| Literature Category |
Winner. On
Celtic Tides: One Man's Journey Around Ireland by Sea Kayak By Chris Duff. Published by St. Martin's
Press
A transfixing memoir, Celtic Tides is the vivid account of the first ever circumnavigation of Ireland by kayak. Told with sensitivity and care, Duff's odyssey is about a lone man and a capricious sea and its moods of tranquillity and contrasting terror. But the book is more than an adventure story. It's also about haunting beauty, ancient history, and spiritual renewal found along the storm-lashed coasts of an enchanting land.
| History/Biography Category |
Winner. The
Wildest Dream: The Biography of George Mallory By Peter and Leni Gillman. Published by The Mountaineers
Biographies don't get any better than this. Supremely well researched and documented, erudite, and masterfully written, this book isn't so much about what happened to Mallory in 1924 when he and his climbing partner Irvine disappeared in the mists of Mt. Everest, but rather it seeks the answer to another, almost more fascinating question: who was this man Mallory? This is the book to read to find the answer.
| Nature & Environment Category |
Winner. Wildlife
Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden By Terry Grosz. Published by Johnson Books
Wildlife Wars is the absorbing story of one man's 30-year struggle
to protect wildlife in America. This is what it's like on the front
lines. Terry Grosz, a natural and gifted story teller, brings us
face to face with a captivating cast of characters--on both sides of the
law--as he matches wits with poachers, commercial hunters, and others who
are bent on destroying America's natural heritage. If you start this
book, you won't want to put it down. It's that good.
Winner. Penguin
Planet: Their World, Our World By Kevin Schafer. Published by NorthWord Press
Some of the most endearing creatures of all of nature are penguins. They've often been photographed, but never have they been captured in such vivid detail and in all their intimate and strutting glory as in Penguin Planet. But Kevin Schafer not only takes sumptuous pictures, he writes well in an engaging style, generously complementing an affectionate portrait
| Children's Category |
Winner. Blueberry
Shoe By Ann Dixon. Illustrations by Evon Zerbetz.
Published by Alaska Northwest Books
This sweet and tender tale is about a baby's shoe
which is lost while a family is picking blueberries. A wondrous scene
unfolds as a sequence of creatures come along and sleep and play with the
shoe. One, a bear, even thinks he might eat the shoe. Filled with
colorful and enchanting illustrations and marvelously written, it's a book
that will delight children and reassure their sense of belonging to the
natural world. (For ages 4-10).
Winner. Jellies:
The Life of Jellyfish By Twig C. George. Published by the Millbrook Press
Beautifully photographed, Jellies is an extraordinary book which manages
to make science appeal to the minds and hearts of children. It's
rich in facts about this fascinating creature of the sea, but even richer
in imagination and the joy of discovery. (For ages 8-10)
.
| Instructional Category |
Winner. The
National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide By Mark Harvey. A Fireside Book Published by Simon & Schuster
The National Outdoor Leadership School is one of the outdoor world's most respected wilderness education programs. They were one of the first schools to extensively promote and instruct wilderness users in the techniques of treading lightly and minimizing impact on the outdoors. This is their manual: a compilation of many years of experience, a backpacker's handbook filled with practical and well-tempered advice about equipment, planning, clothing, traveling, navigation, and safety.
| Design & Artistic Merit Category |
Winner. Bradford
Washburn: Mountain Photography. Photography by Bradford Washburn. Edited and Compiled by Antony
Decaneas. Published by the Mountaineers
Traveling the world for eight decades, mountaineer, explorer, scientist and cartographer Bradford Washburn has documented the world's landscapes like no other. This is his life's work as seen through his own camera: one hundred large format mountain photographs, all exquisitely reproduced. The book includes a short interview with Washburn, but it is the photos which speak volumes about him and his artistic genius.
| Nature Guidebook Category |
Winner. Guide
to Marine Mammals & Turtles of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
By Kate Wynne and Malia Schwartz. Illustrated by Garth Mix.
Published by Rhode Island Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island
This is an extraordinarily well done and easy-to-use guidebook that
will help you identify marine mammals while traveling the coastal waters
of the east. Printed on water-resistant paper, it covers whales, dolphins,
porpoises, seals, manatee and turtles. It's truly a model guidebook.
Each and every detail has been designed with user convenience in mind,
from its organization and lay-out, to its photographs and map graphics,
to its carefully researched and understandable writing.
| Outdoor Adventure Guidebook Category |
Winner. Guide
to Sea Kayaking Central and Northern California By Roger Schumann and Jan Shriner. Published
by The Globe Pequot Press
Well designed and written, this is a splendid
sea kayaking guide. The authors do what should be done in all guidebooks:
show they're having fun! Even if you've never dipped a paddle,
you'll be drawn in by the book's cheery personality. And then there's
the maps. Created with the reader in mind, they are gems--pleasing
to look at, easy to grasp, and accurate.
Honorable Mention. Montana
and Idaho's Continental Divide Trail By Lynna Howard.
Photography By Leland Howard. Published by Continental Divide Trail Alliance
In the design department, this book tops the chart: artistic, full-color photos, eminently usable maps, elevation charts, trail access symbols, and user friendly lay-out throughout. If you're planning on doing some hiking on the Continental trail, this is the book to get.
| Classic Award |
Winner. A
Sand County Almanac: A Sketches Here and There By Aldo Leopold.
Published by Oxford University Press
What can be said of Sand County Almanac? It is simply one
of the great works of nature literature and from it has sprung the environmental
movement. This special edition of Sand County Almanac, published
by the original publisher, is a tribute to Leopold, commemorating the one-hundredth
anniversary of his birth. It was over 50 years ago that the book
was first published, but his words and insights are as fresh as ever.
Official NOBA reviews prepared by Ron Watters. Reviews are based on comments and insights provided by members of the judging panels. A special thanks to Katherine Daly for her editorial work.
| End of Listing: 2000 National Outdoor Book Awards |
Judges Natalie Bartley, Boise, ID Jerry Dixon, Seward, AK Susanne Dubrouillet, State College,
PA Laura Erickson, Duluth, MN. Jim Fullerton, Pocatello, ID Rachel Galloway, Bloomington, IN Steve Guthrie, Unity ME Kristin Hostetter, Portland, OR Rodney Ley, Fort Collins, CO Mac McInnes, Unity ME John Miles, Bellingham, WA James Moss, Lakewood, CO Tom Mullin, Unity ME Jim Paruk, Quincy, CA. Brett Pauly, Bothel, WA Mark Reynolds, Oklahoma City, OK Linda Smith, Boring, OR Ann Weiler Walka, Flagstaff, AZ Jerry Watt, Kent, WA Ron Watters, Pocatello, ID Melanie Wulf, Geneva, IL
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