The Home Place

“A landmark work of beauty, honesty, and insight.”—Helen Macdonald  From acclaimed ornithologist and MacArthur Fellow J. Drew Lanham comes a 10th anniversary edition of a modern classic of nature writing, newly expanded with reflections on the decade since its original publication. The Home Place remains a distinguished work of American memoir and nature writing—a beloved bestseller that has inspired readers, birders, conservationists, and anyone seeking a deeper connection to the natural world. In these pages, renowned ornithologist J. Drew Lanham traces his roots to Edgefield County, South Carolina, where generations of his family have lived since slavery. There, amid fields, forests, and fence rows, a young Lanham discovers the birds that will shape his life. Through birding, he finds wonder, purpose, and belonging, while beginning to grapple with what it means to be “the rare bird”—a Black naturalist in spaces where few people look like him. With lyricism, humor, and unflinching honesty, Lanham explores race, inheritance, identity, and the enduring bonds between people and place. This special 10th anniversary edition includes new and expanded reflections that revisit the book’s central themes through the lens of a decade of cultural and environmental change, deepening the conversation that has made The Home Place a touchstone for readers across generations. At once intimate and expansive, The Home Place is the story of a family’s roots, a birder’s awakening, and a lifelong love affair with nature. For longtime admirers and first-time readers alike, this anniversary edition celebrates a modern classic whose message of belonging, stewardship, and hope has only grown more urgent with time.

J. Drew Lanham is a MacArthur Fellow, cultural ornithologist, naturalist, and award-winning writer. He is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, finalist for the John Burroughs Medal; Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts; and Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves. Among his many honors are the National Audubon Society’s Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership, the E. O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation, and the Thoreau Prize. Lanham is a Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University. He lives with his family on a farm in the upstate of South Carolina.