In Side Channels, a stunning blend of natural history, nature journaling, and memoir, author Thomas V. Lerczak illustrates the beauty of life along rivers, especially the Illinois River, while highlighting the juxtaposition between modern life and the natural world. A collection of previously published articles, several unpublished pieces, and 12 shorter "memoir chapters"-all related to the book's focus on nature, birds, and rivers-serve as the backbone of this moving narrative. Though each of the chapters maintains a particular ecological focus, the shorter, more memoir-driven sections serve as an adhesive-breathing life into Lerczak's words.
While Side Channels is, at its center, a "nature book" grounded in the science of ecology, it is Lerczak's personal stories, from descriptions of him as a boy being introduced to the outdoors in Chicago during the 1960s to a grown man contemplating the true meaning of a "wilderness experience," that give this book its unique quality.
Thomas V. Lerczak works as a natural resource specialist. His writings have appeared on his weblog The River Landing (http: //theriverlanding.typepad.com) and in a variety of publications including Illinois Audubon, Outdoor Illinois, and Meadowlark: A Journal of Illinois Birds. He lives near Havana, Illinois, with his wife, Julie.
From the beginning, Tom Lerczak managed to transport me with him on an odyssey of sorts, rich in the infinite mélange of a natural world many people hardly know.
-From the Foreword by Debbie Scott Newman, conservationist and lead author of Creating Habitats and Homes for Illinois Wildlife
Naturalist Tom Lerczak takes us along to explore his love of nature and the outdoors in this easy to read, but highly informative book.
-Jerry Apps, author of Old Farm: a History and Cranberry Red
