## Metadata - Author: [[David Quammen]] - Full Title: Natural Acts - Category: #books ## Highlights - But please don’t ask me to define “essay,” because the atmosphere could quickly grow ponderous. Um, it’s a filigreed editorial whose author doesn’t know just which side he has argued until he reads the rough typescript. It’s a small wobbly verbal dirt bike used for exploring the intellectual backcountry, modest in horsepower yet under imperfect control of the cyclist. See what I mean about the atmosphere? ([Location 251](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0028OMVE4&location=251)) - “There is no single criterion,” according to the renowned desert botanist Forrest Shreve, “by which a desert may be recognized and defined.” Still, we have to start somewhere. And a desert is one of those entities, like virginity and sans serif typeface, of which the definition must begin with negatives. ([Location 1788](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0028OMVE4&location=1788)) - a California-based company called Genetic Savings & Clone, ([Location 4783](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0028OMVE4&location=4783))