"DRAMATIC...ENTHRALLING...EXPERTLY CRAFTED...Michener treats each of these creatures with fundamental respect, and in many cases, admiration and awe, if not outright love." --The Virginian-Pilot & The Ledger-Star In these sixteen wonderful stories, bestselling author James A. Michener lights up nature's most awesome and beguiling handiwork--from the sublime shaping and reshaping of earth's land and seas to the ridiculous armadillo whose assault on a bit of Texas real estate paid off handsomely. Chosen from Michener's most popular books--including one story never before published in paperback--these mini-masterpieces take us deep into the secret lives of animals and the hidden world of nature. In them we hear the music of the spheres and feel the heartbeat of creation. "Contain s the dramatic elements of a life--the wonder of birth, rites of passage, lots of conflict, much of it physical and bloody, and death...As characters in a Michener novel, a beaver can know loneliness, a buffalo can bide his time, a salmon can feel encouraged, and a woolly mammoth can 'luxuriate' in the ecological rewards of a plains fire." --Boston Sunday Herald "Delightful...Nature writing at its most fluid and involving." --Booklist "From the Paperback edition."