National Outdoor Book Award winners announced

The National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education recently announced the winners of this year’s National Outdoor Book Awards.

A total of 18 books were named either winners or honorable mentions in nine categories, including Nature and the Environment, Natural History Literature, Outdoor Literature, History-Biography, Classic, Children Books, Design and Artistic Merit, Nature Guidebooks, Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks and Instructional.

Winners of the National Outdoor Book Awards over the years have represented some of the absolute best in outdoor writing, artwork and photography. If you enjoy reading about the outdoors, you probably will not be disappointed by any of the books on this list.

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2010 National Outdoor Book Awards:

Nature and the Environment – “Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari With a Cast of Trillions” by Mark W. Moffett

Natural History Literature – “An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World” by Anders Halverson

Natural History Literature – “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Outdoor Literature – “Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life and Catching the Perfect Wave” by Peter Heller

History-Biography – “Pilgrims of the Vertical: Yosemite Rock Climbers & Nature at Risk” by Joseph E. Taylor III

Classic – “Annapurna: First Conquest of an 8,000-meter Peak” by Maurice Herzog

Children Books – “Camping With the President,” written by Ginger Wadsworth and illustrated by Karen Dugan

Children Books – “Captain Mac: The Life of Donald Baxter MacMillan, Arctic Explorer by Mary Morton Cowan

Design and Artistic Merit – “Freshwater Fish of the Northeast,” illustrated by Matt Patterson with text by David A. Patterson

Nature Guidebooks – “Tracks and Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species” by Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney

Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks – “Exploring Havasupai: A Guide to the Heart of the Grand Canyon” by Greg Witt

Instructional Category – “Sport Climbing: From Top Rope to Redpoint, Techniques for Climbing Success” by Andrew Bisharat

Honorable mention winners included:

Outdoor Literature – “Just Passin' Thru” by Winton Porter

History-Biography – “The Last Man on the Mountain: The Death of an American Adventurer on K2” by Jennifer Jordan

History-Biography – “Arctic Labyrinth: The Quest for the Northwest Passage” by Glyn Williams

Children Books – “An Egret's Day,” poems by Jane Yolen and photographs by Jason Stemple

Nature Guidebooks – “Night Sky: A Field Guide to the Constellations” by Jonathan Poppele

Nature Guidebooks – “Molt in North American Birds” by Steven N. G. Howell

Complete reviews of these books, as well as the list of past winners, may be found at the National Outdoor Book Award’s Web site at www.noba-web.org.

In the end, let me know if any of you have had a chance to read any of the above books. What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.