
Frøslev, Tobias G.
Læssøe, Thomas
Hardcover
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fungi of Coastal Northern California
Siegel, Noah
Schwarz, Christian
Paperback
Birds of Wyoming Field Guide: Includes Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks
Tekiela, Stan
Paperback
Animal Tracks of the Northeast: Your Way to Easily Identify Animal Tracks
Poppele, Jonathan
Paperback
Southeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Angelica to Wild Plums
Bennett, Chris
Paperback
Wildflowers of Tennessee: The Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians
Horn, Dennis
Cathcart, Tavia
Hemmerly, Tom
Paperback
Foxfire 3: Animal Care, Banjos and Dulimers, Hide Tanning, Summer and Fall Wild Plant Foods, Butter Churns, Ginseng
Foxfire Fund Inc
Paperback
Foxfire 5: Ironmaking, Blacksmithing, Flintlock Rifles, Bear Hunting
Wigginton, Eliot
Foxfire Fund Inc
Paperback
Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
Thayer, Samuel
Paperback
Foxfire 4: Fiddle Making, Spring Houses, Horse Trading, Sassafras Tea, Berry Buckets, Gardening
Foxfire Fund Inc
Paperback
The Little Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Guide to the Extraordinary Power of Mushrooms
Dorr, Alex
Hardcover
The Bay Area Forager: Your Guide to Edible Wild Plants of the San Francisco Bay Area
Andler, Mia
Feinstein, Kevin
Paperback
Rocks & Minerals of Washington and Oregon: A Field Guide to the Evergreen and Beaver States
Lynch, Dan R.
Lynch, Bob
Paperback
Mushrooming: An Illustrated Guide to the Fantastic, Delicious, Deadly, and Strange World of Fungi
Borsato, Diane
Hardcover
Is This an Agate?: An Illustrated Guide to Lake Superior's Beach Stones Michigan
Robinson, Susan
Paperback
The Julia Rothman Collection: Farm Anatomy, Nature Anatomy, and Food Anatomy
Rothman, Julia
Paperback
Northeast Ferns: A Field Guide to the Ferns and Fern Relatives of the Northeastern United States
Chadde, Steve W.
Paperback
Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide
Williams, Paul H.
Thorp, Robbin W.
Richardson, Leif L.
Paperback
Wildflowers of Northern California: Your Way to Easily Identify Wildflowers
Miller, George Oxford
Paperback
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest: Your Way to Easily Identify Wildflowers
Miller, George Oxford
Paperback
Our Sea Turtles: A Practical Guide for the Atlantic and Gulf, from Canada to Mexico
Witherington, Dawn
Witherington, Blair
Paperback
Petoskey Stone: Finding, Identifying, and Collecting Michigan's Most Storied Fossil
Lynch, Dan R.
Paperback