To his legions of readers, Gene Logsdon is best known as the Contrary Farmer. His writings, which blend commonsense advice, curmudgeonly wit, and respect for the earth, are manna to anyone who wants to live, as Logsdon puts it, "at nature's pace."

The Pond Lovers is Logsdon's ode to the watery microcosms all around us, from the half-acre farm pond to the suburban garden pool. Readers looking for hands-on experience will find plenty of pond-keeping dos and don'ts. Logsdon's higher purpose, however, is to proclaim the natural, spiritual, and recreational benefits of ponds.

Fed by spring or filled ... Read moreby rainfall, the ponds closest to Logsdon's heart need minimal human interference in the way of machinery or chemicals. Those we read about in The Pond Lovers mostly belong to Logsdon's friends and neighbors, an extraordinarily resourceful group of people. For them, a pond is many things—from a place to fish, swim, or skate to an oasis for local plants, insects, and animals. Each purpose, Logsdon shows us, has its place in a thoughtful, self-sufficient life. Throughout, Logsdon also reminds us of the intense personal connections to ponds of such creative giants as Claude Monet, Andrew Wyeth, and Henry David Thoreau.

Drawn from many and varied lifetimes spent around ponds, The Pond Lovers brims with lessons and opportunities for good work and good play—for backyard naturalists, do-it-yourselfers, and armchair gardeners.