A Place Between the Tides is an evocative mix of scientific observation and personal memories that captures the tremendous vitality and vulnerability of marshlands. For every nature writer there seems to be one special place that demonstrates the ways of the natural world and its relationship with humans. For Thoreau, it was a pond; for Annie Dillard, a creek; for author Harry Thurston, it is the salt marsh where land meets sea, one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth but one that is increasingly threatened.

This is the story of Thurston's return to the beloved environment of his boyhood. Elegantly moving back and forth in time, and deftly interweaving a naturalist's observations with a personal journey, he describes the seasons of the marsh over two decades. Altogether, Thurston documents more than 100 species of fish, birds, and mammals, a myriad of creatures hiding in tidal pools, and 70 species of plants.