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A review by jvillar3
Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis
5.0
* I received an audio ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *
Beloved Beasts is a somewhat in-depth exploration of the field of conservation and the key players who contributed to its shaping. We follow these players - both notable and more obscure - as they tackle conservation issues while exploring their personal agendas that fueled their actions. Nijhuis provides a very personal view into the psyche of these people and does not shy away from pointing out their racist, nationalist and straight up hypocritical principles. As a grad student studying conservation, this is something I have never seen tackled in other books on the birth of conservation and it brings some much needed and valuable insight to how the field has been shaped and ways in which we need to reframe it moving forward. Furthermore, by using case studies of well known and loved animals such as bison and rhinos, Nijhuis keeps the reader engaged and makes this book accessible and enjoyable for the masses. By far my favorite chapter was about community conservation and how we can decolonize the field while giving peoples the power to support their communities and also their animal neighbors. It also talks about complex issues such as trophy hunting that outsiders pretty unanimously oppose (myself included) yet the community and the animals can actually benefit from. It really made me step back and rethink my assumptions about some conservation issues that are clearly not as straightforward as they first seem.
Overall, I enjoyed the narrator and I think she did a great job. The author clearly did her research and brought to light many details about the field of conservation that I believe are important in framing where we go from here. Much of this book is depressing but I think there are also moments of hope in learning about the people and organizations tackling conservation and extinction. However, it is also clear that a few devoted individuals cannot do it alone and this book certainly exposed some of the cracks in our fundamental views on conservation.
Beloved Beasts is a somewhat in-depth exploration of the field of conservation and the key players who contributed to its shaping. We follow these players - both notable and more obscure - as they tackle conservation issues while exploring their personal agendas that fueled their actions. Nijhuis provides a very personal view into the psyche of these people and does not shy away from pointing out their racist, nationalist and straight up hypocritical principles. As a grad student studying conservation, this is something I have never seen tackled in other books on the birth of conservation and it brings some much needed and valuable insight to how the field has been shaped and ways in which we need to reframe it moving forward. Furthermore, by using case studies of well known and loved animals such as bison and rhinos, Nijhuis keeps the reader engaged and makes this book accessible and enjoyable for the masses. By far my favorite chapter was about community conservation and how we can decolonize the field while giving peoples the power to support their communities and also their animal neighbors. It also talks about complex issues such as trophy hunting that outsiders pretty unanimously oppose (myself included) yet the community and the animals can actually benefit from. It really made me step back and rethink my assumptions about some conservation issues that are clearly not as straightforward as they first seem.
Overall, I enjoyed the narrator and I think she did a great job. The author clearly did her research and brought to light many details about the field of conservation that I believe are important in framing where we go from here. Much of this book is depressing but I think there are also moments of hope in learning about the people and organizations tackling conservation and extinction. However, it is also clear that a few devoted individuals cannot do it alone and this book certainly exposed some of the cracks in our fundamental views on conservation.