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themoonphoenix 's review for:
informative
medium-paced
I like to read non-fiction about nature or history. The Beast in the Clouds combines my two favorite subjects.
It’s 1929, and the Roosevelts will make an expedition to China to find the giant panda. In the West, they don't know it, even for the Chinese, it is an elusive species. Being a historical book, it’s a very different expedition from the current ones, nowadays it is about studying the animals without harming them and learning from them to preserve them, in the 20th century, they were hunted for their study without caring if they were in danger of extinction (this concept or animal conservation was not yet in place) or the consequences of hunting them.
I enjoyed the adventure, the journey through forests, mountains, inhospitable and dangerous rural areas, and also getting to know a little more about the Chinese culture of that time. Also, how an expedition was an expedition is logistically created. This is one of the first American expeditions to go to China. The only thing I don’t enjoy is the hunting, but I understand it; without that having happened in past centuries, we would not have animal conservation as we have it today.
The writing is detailed and evocative; it includes many photographs, which makes it more immersive. I liked the description of the landscape and the flora and fauna; it is very different in the mountains near the river than in the Himalayas. It was a long journey, several months, which not only needed physical strength, but also mental strength. It’s a trip that will change the way of thinking of the brothers think. The author does not describe them as heroes or fearless, but quite human, with struggles, before, during, and after the expedition. At first, they are excited about the trip, but the road is rough and they begin to question whether it is worth hunting a panda for study purposes.
Overall, it's informative, interesting, and well researched, a mixture of biography, historical commentary, and adventure.
Thank you, Atria Books, for the copy.
Read it if you like:
Historical Expedition
Adventure
Description of Wild China