For many years, Robert Michael Pyle’s “The Butterflies of Cascadia” has been my go-to reference guide for any non-moth lepidopteran seen in my beloved Pacific Northwest. However as this book is now out of print with even used copies selling for double its original cover price – and unread ones classifiable as “new” well over $100.00 – I can’t very well recommend it to those seeking a guidebook to the area’s species.
I think the first time I heard Robert Michael Pyle discuss his idea for a butterfly-as-a-main-character novel was back in 2004 or thereabout. We were discussing one of his lesser known books, “Walking the High Ridge; Life as a Field Trip” (which happens to also be my favorite among all his works to this day) and he casually told me of his idea for a romantic novel centering on a Magdalena Alpine butterfly.
Robert Michael Pyle has been writing about nature for one year more than I’ve been drawing breath. And while I consider myself reasonably well-read when it comes to his published books, I know that an additional and significant portion of his writing has seen print in a host of different periodicals, anthologies, and in introductions to the books of other writers.
Now approaching its thirtieth anniversary, Wintergreen is widely considered to be one of Pyle’s best works. So much so that Pharos Editions has recently republished it in a special anniversary edition with a new introduction written by David Guterson and an updated afterword penned by Pyle himself.