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Strand
An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris
A Seattle Times Best Books of 2008 Finalist, Oregon Book Awards 2009
 "A marvelous book—enchanting, illuminating,
often surprising, always informative."
— David Laskin, author of The Children's Blizzard
and Braving the Elements: The Stormy
History of American Weather (click for more reviews)
In Strand, travel writer and amateur naturalist Bonnie Henderson traces the stories of wrack washed up on the mile-long stretch of Oregon beach she has walked regularly for more than a decade.
Henderson's writing conveys both a keen attention to the specifics of place and an expansive field of vision. The burned hull of a long-abandoned fishing boat, a glass fishing float, the egg case of a skate, a beached minke whale, an unusual number of dead murres, and an athletic shoe are the starting points for essays that reach across the globe. Henderson takes readers from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Vancouver, B.C.; from the currents circulating through the North Pacific to the "Eastern Garbage Patch" between Hawaii and California; from China's Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to fishing villages on the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.
As Henderson uncovers these odysseys, she meditates on current issues, events, and phenomena—oil spills, the proliferation of ocean debris, international trade, the evolution of sharks, and the survival prospects of whales. The characters that emerge range from the world's leading minke whale researchers to the crew of a Coast Guard airbase to a small-town salvager of wrecked fishing boats, glued to the radio and praying for disaster.
Strand offers a thoughtful look at the surprisingly far-ranging journeys of what washes up on our Pacific shores. Click to see photos of "characters" from Strand.
More books that invite you to into Oregon's wild places,
from The Mountaineers Books
 Day Hiking Oregon Coast is a comprehensive guide to walking the beaches and headlands of Oregon's 326-mile coastline. From Fort Stevens to Brookings, Oregon's coast is lined with primeval forests, undulating sand dunes, secret beaches and towering headlands. In this completely revised 2007 edition, Henderson has added such new hikes as the Fort to Sea Trail and updated directions for the 400-mile border-to-border Oregon Coast Trail, making this the most comprehensive hiking guide to the region. (Formerly 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast.)
Oregon Coast Magazine says:
Henderson has created another indispensable guide. Journeys for the adventuresome, beach walks for the day tripper — she provides it all!
 Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon is a guide to 100 of the best hikes in Oregon for people of any age, but especially for young hikers. With easily accessible day hikes and overnighters and practical information on distance, difficulty, elevation, and best time to go, parents can quickly find great outings for their young adventurers in this completely revised 2007 edition. Henderson guides families, seniors, and anyone looking for fun and easy outings to some of Oregon's best trails. (Formerly Best Hikes with Children in Western and Central Oregon.)
Real Simple magazine says:
Back in the day, you loved hiking, but lately the only communing with nature you do is during play dates in the park. Get back to the woods with your kids (and pry them away from SpongeBob for a while) with the Best Hikes with Children series.
We need the tonic of wildness, to wade sometimes in marshes
where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk ...
We can never have enough of nature.
—From Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
I know I need the tonic of wildness.These books grew out of my own wanderings in Oregon's wild places, from the coast to the Cascades and beyond, first as a child with my family and eventually with my own son and my growing family and friends. As the pace of life increases and technology makes it easier for us to connect with the wider world, time in the natural world becomes even more important: to connect with ourselves and one another more deeply, to get our bearings, to find our way. May these books help you discover new places in this corner of the world and develop a greater capacity for wonder within yourself.
—Bonnie Henderson
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