Close to Home The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door

"After reading Close to Home, by the conservation biologist Thor Hanson, you may be inspired to step outside and turn over a fresh leaf, look closely under a bit of tree bark or stick your hand in the dirt and see what you come up with. [...] What are you waiting for?"
– David Barash, Wall Street Journal

"A captivating mix of engaging stories, accessible science and interesting facts!"
– The Seattle Times

"Hanson's writing is engaging and informative [...] Readers will be inspired to take a closer look at the amazing but often overlooked plants and creatures hiding in plain sight and to take steps to foster biodiversity in their own backyards."
– Booklist

"A fascinating look at interesting creatures going about their business in the most mundane habitats, demonstrating that observing nature is available to all. For readers who relish accessible scientific studies and lyrical nature writing."
– Library Journal

"Readers who assume a backyard consists of weeds, shrubbery, rodents, local birds, and bugs are in for a surprise [...] Plenty of exotica live among us."
– Kirkus Reviews

"An educational and inspiring book from cover to cover."
– Porchlight Books Blog

"Thor Hanson has done it again! In this surprising, upbeat, and exciting book, we learn that not only everyday wonders, but actual scientific discovery awaits us Close to Home. The perfect mix of science and story, told by a master of both. I loved it!"
– Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

"When we love a book we typically say, 'I couldn't put it down.' Close to Home is different. This book inspires such a rush of curiosity, I simply had to put it down over and over again so I could run out the door and investigate: peer beneath leaves for never-known insects, or turn my ear to the subtle language of neighborhood birds, or reach my hands into the soil to touch the under-earth beings beneath my everyday notice. What joy. Thor Hanson's love for his subject is infectious, and reminds us that access to the deep knowledge we need in this complex ecological time does not lie only within institutional walls, but in the everyday conversations between our wild minds, our wild hearts, and the wild earth."
– Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rooted

"Packed with inspiration and insight, the wonders of the living world are vividly revealed in this beautifully crafted invitation to curiosity and exploration."
– David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen

"Thor Hanson's Close to Home invites us to step into the ordinary and discover the extraordinary. From natural science experiments to the search for new species, Hanson reminds us that awe and wonder are as close as our own backyard. With Hanson as our guide, a walk around the block becomes an opportunity to explore, to conserve, to ask questions, and to broaden our horizons."
– Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

"Thor Hanson's Close to Home, written with classic Hanson prose and enthusiasm, is as addictive as it is entertaining. Hanson teaches the value of looking high and low, near and far, at the fascinating natural systems we have never noticed right in our yards. And, very much to my liking, he tells us how to enhance those systems with minor tweaks to our landscapes. Thor Hanson has forced me to use the dreaded cliche: I couldn't put it down!"
– Doug Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope