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Clouds wash over Mount Katahdin's Tablelands, just a mile or so from the northern terminus of the Appalachian TrailNin the cat on Mount Washington. Illustration by T.B.R. Walsh from Cat in the Clouds







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Books by Eric Pinder

Weather folklore, bear stories (my patented first rule of outdoor writing: “when in doubt, use a bear”) and anecdotes from the Appalachian Trail fill the pages of these books. Click each cover below for details, reviews, excerpts and a table of contents from each book.

Looking for signed copies? Please contact the author.
 

If All the Animals Came InsideIF ALL THE ANIMALS CAME INSIDE
Story by Eric Pinder, Illustrations by Marc Brown
40 pages, many color illustrations, Little, Brown 2012

Join one family's wild romp as animals of all shapes and sizes burst through the front door and make themselves right at home. Extraordinary collage artwork from illustrator Marc Brown (creator of the bestselling Arthur book and TV series) pairs with Eric Pinder’s hilarious rhyming verse to make this the perfect picture book to read aloud again and again

Cat in the CloudsCAT IN THE CLOUDS
Story by Eric Pinder, Illustrations by T. B. R. Walsh
32 pages, many color illustrations, The History Press, 2009

“Does a nice job of plumping up Nin's story with child-pleasing details,
a simple plot and light humor”
-Concord Monitor (read the full review)

Nin needs a home. Where can he stay? Stray cat Nin drifts from house to house until he meets a meteorologist named Mark. Then Nin begins his greatest journey yet—to the top of Mount Washington. Follow Nin to a land where the wind howls, snow swirls and wild bears roam. At the Mount Washington Observatory, Nin learns that the best friends—and a wonderful home—can be found anywhere, even high above the clouds.

Life at the Top 2009LIFE AT THE TOP
Weather, Wonder & High Cuisine
from the Mount Washington Observatory
Paperback, 192 pages, Hobblebush Books, August 2009

 A handful of hardy souls live at the Mount Washington Observatory year-round. The Observatory crew find much to enjoy in their icy home—even with 100-mph winds, wandering moose, and odd questions from visitors (“Who cut down all the trees up here?”). Meet Marty, Nin, Jasper and Inga, the Mount Washington cats, observe the “green flash” and find out what it’s like to have hands swollen to the size of baseball mitts due to frostbite. This updated and expanded edition of Life at the Top includes the chapter “Life at the Bottom,” following Observatory staff to the South Pole. Also includes a section of favorite recipes from the summit crew. Order the second edition here.

North to KatahdinNORTH TO KATAHDIN
Paperback, 178 pages, Milkweed Editions, 2005

“A descriptive, insightful book that makes us think
about our place in nature.”
-David Breashears, director of IMAX film Everest

Why do we like to hike? Why do we walk through the tick-infested woods, risk getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and mooseflies, endure windburn and hypothermia on rugged mountain slopes until our feet ache and our knees throb and our forty-pound packs squeeze our spinal cords like an accordion? Why do we willingly lose brain cells in the headache-inducing thin air of Mount Everest, or go for weeks without a shower along the Appalachian Trail? Why do we do these things, and then go back and do them again and again? North to Katahdin is a nearly 200-page attempt to find an answer.

Read a short nature writing excerpt: “Pamola Peak

Buy in paperback or download eBookAMONG THE CLOUDS
Work, Wit & Wild Weather
at the Mount Washington Observatory
Paperback or eBook, 100 pages, Alpine Books, 2008

Take a whirlwind literary field trip to the top of Mount Washington, “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” Discover what a meteorologist’s typical day is like in the sometimes harsh, sometimes spectacular world above timberline. Come meet Nin the Cat, Marty on the Mountain, tobogganing ravens, meandering moose and hapless hikers. These humorous and informative stories about life on a mountaintop are sure to appeal toRead on your Apple iPad hikers and weather aficionados alike. Foreword by meteorologist Mish Michaels.
Click the cover to
read more.

Read an excerpt from Tying Down the WindTying Down the WindTYING DOWN THE WIND
Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth
Hear a free sample from Tying Down the Wind at audible.com
Audiobook, 10 hours on 9 CDs
or 7 cassette tapes, Blackstone, 2002
Hardcover, 280 pages, Tarcher/Putnam, 2000

Where can you find the worst weather on Earth? The surprising answer is: everywhere. You don’t need to climb Mt. Everest or voyage to Antarctica to witness both the beauty and the destructiveness of weather. The same forces are at work in your own backyard. Think of this book as “nature writing about weather.” Enjoy the world’s worst weather in the comfort of your own home as you travel from the Mount Washington Observatory to Tornado Alley to the icy South Pole.

“The book is the product of deep insight. Pinder is a weather observer by trade, but his observations of humanity are equally exacting. He expresses the onset of goosebumps, the pain of snow blindness, the fragrance of a summer day, the rebirth of spring, and other common weather experiences
with uncommon acuity.”
-Weatherwise Magazine

Read an excerpt: “Into Deep Slush

Life at the TopLIFE AT THE TOP
Tales, Truths, and Trusted Recipes
from the Mount Washington Observatory
Paperback, 150 pages, Down East Books, 1997

You don’t have to be crazy to work on Mount Washington. But it helps. Read about clouds, wind, fog thick enough to swim in, geology, bitter cold, breathtaking views, the Century Club, and the exploits of the observatory’s cats, Jasper and Nin, in this original 1997 edition of Life at the Top.

Order the updated and expanded second edition here.

Exploring the Human Side of WeatherCycling's Greatest MisadventuresCYCLING’S GREATEST MISADVENTURES
254 pages, Casagrande Press, 2007

SOUL OF THE SKY
Exploring the Human Side of Weather
150 pages, MWO, 1999

Anthologies featuring stories and essays by Eric Pinder include Flush Fiction, Beacons of Tomorrow and the books pictured here, which include writing by including bicycle-tour leader Heather Andersen, Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Dillard, science writer Chet Raymo, and Weather Notebook radio host Dave Thurlow.

Click the covers to read more about each book.

Buy the books

Hear a free 12 minute sample from TYING DOWN THE WIND at audible.comBuy, rent or download TYING DOWN THE WIND at Blackstone Audiobooks
The audiobook version of Tying Down the Wind (10 hours) is available for purchase, rent or download from Blackstone Audiobooks and audible.com. Also available from amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Text and photographs © Eric Pinder