Springer Mountain
Meditations on Killing and Eating

Unfortunately a book that rather steeply underdelivers. There are engaging bits -- Williams clearly has a knack for storytelling -- and moments of charming prose. But on the whole it's a disorientingly uneven work, and I had the continual impression that I was reading a rough draft, with much work l......more

It didn’t tell me anything different than what I already knew. We are predators, killers. We are good at it. And we like it. Nature tells us that we are not the only killers. We are just among them. The best part is the author’s observations on the town of Barrow, it’s people and subsistence on whal......more

Such a nuanced and thoughtful book. This book exemplifies what the essay is: not working to defend a predetermined thesis, but allowing questions and uncertainty to guide the research and the writing.......more

A haunting meditation on what it means to be human, and what it means to be an animal. It doesn’t give you answers, if that’s what you’re looking for. But it’s certainly beautiful, powerful, and painful. It makes you think— and that’s all it needs to do. Loved it.......more

The killing and eating were kept separate. This whale, the one I ate that day, was the way meat always is: cut up into the small pieces we can handle. Springer Mountain is a series of reflections on meat—its consumption, sourcing, disavowal, and, ultimately, illusion. This is a short book, split u......more