Lake House

John Stanard's delightful story of his long life in nature illuminates the challenges facing a natural environment that is so essential to our welfare. Stanard's a great writer. Just buy the damned book and enjoy it! Leigh Fredrickson, Ph.D., Wetland EcologistThe Lake House is the story of the author's heartwarming boyhood experiences with grandparents who taught him about nature and life. Bugs, lizards and other critters were his toys at an old farmhouse in a wilderness setting. Stanard learned about wood stoves and coal oil lamps. He was gently taught to visit the outhouse alone in the dark, unafraid of being eaten by a varmint. He loved bedtime, knowing a grandparent would read him a story about one of his wild playmates. The author highlights extirpated animals restored by science-based conservation. More than 70 illustrations by his talented wife, Rose Anne, poignantly enliven his memories and authoritative insights into ongoing conservation issues: Are all "e;flood-control"e; dams worth destroying rivers?As an outdoorsman and prize-winning writer, the retired newspaperman has spent a lifetime prowling the swamps, rivers and rugged Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. Stanard's background and story-telling talent uniquely qualify him to blend his memoir with modern conservation successes and challenges.