Glorious Times
Adventures of the Craighead Naturalists
Midwest Book Review Reviewer's Choice
by Tom Benjey
published by The University of Montana Press
“What the Kennedys are to politics, the less-famous Craigheads are to nature -- a prolific and accomplished clan.â€Â Kirkus Reviews
264 pages, 7, 67 b/w photos, 13 illustrations, index, appendix, glossary, 26 softcovers per case
softcover
ISBN 10: 0990974898
ISBN 13: 9780990974895
$18.95
- Tom Benjey's Glorious Times tells the fascinating and important story of an American clan of Scots-Irish that settled in the early 1700s in Pennsylvania. From this clan came an astonishing number exceptional people, many of whom dedicated their lives to nature. This book even poses the question as to whether this family had a special "Naturalist DNA". It covers many generations, but appropriately focuses most attention on the famous siblings Frank Jr., John, and Jean (Craighead George).
| Glorious Times
Adventures of the Craighead Naturalists |
| Glorious Times... "recounts the lives of the historical Craigheads in lively detail, bringing readers into close, personal proximity to the subjects' lives. Roughly chronologically, the book describes each significant Craighead chapter by chapter...Since the family's story begins so early in American history,...the theme of the Craigheads as nature-lovers, hikers, campers, and outdoorspeople remains a powerful thread throughout the book. The author's research on the topic could not be more meticulous, incorporating typical genealogical sources, such as newspapers, as well as personal interviews with Jean Craighead George and family documents, such as diaries.
Particularly valuable to book people may be the insight that Glorious Times provides into the mind and personality of Jean Craighead George, who is presented as at once more liberal and ambitious than other Craighead women and fully in step with her family's environmentalist tradition. Fans and critics of her work and of the roots of the twentieth century environmental stewardship movement will find this work a fascinating insight. Genealogists may also be interested in the book as an example of a family history well executed." -ForeWord Book Review, Summer 2016 "An encyclopedic, multigenerational chronicle examines a family's extraordinary contributions to wildlife biology, conservation, and nature literature...What the Kennedys are to politics, the less-famous Craigheads are to nature - a prolific and accomplished clan...Benjey approaches the family as an ecosystem, deftly covering three dozen members over three generations...This comprehensive, impressive synthesis of the historical, familial, social, economic, and natural forces that created the famous Craigheads is well-told...[and] skillfully fills a scholarly, historical niche, producing an environmental and biographical work with broad popular appeal."Â -Kirkus Reviews, Summer 2018 |
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A chance statement at a talk on the Carlisle Indian School led to Dr. Benjey researching the life of Lone Star Dietz and writing the biography of the most controversial person to grace the sidelines of a football field. Doing the research exposed him to enough information about the legendary Carlisle football program to whet his interest in learning more. That led to him writing Doctors, Lawyers, Indian Chiefs: Jim Thorpe & Pop Warner's Carlisle Indian School football immortals tackle socialites, bootleggers, students, moguls, prejudice, the government, ghouls, tooth decay and rum. In 2009 Dr. David Masland suggested he write a book about his lifelong friends, the Craigheads. His initial investigation convinced him that this was indeed an extraordinary family. A health crisis intervened, resulting in him writing Prostate Cancer and the Veteran. At last, Glorious Times: Adventures of the Craighead Naturalists is finished. |