The Windward Road: Adventures of a Naturalist on Remote Caribbean Shores

Winner of the John Burroughs Medal, American Museum of Natural History

“A naturalist with a taste for adventure as a state of mind proves an absorbing storyteller as he wanders the Caribbean coasts.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The most compelling account of sea turtle ecology the world had ever seen.”—Research in Review

“Writing in the best tradition of the great naturalist explorers.”—Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring

“This is a classic and it remains as fresh and vibrant as ever.”—Marine Turtle Newsletter

“Written with verve and drive and clarity and joyousness.”—Chicago Tribune

“A delightful and absorbing adventure story, which acquires those characteristics through the author’s love of nature and its creatures, both human and otherwise.”—San Francisco Examiner

Originally published in 1956, The Windward Road helped set in motion a movement to protect sea turtles that spread throughout the world and remains strong today. Archie Carr’s unmatched style of nature writing, accessible to experienced naturalists and laypersons alike, explores some of nature’s darkest mysteries with humor and much delight. His delightful stories of exploring the Caribbean while researching green turtles brings to life his deep passion for the people and biological diversity of the tropics.

Archie Carr was professor of zoology at the University of Florida, a research associate of the American Museum of Natural History, and founder of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. He authored many books about sea turtles as well as his life as a naturalist, including So Excellent a Fishe and Ulendo.