For every nature writer there seems to be one special place that demonstrates the ways of the natural world and its relationship with humans. For Thoreau, it was a pond; for Annie Dillard, a creek; for author Harry Thurston, it is the salt marsh where land meets sea, one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth but one that is increasingly threatened. This is the story of Thurston’s return to the beloved environment of his boyhood. Elegantly moving back and forth in time, and deftly interweaving a naturalist’s observations with a personal journey, he describes the seasons of the marsh over two decades. Altogether, Thurston documents more than 100 species of fish, birds, and mammals, a myriad of creatures hiding in tidal pools, and 70 species of plants.

Shortlisted for the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize
Finalist for the BC Award for Canadian Non-fiction
Finalist for the City of Dartmouth Book Award
Winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, 2005 (SONWA)

Praise for Harry Thurston’s writing:

“In A Place Between the Tides Harry Thurston comes to the salt marsh with a biologist’s mind, a naturalist’s eye, a philosopher’s vision, and a poet’s voice. A decade later, he emerges with an elegant account for the turning year in this astonishing place, a book full of insight and wonder.”
—Silver Donald Cameron, The Living Beach

“Island of the Blessed is superbly researched, Thurston’s scholarly offering takes us on a surprising exploration of a forgotten corner of the ancient world.”—Heather Pringle, The Mummy Congress

“Island of the Blessed is an enchanting historical tour of Egypt’s deep Saharan oasis . . . Juicy archaeological journalism, brimming with facts and speculation about the deep desert’s critical influence on Egyptian history.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Even as Thurston sculpts a rich chronological account of the multi-layered history of Dakhleh, the ‘oldest continuously inhabited community on the planet,’ in Island of the Blessed he crafts a sobering environmental parable that could change the way you look at a simple glass of water.”
—Vancouver Sun

Length: 235 pp
Setting: Nova Scotia, Canada
Period: contemporary



World rights, Greystone Books

For all other rights contact The Cooke Agency.

Harry Thurston is the author of numerous books of poetry and non-fiction. Tidal Life: A Natural History of the Bay of Fundy garnered all three Atlantic region book awards in 1991. Thurston’s articles have appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, and Canadian Geographic, and he has served as contributing editor and field correspondent for Equinox since its inception in 1981. He lives in Amherst, Nova Scotia.