{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTZWSVTN?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"B0CTZWSVTN","authors":["Christopher Brown"],"book_id":"9781643263373","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781643263373","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781643263373.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"An \"instant classic\", this genre-bending blend of naturalism, memoir, and social manifesto is a fascinating study for rewilding the city, the self, and society (Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times bestselling author). During the real estate crash of the late 2000s, Christopher Brown purchased an empty lot in an industrial section of Austin, Texas. The property—abandoned and full of litter and debris—was an unlikely site for a home. Brown had become fascinated with these empty lots around Austin, so-called “ruined” spaces once used for agriculture and industry awaiting their redevelopment. He discovered them to be teeming with natural activity, and embarked on a twenty-year project to live in and document such spaces. There, in our most damaged landscapes, he witnessed the remarkable resilience of wild nature, and how we can heal ourselves by healing the Earth. Beautifully written and philosophically hard-hitting, A Natural History of Empty Lots offers a new lens on human disruption and nature, offering a sense of hope among the edgelands. “Brown lives far from any conventional battlefield, but he is surrounded by the wreckage of a different war, and he, too, finds hope in cultivating the ruins of nature… A Natural History of Empty Lots is less a departure from the nature writing tradition than a welcome addition to its edgelands.” — New York Review of Books \"The nature writing we need now.\" —Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts \"Incredible\" —Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist Read more","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781643263373","publication_date":"20240917","publisher":"Timber Press","slug":"a-natural-history-of-empty-lots","subtitle":"Field Notes From Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places","title":"A Natural History of Empty Lots"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"ARC010000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Urban & Land Use Planning","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BIO026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Personal Memoirs","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"ARC010000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Urban & Land Use Planning","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"BIO026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Personal Memoirs","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Urban & Land Use Planning","score":1,"slug":"urban-land-use-planning"},{"label":"Personal Memoirs","score":1,"slug":"personal-memoirs"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Urban & Land Use Planning","Good for readers interested in urban","Good for readers who enjoy Urban & Land Use Planning and Personal Memoirs."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Kerri Arsenault"],"book_id":"9781250799685","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250799685.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":8.0288,"title":"Mill Town","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250799685"},{"authors":["Annabelle Tometich"],"book_id":"9780316540322","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316540322.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.8351,"title":"The Mango Tree","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316540322"},{"authors":["David Sheff"],"book_id":"9781328974716","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781328974716.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.8138,"title":"Beautiful Boy (tie-in)","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781328974716"},{"authors":["D. Esperanza","Gerardo Iván Morales"],"book_id":"9781668033777","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668033777.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.785,"title":"Detained","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668033777"},{"authors":["Eric Trump","Donald J. Trump - introduction","Lara Trump - introduction","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781668205877","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668205877.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.7597,"title":"Under Siege","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668205877"},{"authors":["Jill Duggar","Derick Dillard","Craig Borlase"],"book_id":"9781668024447","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668024447.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.7586,"title":"Counting the Cost","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668024447"},{"authors":["Amy Chua"],"book_id":"9781594202841","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781594202841.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":7.7583,"title":"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781594202841"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:family"],"label":"Family","score":0.162,"slug":"family"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:development"],"label":"Development","score":0.0794,"slug":"development"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:urban"],"label":"Urban","score":0.0576,"slug":"urban"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:nature"],"label":"Nature","score":0.0537,"slug":"nature"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Family, Development, Urban.","Reading lane: Urban & Land Use Planning and Personal Memoirs.","Publisher: Timber Press."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":45,"goodreads_ratings_count":525,"goodreads_reviews_count":121,"quality_score":0.9167}}