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mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this. The writing is very rich and descriptive but the polemic is a call to arms.
I had no idea that so many of our megafauna in Britain had disappeared as a result of hunting - that is, I knew about wolves and bears and so on, but not the rhino, elephant and wild horses further back. The hypothesis makes sense, give or take a mini ice age or two.
The main conclusion is that grazing animals - which humans placed in the landscape - are the reason we have hardy any forest any more, and if you remove the sheep (and deer), forests will naturally come back.
I’m all for this... it’s another powerful case for being vegetarian.. and letting some of nature’s processes take us back to where we need to be (replacing someone barren heath, and some lowland, with crops - animals take an awful lot of land).
This book is ten years old... I’m going to read more of his work that is more up to date.
I had no idea that so many of our megafauna in Britain had disappeared as a result of hunting - that is, I knew about wolves and bears and so on, but not the rhino, elephant and wild horses further back. The hypothesis makes sense, give or take a mini ice age or two.
The main conclusion is that grazing animals - which humans placed in the landscape - are the reason we have hardy any forest any more, and if you remove the sheep (and deer), forests will naturally come back.
I’m all for this... it’s another powerful case for being vegetarian.. and letting some of nature’s processes take us back to where we need to be (replacing someone barren heath, and some lowland, with crops - animals take an awful lot of land).
This book is ten years old... I’m going to read more of his work that is more up to date.
mogreig's review against another edition
4.0
An inspiring book showing us there is another way and changes can happen quickly. Rewind the environment but also ourselves.
adenw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.0
bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I have historically really enjoyed Monbiot's articles and so I bought this years back convinced I was going to love it, and really excited to learn more about rewilding. A few years ago I then picked it up and managed about 30 pages before giving up. This time I finished it but I can totally see why I struggled that first time!
This book was such a mixed experience for me. Some parts I was bored and frustrated by a combination of the writing style and Monbiot choosing to focus on his 'adventures' (mostly involving fishing), which felt gratuitous and a little egotistical. Other parts were absolutely fascinating and I found myself reading whole pages out loud to my husband - I learned a lot and do feel this managed to get into good detail on the topic of rewilding. I found this book strongest in the parts leaning into a journalistic style, talking politics and policy, history, or science in an accessible and motivating way. I then didn't enjoy the parts leaning more into memoir or nature writing, especially as too often he tends to throw us straight into the 'action' without explaining why I should care about his kayaking trip or trip into nature. The nature writing also just didn't paint a picture for me with too many convoluted similes or words I don't recognise (usually specific nature terminology e.g. species names). Luckily, there were less memoir/nature writing sections further into the book.
I'm glad I read this because of the ideas it introduced to me, and I appreciated that this book wasn't afraid to tackle some trickier topics such as what policies are in the way of rewilding and its troubling and colonial history (e.g. involving the Nazis), but I don't think I'd recommend it to a wider audience. It might hit better for those with similar interests to Monbiot, and an interest in fishing in particular.
This book was such a mixed experience for me. Some parts I was bored and frustrated by a combination of the writing style and Monbiot choosing to focus on his 'adventures' (mostly involving fishing), which felt gratuitous and a little egotistical. Other parts were absolutely fascinating and I found myself reading whole pages out loud to my husband - I learned a lot and do feel this managed to get into good detail on the topic of rewilding. I found this book strongest in the parts leaning into a journalistic style, talking politics and policy, history, or science in an accessible and motivating way. I then didn't enjoy the parts leaning more into memoir or nature writing, especially as too often he tends to throw us straight into the 'action' without explaining why I should care about his kayaking trip or trip into nature. The nature writing also just didn't paint a picture for me with too many convoluted similes or words I don't recognise (usually specific nature terminology e.g. species names). Luckily, there were less memoir/nature writing sections further into the book.
I'm glad I read this because of the ideas it introduced to me, and I appreciated that this book wasn't afraid to tackle some trickier topics such as what policies are in the way of rewilding and its troubling and colonial history (e.g. involving the Nazis), but I don't think I'd recommend it to a wider audience. It might hit better for those with similar interests to Monbiot, and an interest in fishing in particular.
emberley's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Yet another book that makes me wonder why governments don't do anything of actual use
drdoleroux23's review
5.0
After loads of reading about Conservation during my Master's Degree in Conservation, I got the idea that very few people think about the big questions. Yes, we know stories about declining populations and its causes, but few question the measures we are actually taking. This guy questioned 2 things that I never got an answer to in my MSc. 1. Finish later... xD
seclement's review
4.0
I really was not impressed with this book at first. I wanted a book on rewilding, and from the first page this seemed to be a record of Monbiot's mysterious adventures, boosted by delusions of grandeur. I suppose he wanted to set the tone and establish that this wasn't a dry, factual tome; but for me it just came off as pompous and distracting from the central point. As the book went on, however, it grew on me. I started to accept the book for what it really is; a sort of memoir of a British environmentalist, dissatisfied with the lack of biodiversity that surrounds him. It was just structured around the concept of rewilding in this highly modified island, an island full of landscapes shaped by people and culture. As the book progressed, he still wove in some stories in which he featured as an intrepid traveler performing brave feats, but I warmed to them somewhat because the rest of the text was so damn good. I especially loved the chapters on Wales,which is one of my favourite places, and I really had not realised the full extent of modification in the uplands. I found the chapters on reintroductions (e.g. wolves, lynx) and marine conservation both captivating and compelling, and the information about reforesting the Scottish highlands was inspiring. This book is indeed sentimental, but it is also built on a solid foundation of knowledge from Monbiot, the literature, and experts. The chapter on "how not to rewild" at first threw me for a loop, as he invoked Godwin's law fairly early on, but by the end I realised what he was doing.
As a new migrant to the UK who seriously misses "proper" nature, this book gave me so much fodder for my imagination. The world I constructed from the information in this book is a Britain I would love to see. Unfortunately, aside from a few minor policy changes - like re-introducing a few animals and perhaps protecting a bit more of the sea - I can't fathom any of Monbiot's vision coming true. The environment is not even part of the national dialogue here. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed entertaining the notions in this book, and I would be happy if I was proven wrong and we really did rewild Britain.
As a new migrant to the UK who seriously misses "proper" nature, this book gave me so much fodder for my imagination. The world I constructed from the information in this book is a Britain I would love to see. Unfortunately, aside from a few minor policy changes - like re-introducing a few animals and perhaps protecting a bit more of the sea - I can't fathom any of Monbiot's vision coming true. The environment is not even part of the national dialogue here. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed entertaining the notions in this book, and I would be happy if I was proven wrong and we really did rewild Britain.