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The Fall of the Wild: Extinction, De-Extinction, and the Ethics of Conservation by Ben A. Minteer
prhodes98's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A challenging book on the here and now of conservation, informed by greats like Aldo Leopold, Thoreau, Carson. The final chapter inspires great reflection.
anjana's review
5.0
This is a book of (almost) essays. The author is an expert in the field and has been involved in multiple conversations about the status of the conservation and related fields. This may be an abrupt form of starting a review but the book is equally straightforward and jumps right into the heart of the matter.
There are so many things about the conservation of wildlife by the powerful white man, as this goes back to when they held all the power, that I had no idea about. These men ruled at the time when travelling was the ultimate adventure and the 'discovery' of species (which indigenous people might have well been aware of a lot of them, but they did not count) was something extraordinary. Without the scientific construct and equipment available then as we do now, killing and dissecting as well as taxidermy was the only way to preserve information. To continue that method even now seems absurd to me (as a non-scientific reader), but there are people who stand by the idea. The discussion is not limited to the idea of conservation but how to treat extinction once it has already taken place and if there is a chance to reverse the trend (who knew!). Any discussion surrounding ethics in any capacity is always fascinating and this would liven up any reading group looking for something new.
It was text-heavy and took me a long time to read despite being a small volume but it definitely is worth reading because it brings to the forefront all the behind-the-scenes discussions people in authority have been having. This puts us in a better position to understand what the current definition of 'Wild' even is as well as how we as an average person can contribute to its survival. I highly recommend anyone who is remotely interested in the status of conservation in the world right now pick this up as a novice, since I am sure anyone already in the field would be aware of the content of this book.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley but the review is completely based on my own reading experience. I might just read it again slower sometime.
There are so many things about the conservation of wildlife by the powerful white man, as this goes back to when they held all the power, that I had no idea about. These men ruled at the time when travelling was the ultimate adventure and the 'discovery' of species (which indigenous people might have well been aware of a lot of them, but they did not count) was something extraordinary. Without the scientific construct and equipment available then as we do now, killing and dissecting as well as taxidermy was the only way to preserve information. To continue that method even now seems absurd to me (as a non-scientific reader), but there are people who stand by the idea. The discussion is not limited to the idea of conservation but how to treat extinction once it has already taken place and if there is a chance to reverse the trend (who knew!). Any discussion surrounding ethics in any capacity is always fascinating and this would liven up any reading group looking for something new.
It was text-heavy and took me a long time to read despite being a small volume but it definitely is worth reading because it brings to the forefront all the behind-the-scenes discussions people in authority have been having. This puts us in a better position to understand what the current definition of 'Wild' even is as well as how we as an average person can contribute to its survival. I highly recommend anyone who is remotely interested in the status of conservation in the world right now pick this up as a novice, since I am sure anyone already in the field would be aware of the content of this book.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley but the review is completely based on my own reading experience. I might just read it again slower sometime.
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