Peter Matthiessen
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Peter Matthiessen

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Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 - April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer and CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine The Paris Review, he was a 2008 National Book Award winner. He was also a prominent environmental activist. His nonfiction featured nature and travel, notably The Snow Leopard (1978) and American Indian issues and history, such as a detailed and controversial study of the Leonard Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983). His fiction was adapted for film: the early story "Travelin' Man" was made into The Young One (1960) by Luis Buñuel and the novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1965) into the 1991 film of the same name. In 2008, at age 81, Matthiessen received the National Book Award for Fiction for Shadow Country, a one-volume, 890-page revision of his three novels set in frontier Florida that had been published in the 1990s. According to critic Michael Dirda, "No one writes more lyrically [than Matthiessen] about animals or describes more movingly the spiritual experience of mountaintops, savannas, and the sea." Matthiessen was treated for acute leukemia for more than a year. His death came as he awaited publication of his final novel, In Paradise on April 8. Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Melissa Eagan, WNYC New York Public Radio (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wnyc/2565449584/) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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The Snow Leopard

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Featured Article: 60+ Nature Quotes to Inspire and Motivate You


From the Andes Mountains to Monument Valley, from Niagara Falls to Kilauea, nature is truly awe-inspiring. Beyond natural marvels, ecosystems on Earth are so vast and varied. Nature’s beauty and wonder are literally everywhere, waiting to delight and uplift us. Countless storytellers over the years have examined the endless beauty of the great outdoors. We’ve assembled some of our favorite quotes about nature to motivate and inspire you.

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