Synopses & Reviews
Review
"John Janovy has produced his best book. . . . He gives us a superb example of nature writing and of life in the Great Plains, perhaps surpassing such admired works in the genre as Aldo Leopoldand#8217;s A Sand County Almanac and William Warnerand#8217;s Beautiful Swimmers. Janovy takes us on a journey of intellectual serendipity, deriving extraordinary thoughts from ordinary circumstances."and#8212;Washington Post
Review
"Good biologist though [Janovy] is, he's an even better nature writer, with a special affinity for the mysterious and the mystic."and#8212;Noel Perrin
Review
"This and#8216;human need for wildernessand#8217; is the trail winding through Back in Keith County . . . [to] the streams of John Janovyand#8217;s and#8216;inner cowboy country.and#8217; The fourteen essays are a very human mix of biology, sentiment, wandering observation and personal philosophy."and#8212;Smithsonian
Review
"Janovyand#8217;s earlier Keith County Journal and#8220;met with astonishing success, and some reviewers compared the author to Henry David Thoreau. Back in Keith County returns to the part of Nebraska that Mr. Janovy knows and loves. . . . The book shows the areaand#8217;s wildlifeand#8212;tiger beetles, toads, swallows, owls and a variety of fishand#8212;to be as special as its people. . . . The author also reflects on the intangible aspects of life. . . . The rich ramblings of these 179 pages are fascinating."and#8212;Kansas City Star
About the Author
John Janovy Jr. is Varner Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraskaand#8211;Lincoln, and director of the Cedar Point Biological Station. He is the author of Keith County Journal and On Becoming a Biologist, also available as a Bison Book.