Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
Some of the book's descriptive passages might be a little opaque for people like me with limited knowledge of flora and fauna. Its case for rewilding, however, is compelling and richly cited.
A bit of a slow (albeit fun) start. The middle section, mostly spent discussing conservation and forestry efforts in Scotland, is absolutely riveting. Inspiring stuff!
The government says that unless determined efforts are made to exterminate them, they will become established through much of England within twenty or thirty years. It is a prospect that delights me, though I accept that not everyone shares this view.
After nearly three weeks (I am so annoyed) of clawing through this slog of a book, I HAVE EMERGED.
Look, I am so, so glad this book seems to work for a lot of people. When he eventually gets to them, the facts George Monbiot highlights about the damage wreaked on the planet and its species by humanity and the benefits of re-wilding are deeply interesting and powerful.
But the most remarkable revelation in the paper was this: that in 1889 the fishing fleet, largely composed of sailing boats, using primitive, homespun gear, reliant on luck and skill rather than on fish-finding technology and all the other sophisticated equipment available today, landed twice the weight of fish as boats working the same sea do today.
However, Monbiot is also an egocentric, privileged white man who really, really wants his Scout badges in kayaking, connecting with your inner feral hunter-gatherer, “expertise” in other cultures derived from a few weeks of superficial immersion, condescension with limited self-awareness, and a deep, deep hatred of sheep (or, as Monbiot calls, them “the white plague”).
Then there was the bit where he introduces the differences in technology between “humans” (white Europeans), as opposed to Native Americans.
Nope, nope, nopity nope. I’m assuming this was a typo. But the fact that it happened, and that no one caught it, in the context of the tone of the rest of the book and how DEEPLY opposed he is to species from other parts of the world being introduced in the U.K., just puts the worst possible taste in my mouth.
There is a comment on a review here in Goodreads that describes the memoir aspects of this book as gorgeous, decorative, self-aggrandising, and largely irrelevant to the premise of the work. Unfortunately, this book is not pitched as a memoir, and, even more unfortunately, a memoir is what most of this book is.
If you are content with the scope of your life, if it is already as colourful and surprising as you might wish, if feeding the ducks is as close as you ever want to come to nature, this book is probably not for you.
I should’ve taken this huge red flag of a belittling comment, even if not directed to me, to heart and just put it down. But I didn’t, so let’s end on a rare insight I did like:
So many fences are raised to shut us out that eventually they shut us in.
The landscape of the UK has been tamed by man and domestic animal for millennia, so much so that vast parts of it are almost monocultures now. This legacy is one of the human desire to control and dominate their environment, and biodiversity has suffered as a result. In this book Monbiot is advocating us to re-engage with nature and considers bold and daring options to re-wild the countryside.
Possibly the bravest of his suggestions is to reintroduce wolves. First hearing this, most people will raise their hands in horror because of the danger, but as has been proven in America, and other parts of Europe, the reintroduction of a top level predator can shake the natural environment completely. For example, having wolves back in Scotland will mean that the deer population can be controlled naturally, less deer will mean that the vegetation can grow and recover, and all these have a massive effect on the animals and plants up and down the food chain. The planned and accidental introduction of beavers seems to have worked, with the changes that they make to the river systems hopefully will have a knock on effect by reducing flooding.
He isn’t a huge fan of sheep either... These simple, harmless animals cause massive devastation to the landscape, almost to the point where there is more life in a desert that on the Welsh uplands. Areas that have had sheep excluded, within a handful of years will have a rich variety of flora and fauna. The same principle applies to oceans; the modern way of trawling with dragnets wreaks utter devastation to the ocean floor. Simply banning that type of fishing in certain areas, and limiting activity in the margin of the zone will have a similar effect fairly soon too.
But as ever change is never straightforward.
Monbiot is normally a political writer, and as you’d expect there is a political element to this book. He considers the effects that the common agricultural policy has on our landscape, in particular that very little land can be left to go wild and must always be managed to be able to claim subsidies. There is a part on the failed re-wilding undertaken by the Germans, and also the evidence that our present native trees had evolved to cope with the mega fauna such as elephants and rhino that used to live here.
There is at the moment precious political will to change things, coupled with powerful (and frequently absent) landowners with little desire for change, things are not going to happen soon. For change as bold as this there needs to be full commitment from all stakeholders and parties involved, and I for one would like to see the reintroduction of the top level predators and the return of proper wilderness to parts of Britain.
It is a well written and passionate plea for the necessary revolution that is needed in our natural world. Well worth reading.
Possibly the bravest of his suggestions is to reintroduce wolves. First hearing this, most people will raise their hands in horror because of the danger, but as has been proven in America, and other parts of Europe, the reintroduction of a top level predator can shake the natural environment completely. For example, having wolves back in Scotland will mean that the deer population can be controlled naturally, less deer will mean that the vegetation can grow and recover, and all these have a massive effect on the animals and plants up and down the food chain. The planned and accidental introduction of beavers seems to have worked, with the changes that they make to the river systems hopefully will have a knock on effect by reducing flooding.
He isn’t a huge fan of sheep either... These simple, harmless animals cause massive devastation to the landscape, almost to the point where there is more life in a desert that on the Welsh uplands. Areas that have had sheep excluded, within a handful of years will have a rich variety of flora and fauna. The same principle applies to oceans; the modern way of trawling with dragnets wreaks utter devastation to the ocean floor. Simply banning that type of fishing in certain areas, and limiting activity in the margin of the zone will have a similar effect fairly soon too.
But as ever change is never straightforward.
Monbiot is normally a political writer, and as you’d expect there is a political element to this book. He considers the effects that the common agricultural policy has on our landscape, in particular that very little land can be left to go wild and must always be managed to be able to claim subsidies. There is a part on the failed re-wilding undertaken by the Germans, and also the evidence that our present native trees had evolved to cope with the mega fauna such as elephants and rhino that used to live here.
There is at the moment precious political will to change things, coupled with powerful (and frequently absent) landowners with little desire for change, things are not going to happen soon. For change as bold as this there needs to be full commitment from all stakeholders and parties involved, and I for one would like to see the reintroduction of the top level predators and the return of proper wilderness to parts of Britain.
It is a well written and passionate plea for the necessary revolution that is needed in our natural world. Well worth reading.
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Such an interesting and well researched book. For anyone who is interested in this subject, it is a must read. However, there are some slower sections in the middle. Also good to read it with a critical eye as some aspects are highly opinionated.
Not bad, but it would be better if the author were not an insufferable egomaniac with overly poetic pretentious. Then again, he got an UN award, and from Mandela too...
Anyway, my antipathy to Monbiot aside it is a very interesting perspective on the landscape and the role that reintroduction of wild animals can have. If anything I was mis-sold on the cover photo - I think it would be fascinating if there was a chapter on previously settled areas going wild too.
Anyway, my antipathy to Monbiot aside it is a very interesting perspective on the landscape and the role that reintroduction of wild animals can have. If anything I was mis-sold on the cover photo - I think it would be fascinating if there was a chapter on previously settled areas going wild too.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Impassioned plea for the rewilding of nature and consequently for our own spiritual rewilding. The writing is great and he's utterly convincing while you're in the book, but a little bit of distance allows you to slightly question where people fit in all of this. Sheep and the EU come out as baddies - perhaps our countryside will be better off without farming subsidies? Fascinating descriptions of the sea are where he's at his best - both in writing and in real life by the sounds of it.