John Hanson Mitchell
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Books

Legends of the Common Stream

Bright Leaf,
2021

Travels in a Vanishing Empire

Komatic Press,
2017

An Eden of Sorts

Perseus Books,
2012

The Last of the Bird People

Wilderness House Press,
2012

The Paradise of All These Parts: A Natural History of Boston

Beacon Press
2008

The Rose Cafe: Love and War in Corsica
Shoemaker & Hoard,
2007
Looking for Mr Gilbert: The Reimagined Life of an African American
Shoemaker & Hoard,
2005

Following the Sun: Fron Spain to the Hebrides
Counterpoint,
2002

The Wildest Place on Earth: Italian Gardens and the Invention of Wilderness
Counterpoint,
2001
Trespassing: An Inquiry into the Private Ownership of Land
Perseus Books,
1998
Walking Towards Walden: A Pilgimage in Search of Place
Perseus Books,
1995
Living at the End of Time
Houghton Mifflin,
1990

A Field Guide to your Own Backyard,
Countryman Press,
1985

Ceremonial Time: Fifteen Tousand Years on One Square Mile
Perseus Books,
1984

 “This is surely John Mitchell’s best book, and he is one of the most intriguing, original nature writers alive.  It’s a jaunt through history and ecology, a spirited personal memoir, a saunter in Thoreau’s richly diverse sense of the word.  Top-notch.”  
- Edward Hoagland

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Walking Towards Walden:
A Pilgrimage in Search of Place
Perseus Books, 1985

In this offbeat pilgrimage, Mitchell and two world-traveling friends leave Scratch Flat on foot and  set out to see if they can undertake a fifteen mile pilgrimage  to  Thoreau’s Concord  by bushwhacking through the remnants of undeveloped lands of suburbia, trespassing most of the way.  In the process, Mitchell explores the deep seated human concept of the idea of place, or  what the Spanish call querencia.  This is an exploration not only of landscape, but also the singular  forces of certain places that draw pilgrims to sacred sites,  and artists and writers to regions such as  Tuscany and Provence, and even Concord, Massachusetts.

© 2021 John Hanson Mitchell
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