So much can be learnt about lands and environments by listening to the stories and parables of ancient peoples. Flight of the Hummingbird (Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Hachette, November) is an environmental parable about ‘doing what we can’. The powerful little red book has striking, simple illustrations, and features the words of Wangari Maathai and the Dalai Lama. The story originated from the Quechan people of South America, and the Haida of the North Pacific, who saw the hummingbird as a symbol of optimism, beauty, agility, wisdom and the celebration of life.
    The Art of Fire (Jimmy Pike, Backroom Press, November) provides an artistic introduction to inland Australian
desert people’s understanding and use of fire. The publisher says ‘Deceptively simple, this little book is packed with knowledge’, and it’s accessible to readers old and young. Respecting our environment might require a looking back.
    Bernard Schlink’s six essays collected in Guilt About the Past (UQP, January), follow on from themes of social
guilt as explored in his bestselling novel The Reader.

This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: bernard schlink, jimmy pike, michael nicoll yahgulanaas