An international conference was held in Venice, Italy, in December 1997 to compare folk, traditional, and local forms of knowing, using, protecting, and conserving nature. These 26 essays and discussions were either prepared for the conference or emerged from it. They cover the recognition and classification of natural kinds, ways of naming nature and naming through nature, symbolic uses of nature, how people have used nature practically, and what it means to conserve nature. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)