The Common Uncommon: A Forest Journey
W. W. Norton & Company, 2026
Agent: Sandra Dijkstra
From the renowned author of A Year in the Maine Woods, the intimate, thoughtful reflections of a lifetime spent observing the natural world.
For forty years, Bernd Heinrich has been ensconced in the woods of the northern, or boreal, forest, a vast sea of spruce, fir, and larch in the mountains of western Maine. All life confronts vast and occasionally rapid environmental changes, as one day, and one season, is to the next a completely different environment. Heinrich’s narrative illuminates the complete experience of his seasonal life—with the ups and downs of not just the leaves and snow, but also the problems, solutions, and frustrations of unblinking immersion in nature. He observes the “common uncommon” of spiders, ants, chestnut trees, porcupines, owls, and mice as his story branches out into five themes: Being, Becoming, Interbeing, Remembering, and Returning. The Common Uncommon is a narrative of small surprises in nature, some delightful and some—brought on by climate change—devastating, all seen through the sharp eye of a world–renowned naturalist.
Reviews:
"As E.O. Wilson recognized long ago, Bernd Heinrich is one of our greatest living naturalists. His new book, The Common Uncommon, reveals the breadth and depth of his knowledge of the legendary North Woods of Maine. With an eye as sharp as a hawk, he views his world from the forest floor up to its canopy, finding much which eludes the average observer. Who else could write so clearly, evocatively, and engagingly of the peculiarities of porcupines, the antics of squirrels, the ingenious way in which frogs survive winter, and the habits of spiders? The Common Uncommon is a nature lover’s odyssey, with this brilliant scientist as our affable guide." —Amy Tan, New York Times-bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles