Wetlands have long intrigued us. For centuries bogs, mires, and meadows were regarded forlorn topography, loathsome places replete with legend and lore. Natural Historian Mark Demitroff presents an engaging overview on how to read and value the unusual wet environment of the New Jersey Pine Barrens through land-surface processes. Little known ice age landforms provide critical habitat for plants and animals. Places like spungs, cripples, blue holes, and savannahs are woven together in a geographic tapestry of interactions between nature and society. People here have exploited these wetlands for millennia, features that now slowly fade from memory and place.