In ancient myths from throughout the world, the appearance of a white deer presages a warning, leads humans to crucial crossroads, and points us to a gate to better understanding our our relationship to the world. Also, throughout history and in science, the white deer has been a sign of imbalance, impending peril, and also profound moments of opening and transformation.

In The White Deer: Ecospirituality and the Mythic, Melinda Reidinger chases the white deer down mythic paths and startling (and sometimes shocking) tracks. From the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to the blue blood of horseshoe crabs, "monstrous" ladies and fallen knights to Magyar star-myths and desert forests, The White Deer speaks to a relationship with the living world we've forgotten but can learn to find again.

Deeply researched and densely rich with details from science, history, myth, and dream, and written with a warmly engaging voice, Melinda Reidinger's opus also features the haunting interior illustration work of James Hutton and a foreword by Gordon White.