Description

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Central Park in the Dark explores a natural world that flourishes in the midst of a crowded and mechanized city. These exuberant essays lead the reader through the cycle of seasons as experienced by nocturnal beasts (raccoons, bats, black skimmers), insects (moths, wasps, fireflies, crickets), and other denizens of the park's trees and swamps and thickets. Alongside a cadre of amateur and expert naturalists, Marie Winn reveals a world that lies hidden in the dark between the bright lights and traffic of Fith Avenue and Central Park West.

Marie Winn is the author of over a dozen books, among them Red-Tails in Love: Pale Male's Story and The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life. Formerly a birdwatching and nature columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, she has also translated plays by Vaclav Havel for performance at the Public Theater in New York. She is married to the documentary filmmaker and palindromist Allan Miller and lives not far from Central Park.

Central Park in the Dark explores a natural world that flourishes in the midst of a crowded and mechanized city. These exuberant essays lead the reader through the cycle of seasons as experienced by nocturnal beasts (raccoons, bats, black skimmers), insects (moths, wasps, fireflies, crickets), and other denizens of the park's trees and swamps and thickets. Alongside a cadre of amateur and expert naturalists, Marie Winn reveals a world that lies hidden in the dark between the bright lights and traffic of Fith Avenue and Central Park West.

"A delightful chronicle of the animals that come out to hunt and play in the park at night . . . conveys the magic and enduring mysteries of Central Park."—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Marie Winn, the author of Red Tails in Love: Pale Male's Story, now turns her attention to Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife. Her latest book is more engaging narrative than field guide, accompanied by sparse illustrations, but it is filled with keen insights and appealing anecdotes about bugs, birds and other critters that you generally wouldn't mind meeting in the park after dark."—The New York Times

"A delightful chronicle of the animals that come out to hunt and play in the park at night . . . conveys the magic and enduring mysteries of Central Park."—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Central Park in the Dark is a delight; I'd follow Winn into the park at any hour."—The New York Times Book Review

"From screech owl rescues to slug sex, Winn pulls the reader into this tight-knit circle of people all searching for the same thing: a glimpse of nature in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city."—The Christian Science Monitor

"Winn's book is a revelation. . . . A worthy addition to any nature lover’s shelf."—Buffalo News

"Both charming and instructional. Winn does justice to the park's owls, raccoons, and moths, as well as the scientists and amateur naturalists who study them."—USA Today

"Exuberantly illuminates Central Park’s vibrant 843-acre nocturnal world."—Kirkus Reviews

"Winn is an engaging writer, making us care about the evening denizens of the park (human or otherwise)."—Booklist

About the Author

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MARIE WINN has spent most of her life in New York City, and lives not far from Central Park. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other publications, and is the author of Red-Tails In Love: Pale Male's Story and The Plug-In Drug: Televisions, Computers and Family Life.

Praise for Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife…

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"Central Park in the Dark is a delight; I'd follow Winn into the park at any hour."--The New York Times Book Review

"A delightful chronicle of the animals that come out to hunt and play in the park at night . . . conveys the magic and enduring mysteries of Central Park."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Winn is an engaging writer, making us care about the evening denizens of the park (human or otherwise)."--Booklist

"Winn's book is a revelation. . . . A worthy addition to any nature lover’s shelf."--Buffalo News

"Exuberantly illuminates Central Park’s vibrant 843-acre nocturnal world."--Kirkus Reviews

"From screech owl rescues to slug sex, Winn pulls the reader into this tight-knit circle of people all searching for the same thing: a glimpse of nature in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city."--The Christian Science Monitor