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ISBN: 9798893030105
Publishing: October 7, 2025
Price: $24.95 US / $32.95 CAN
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Subject: Uncategorized
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The Hidden Seasons
A Calendar of Nature’s Clues
by Tristan Gooley
 

From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs (350,000 copies in print), an eye-opening, totally original approach to the perennially popular topic of the changing seasons, revealing a whole world of clues and signs that show there’s much more to see and explore than spring, summer, winter, and fall

Everybody notices the flowers of spring, longer days of summer, and colors of autumn. Very few notice the hundreds of changes that hide behind these annual events.

The sun, moon, stars, plants, fungi, animals, water, and weather all reflect seasonal changes back to us. Spring is the time of meteor showers, unique cloud shapes, and secret woodland sounds. Summer is a time of sky shadows, strange silences, and one-off colors. Autumn is laced with curious animal behavior and warm-water phenomena.

In The Hidden Seasons, New York Times–bestselling author Tristan Gooley shows us the deeper meaning behind these changes by connecting them with their hidden, complementary clues. A cloud of dancing insects in a sun pocket, for instance, marks a more interesting moment in the spring calendar than either the sun or the insects do alone—because it helps us to see the link between astronomy and animal behavior. In winter we expect snowfall, but there’s a whole hidden world of meaning in every footprint; ice crystals in a deer print suggests the deer stood in that one spot long enough to melt the snow. In summer, ephemeral star compasses appear, only to hide away again by September; with Tristan as guide, you will not only see the stars that others miss, but also learn when these stars warn of summer storms. Come autumn, you’ll discover how to predict the appearance of mushrooms. In twelve chapters, you’ll uncover each granular seasonal change, month by month—every event an extraordinary occasion of its own—to more deeply understand the way nature makes its way through a year.

Acclaim for Tristan Gooley

“Gooley interprets clues like a private investigator of the wilds, leaving no stone unturned. . . . For those inclined to solve mysteries written into the landscape, this author’s lead is one they’ll want to follow.”The Wall Street Journal

“[Gooley] has become the global expert on natural navigation, finding his way around the world using nothing but natural clues and pointers. His discovery (made on a sailing expedition to Iceland)—that if, when at sea, you see more than 10 birds in any given five-minute window, this means you are within 40 miles of land—has become part of the British military’s survival guidance.”The Daily Beast

“Gooley is your man. . . . With unflappable practicality, he shares simple ways to understand your surroundings, whether you’re beside a stream or on the open sea at night, without instruments.”Discover magazine

“While Gooley’s tips encompass useful, practical ways to predict a change in weather, determine when a predator may be prowling and find true North at night, his true gift is in igniting curiosity and wonder about the world around us.”Shelf Awareness

“Avid and budding outdoorspeople will appreciate Gooley’s breadth of knowledge and accessible approach.”Publishers Weekly

“Gooley, who has single-handedly been reviving natural navigation in this age of GPS, has the birdwatching skills of Bill Oddie and the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes. He can make you feel that you’ve spent half your life walking about with your eyes only half-open.”The Telegraph

“Most of us have lost our way in nature at one time or another. . . . Gooley can you lead you back to nature if you’re willing to invest the time.”National Parks Traveler

“Gooley’s calm, contemplative authority on matters solar, lunar, and celestial establishes his guru credentials—but it’s his revelations about the clues that lie scattered about the natural environment that really entrance: how puddles drying on paths, the shapes of sand dunes, the graininess of scree on the lee of a slope can all be enlisted to summon compass points to your horizon.”Time Out London

TRISTAN GOOLEY is the New York Times–bestselling author of How to Read a Tree, How to Read Water, How to Read Nature, The Natural Navigator, The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, The Secret World of Weather, and The Nature Instinct. He has led expeditions on five continents, climbed mountains in three, and is the only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. His more than two decades of pioneering outdoor experience include research among tribal peoples in some of the remotest regions on Earth.


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