“Wild in Seattle: Stories at the Crossroads of People and Nature” by David B. Williams

Cover art for “Wild in Seattle” by David B. Williams

by Karen B. Shea, Birds Connect Seattle Volunteer

Birds Connect Seattle’s retail shop is home to hundreds of titles of field guides, memoires, and other fascinating stories about birds, nature, and people who love them. One of our retail volunteers, Karen Shea, recently sat down with a new book by David B. Williams. 

I knew I was going to love this book from the moment I read David Williams’ Author’s Note that he will be using he or she instead of it to reference animals so as not to objectify them but represent them as the sentient beings they are.  

David does a wonderful job connecting the reader to all things Seattle. From the pavement we walk on, to the birds flying overhead, to the plants sprouting up around us. His sense of humor shined brightly throughout this book and his not-so-discreet vocabulary lessons were greatly appreciated. For example, words like tombolo (a sand bar that connects an island to the mainland) or endozoochory (dispersal of plant seeds by animals).  

Wild in Seattle is full of wildly interesting facts and history such as: “94% of our planet’s history passed before sonic communication began.” An enigmatic, cricket-like insect was the first creature to produce sound. Dinosaurs were not aural communicators. And how often do you get the opportunity to read about utility poles?! Each reader will walk away from this book with a treasure trove of interesting facts and not just in the definition of names and words.  

As a birder, I could relate to his chapter Birding at Sixty and appreciated David mentioning Birds Connect Seattle’s conservation program, dBird.org, which collects data on bird-window collisions. A perfect example of how we can all help further conservation efforts one person at a time. Which leads me to one of my favorite take aways from Wild in Seattle. David puts a new spin on the phrase Nothing I do makes a difference by turning it around to Everything I do makes a difference. By doing this, David not only empowers us as individuals, but puts us all in the position of being part of the solution to save this beautiful and fascinating place we call home.  

To fully appreciate the history and wonders of Seattle, I would highly recommend everyone picking up a copy of Wild in Seattle: Stories at the Crossroads of People of Nature!  

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Reviewed by Karen B. Shea