"Sky Time in Grays River"wins national literature award

Local author Robert Michael Pyle of Grays River is the winner of the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for natural history literature.

His book, entitled “Sky Time in Gray's River,” is about his home, a "forgotten place," in southwestern Washington. He follows the lives of his neighbors -- birds, butterflies, cats and people -- season by season, over a 30 year period.

"The overall quality of the entries was very high this year," said Ron Watters, a professor emeritus at Idaho State University and the chairman of the National Outdoor Book Awards. "Robert Michael Pyle's book is a perfect example. It's an outstanding work of natural history literature."

Other winners include "Forever on the Mountain," which won the History/Biography category.

"Forever on the Mountain" is a narrative of one of North America's most controversial mountaineering accidents. In 1967, seven climbers were caught in a storm and died on Mt. McKinley. Extensive investigations by author James M. Tabor shed new light on the tragedy.

Complete reviews of these and the other 2007 winners may be found at National Outdoor Book Award Web site at: http://www.noba-web.org.