11corvus11's reviews
899 reviews

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

Go to review page

5.0

 A fun and creative way to send a heavy handed message that is very important while still being highly entertaining. Probably longer review later. 
The Gull Guide: North America by Amar Ayyash

Go to review page

5.0

Even master birders with decades of experience will often concede that they struggle with identification of gulls. These birds are so diverse yet so similar, have so many different phases where they look drastically different, yet very similar to one another in similar cycles, and sometimes telling them apart is a matter of the edge of a single feather or something equally ridiculous. As a result I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Amar Ayyash's The Gull Guide: North America.

I myself am not a master birder. While I am not a complete amateur since I have some years of experience under my belt, I only very recently started venturing out into interactions with other people who can teach me new things outside of my own reading and studying. As a result a guide like this is exceptionally valuable. The reason this book works so well, in my opinion, is that it does not fall into the trap that some guides do and trying to simplify something complicated. The author discusses this in how some people do not want to teach the different feathers and parts of the bird so as not to confuse someone new. However, with gulls as well as some other species, being able to tell these minute differences apart is critical. Ayyash also critiques the "x winter" labeling style since it's inaccurate given the differences in molt and breeding months between species and instead uses a far more accurate "x cycle" labeling structure.

The information as well as the many charts and labels are indeed somewhat intimidating, but I found myself completely engaged. I was not intimidated in the way one can feel like they're drowning in information that's impossible to parse. There are copious amounts of photos showing each bit of information from a different angle. All of the photos have clear descriptions that help to learn things by sight quite well. Each section on an individual species has tons of photos and many different ways of identifying and thinking about the birds. There is even a section on aberrant birds such as leucistic and melanistic gulls.

Ayyash also offers general birding tips on when to step back and when to hyper focus. He gives examples of confusing identifications that were made in error. The only criticism I have of the book's structure is that the multitude of images in an average sized book means that it's tough to see some of the details in smaller images. But, I'm not sure this could have been created any other way because making the images large would make the book so massive and heavy as to be unusable. I'd rather have this structure than fewer images.

Approaching the material this way not only helps one see the whole bird and learn more, it gives the reader multiple ways to focus on the birds. What I mean by this is that people learn and perceive things in different ways with different traits dominating their minds. This gives enough information on each identification type to be used by each person. Because it is full of photos and the print is high quality, it is a heavier guide. Sort of like a medium-sized Bible. So, to use in the field, I imagine this guide would be better for something like a stationary birding session. However, as someone who uses both apps in the field and print guides at home, don't let this deter you. There's something about book guides in hand that aid identification in ways that are different than those on electronics, including the wonderful pages available on Cornell's website. I can't even describe what this is, I just know that there are many times that I've been stumped only to open a book that makes everything clear to me. This book is indispensable as one of those on my shelf. None of my other guides, of which I have many, managed to make it possible to more confidently identify gulls.

I still have a lot of practicing to do. Recently a group of ring-billed gulls in multiple cycles stood in a nice little line for me. Thanks to this guide, I was able to pick out the features and cycles of each which was a great exercise with an abundant species I'm somewhat familiar with. The next time a rare bird alert goes out for a gull, I'll be much more confident in my ability to find that needle in a haystack.

This was also posted to my goodreads. and blog.
Dismantling the Master's Clock: On Race, Space, and Time by Rasheedah Phillips

Go to review page

5.0

Rasheedah Phillips' Dismantling the Master's Clock is the sort of creative academic scholarship that makes me glad that I still give academic books a shot, despite some of them seeming to be little more than reinventing the wheel using the biggest words possible. The author is a jack of many trades, boasting not only academic author chops, but she is also an activist, organizer, artist, and lawyer. Her ability to mash these things together and come out with something coherent, engaging, and fascinating is a major strength of this book.

I took my time reading this. It is very out there (in a good way) and quite dense. It includes many quantum physics topics that I have read the popular science versions of but was very rusty even on those. Phillips also is constantly blending metaphors and real histories to create a constant stream of thought exercises on the topics of time, race, social justice, gender, and so on. I will say that I would love to hear a review from someone who is more of an expert in quantum mechanics to see what their take on her use of these concepts in this text would be. My very meager understanding is that quantum mechanics are occurring at the tiniest of scales. Things work differently there than they do on the macro scale... sorta? Phillips uses a lot of quantum mechanics ideas- especially of duality of matter states and nonlinear timescapes- as a way of explaining how things occur or can be seen on a macro scale. From my understanding- again, a very limited one- this would not be accurate if taken literally. Sometimes it's not clear to me how literal she is being in this application. But, using quantum states as metaphor for history, culture, and experiences of Black and other marginalized people does make sense. It's a creative way of discussing things that have been studied and examined before in a new light. This offers new ways of thinking about both critical theory and the science of time, which is what separates this text from your run of the mill academic book on either subject.

One thing central to the book is the phenomenon of "Colored People's Time" (CPT) which Phillips dives deeply into (also comparing it with the quantum physics concept of charge-parity time.) She discusses its use as a pejorative, as a lie, as a different cultural way of living, as an inevitable response to years of oppression, and a way to transform one's thinking about space and time in general. She explains her ideas about "temporal oppression" which involves forcing Black people into a version of time that was designed without their freedom in mind. My personal experience is with similar phenomena less centered around race often called "anarchist time" or "punk standard time." I have similar mixed feelings and experiences about how these looser interpretations of pun(k)tuality affect oppressed people. The confines of strict schedules can both harm marginalized people who cannot meet them OR harm them by causing them to wait when they don't have the ability to. My very, frankly primitive, understanding of these things has left me frustrated many times sitting for hours longer, irritated, wondering how the world is supposed to function when someone needs to be relieved of their post. Thankfully, Phillips is talking about something so much deeper than that. I feel honestly grateful to now see how shallow my understanding of these things has been.

One thing about linear, strict, standardized time keeping is how rooted in European colonization it is. Now, I knew this was a thing, but did not really know the specifics of it. I am sitting here surrounded by clocks (mostly because I dig the aesthetic, but also because I can barely keep a schedule without having them in my face constantly and running 15 minutes ahead.) Reading about when the first clocks were erected in public squares and how that changed time keeping was eye opening for me. Time is no longer based majorly on more rational things like light, seasons, weather, and so on specific to various locations and cultural needs. It is based on clocks designed by a small subset of people mainly for capitalistic, globalization, or related reasons. This review is obviously the briefest of cliff notes. The author presents a case that is both informative and convincing that the way we currently keep time is oppressive and doomed to fail the most vulnerable. It is designed in ways to control and also in ways that make those with the least resources have the most difficult time meeting deadlines.

Another thing she discusses is who is allowed grace with time. One thing that really hit home for me as someone dealing with my hellscape of chronic illnesses was the mention of doctor's visits. That was one of the first things I used to think of when folks would discuss looser concepts of being "on time." How would a doctor's appointment with life sustaining treatment be run if people showed up whenever they wanted? (Which- for the record- is not at all what she is arguing.) Phillips ends up mentioning the waits in many doctor's offices and it came together in a more personal way for me. I can sit in a waiting room for 2 hours and it is expected that I do so if those we are paying are running late. But, if a patient- again, the person paying- is 15 minutes late, they can be asked to leave. My doctor can reschedule my appointment 3 times, but too many cancellations on my end could leave me looking for someone new. The institution's time is valued over the patients', even if the doctors themselves don't feel that way.

The really deep dive goes into the history of slavery and Jim Crow. How long did Black people have to wait? Centuries. Yes, this is big picture and abstract, but the only way to survive waiting centuries for even partial freedom is to have a looser, more fluid idea of time. She wraps up the book with an interesting study of time capsules and how they differ across cultures and races. It is here that she uses the most examples of art installations including her own to show how imagining new ways of understanding time give a more accurate depiction of the world at large. I must stress again how this book does a much better job explaining this in detail. I have struggled to write this review in giving people a taste of the contents that are so very complex. What I can say for sure is that no matter what sort of views you have on time and space, this book will have you thinking differently about them.

Overall, Rasheedah Phillips uses her varied skills to discuss these topics in creative and fresh ways. The book will require your time, thought, and attention- and it pays off. I hope that folks with physics degrees will read this book and offer their takes as I imagine they would have very interesting things to add. This is definitely an example of an academic book that is both heavy and worth the effort to lift.

This was also posted to my blog and goodreads. 
The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No by Carl Elliott

Go to review page

4.0

Probably a longer review later, but this was an interesting mix of memoir, history, ethics, and sociology mixed together and captured very well what happens to folks who speak out against the group, especially if the group has a lot of power and one is fighting it alone. Left me feeling both validated and depressed.
How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance by Akiba Solomon, Kenrya Rankin

Go to review page

5.0

I'm not the biggest fan of how much neoliberal stuff was in this, but they also basically included people who contradict the very capitalist and centrist solutions. So, it's a tough book to rate. It can't hurt to have a wide variety I suppose. Most of the entries were good.
To Rob a Bank Is an Honor by Lucio Urtubia

Go to review page

5.0

 In times like these, it can be easy to feel doomed. I am not one for platitudes that seek to shame us for our struggles. Using people as inspiration porn does little good for anyone. However, I do think there is room to draw inspiration from one another when we are united in struggle. So, when a fascist is re-elected into office, it can be valuable to look to those who fought fascism, often in even worse conditions, who came before us. This makes Lucio Urtubia's memoir/autobiography - To Rob a Bank is an Honor - a well timed publication.

We learn early on that this book comes from stacks of writings that Urtubia handed over for help organizing while claiming, "I'm no writer." He reasserts this again in the text, upset that he did not have a better education in writing. I appreciate how this book put all of his words together and made it a readable book. Many times we get memoirs that are poorly edited or written solely by a ghostwriter. This bridges that gap so that he can tell his story in his own words. I must say, for someone who claims not to be a writer, he is highly quotable. Woven throughout each set, often each paragraph, are declarations for liberation and statements on fighting repression.

There were quite a few things I had to google with this book which I guess would be my main criticism. Being a basic USAmerican, it is unsurprising that I am not well versed in the political movements of other nations. It would have been cool if some footnotes were added to define some of the "ists" and "isms" found throughout, for instance. Especially since search engines give increasingly monetized results. Nonetheless, I was generally able to find out what I needed to know to make the story whole.

There is a lot more to Urtubia's life than robbing banks. In fact, he mentions how much he hated the threatening part of the exercise and only did so to fund a critical revolution. He was a laborer with strong interest in worker cooperation, a partner to the equally brilliant and revolutionary Anne Garnier and father to their daughter, Juliette, a well known friend and community member, and many other things. He also grew up and experienced levels of poverty that many of us here have never endured, even those of us who are poor. He and those around him endured countless barriers, yet found ways to cooperate and support one another. All of that said, the title of this book gives credence to a truly successful form of illegalism. I don't take issue with certain tactics executed for the sake of disruption, but I really enjoy reading about when said tactics result in very advantageous expropriation from capitalist ventures where the much needed benefit outweighs the costs- even when the costs such as regular surveillance, imprisonment, and state-sanctioned murder are huge. The robbery and fraud helped fund the critical movements that fought fascism. In these peoples minds, there was no other option than to fight.

Today, when I find myself feeling as if there is no hope, I use histories like Urtubia's and that of his comrades, not to shame us for our despair or level of (in)action, but to remind us that there are people who have fought similar demons in the past. Some who have lost, some who have won, and most who have continued a struggle that is never ending- and they did it together. I think that this autobiography full of widely applicable liberatory messaging is a good companion in dark times.

This was also posted to my goodreads and blog. 
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

Go to review page

4.5

 I am not alone in my love of Jeff Vandermeer's works. I was pleasantly surprised to see this 4th volume come out, adding new dimensions to the ever creeping terror and unease that I often feel in strange places that remind me of the series. Absolution functions as a prequel of sorts, taking us back to expeditions of previous generations that lead to the Area X we encounter in the original books. The way this book functions is exciting because it gives some answers, but also creates new questions. It leaves me hoping that the Area X series will end up being one of those science fiction collections like Revelation Space where quality offshoots just keep coming and growing over time.

I really enjoyed seeing a new side of Vandermeer's writing. I have admittedly not read every book of his, so I do not know if he has done this in others. I felt like he really captured the whole MK Ultra era and used it well in the story. It's something that has been referenced in so many stories, fiction and non, at this point that I initially worried if I might become bored. However, here it felt appropriate and natural. I found myself even seeing the drab tan, brown, and orange of the time in my head. We also get a different level of technological interaction with area X which is interesting.

The characters were well written but not always my favorite taste wise. I cannot quite put my finger on why. They did fit into the stories well though. However, be warned that one section is full of F-bombs and I imagine those listening to an audiobook without headphones may find themselves turning down the volume lest they scandalize their neighborhood.

The atmosphere was there. I felt drawn back to the original stories from a decade ago. The world of manipulation of nature in ways that are supposed to be impossible. It is interesting that in Area X, said manipulation is successful, with horrifying results. Unlike many other "scientific" endeavors of the same history that were unsuccessful, also with horrifying results. There is something uniquely attractive about scifi and horror that manages to bridge that sort of impossibility without feeling like pure fantasy. I don't need everything to be hard scifi or whatever, but I do appreciate something that feels very real. Vandermeer's world continues to feel real.

This book left me yearning to return to the others. There are so many books in the world that I want to read and never enough time. I think I will have to fit in a reread of the trilogy after this though. Hopefully we will be in for more surprises from Vandermeer. If not with Area X, than with some new found horror that feels too close to home, creeping up beside us, and changing us into something else before we know it.

This was also posted to my goodreads and blog. 
Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds by Sophie A H Osborn

Go to review page

5.0

 This is going to be a ranting, rambling review full of animal liberationist opinions as it's impossible for it not to be with how many feelings, some old and some new, were awakened by this beautiful book. The author and I have many agreements and a few disagreements, so be careful not to project all of my opinions onto her writing if I happen to convey this jumbled mess without enough organization. Sophie A. H. Osborn's Feather Trails is a standout in the genres it spans (memoir, nature writing, science, and more.) The writing is excellent, engrossing, and drew me in completely, making me feel like I was there. Her ability to immerse the reader with details about locations, visuals, feelings, experiences, etc is strengthened by her simultaneous ponderings on what things are like for the individual birds of the species she worked to support and conserve. Her passion about birds and conservation is clear and reading this book added to my own passion and understanding.

Learning Osborn's history with peregrine falcons had me thinking of every time I have had the luxury of seeing this no longer endangered bird with the awe of knowing they may never have had a chance without people like her and the challenging work they did. The stories of the alala crows tore at and touched my heart. You can tell from my name that I have a soft spot for corvids and to know these crafty creatures are extinct in the wild is devastating. Learning how the remaining individuals in captivity still maintain some wildness and ability to enjoy life makes the reality easier to digest. The section on the California condors was by far the hardest, yet still full of beauty. The pitfalls and absolute cruelty and callousness of so many humans, how they killed so many birds, and damaged conservation efforts over and over has infuriated and haunted me since.

Frankly, I already found the propaganda of hunters all being the "greatest conservationists" to be gross. Taking a history where regulations had to be created and rigidly enforced because hunting drove many species to, or close to, extinction (including deer, canada geese, and other now abundant species,) then rebranding the entire story with hunters as the heroes is dishonest at best. (Not to mention how current subsets of conservation that are partly funded by hunting licenses end abruptly when their ability to kill who they want when they want, or the profits of loggers and ranchers, are affected.) After Osborn telling the stories of lead poisonings, individual condor by condor, all dying extremely prematurely, while the NRA and "conservationist" hunters clung (and still cling) to lead shot because "gun rights" frankly made me so infuriated by this hunting propaganda that I could barely breathe. For the record, Osborn herself does not claim to be anti-hunting, just anti-lead ammunition. Osborn's stories of individual birds, their relationships, explorations and adventures, and the short lives they did get to lead made out for a book that is not purely trauma. However, it is never easy to read sensitive, thoughtful, honest accounts of how we got here, where we have succeeded, and where we have failed. That honesty leads me to my next point.

I often go in to books about the greater than human world open-minded but with low expectations. There are tons of books out there that disappoint, not so much in their lack of research and information, but in their objectification of their subjects. I am so tired of reading books that treat birds and other animals as a monolith of beings with no personalities and only a single minded focus (usually reproduction.) I did not know much about Osborn before this book (because I am out of touch, she is in fact a rather large name in ornithology and conservation.) I was pleasantly surprised by how she told these stories for a variety of reasons.

Despite sometimes falling into the dreaded "it" designation that many humans continue to give animals, Osborn focuses on each bird that she worked with and knew as an individual being. We learn about their personalities, how they interact with one another in different ways, how human interference affects things, and so on. She also does not shy away from the ethical conundrums of working with endangered birds. While I don't always agree with her, I found so much value in her discussion of the realities of how righting human wrongs can be very complicated. From DDT and lead contamination to the introduction of feral cats and killing birds to feed other birds, Osborn does not shy away from discussing her feelings and overall ethics (topics often woefully absent in science literature.) She discusses her uneasiness with the practice of killing quail to save falcons and how seeing a feral cat be killed to protect other species taught her to transition her own cats to be indoor only. I did not notice her analyzing the killing of cows for condors, though, which I think could have pushed the ethical convo further when discussing animal agribusiness and its contributions to climate change and species extinction- especially given the focus on hunting (which presently has less overall impact than animal exploitation agribusiness.) Not only do the wastefulness, greenhouse gases, land use, groundwater pollution, etc, cause issues, but many vulture species have become endangered due to poisoning from drugs given to cows, but I digress.

She discusses the human fault for introducing non native species in much more honest ways than many scientists, though in my opinion she still put too much blame on said species at times for endangering other animals by condoning their slaughter. The big picture is more complicated than that. In reality, humans (aside from introducing said species in the first place) have far worse impacts than any feral cat. Overfishing/hunting, habitat destruction, pollutions, animal agribusiness, etc are all massive threats to birds and other animals. Even the first humans who traveled outside Africa to colonize other continents began to cause imbalances, extinctions, etc upon arrival (no shade to folks just trying to survive without this knowledge centuries ago.) With European colonization, industrialization, etc, those problems were intensely magnified. Yet, humans believe that we and our luxuries are worth more, so we call the other animals "invaders" and blame it all on them. Osborn is unafraid to have this discussion which I truly appreciate, even if she and I disagree on a fraction of the solutions.

Osborn also is willing to acknowledge the ethical conundrums in terms of conservation, study, and breeding of endangered species. She does not shy away from the reality that handling birds is stressful. I have seen bird banding posts with people taking selfies with terrified animals or claiming they're "smilin for the camera!" (I support banding research efforts, for the record, and respect the efforts of scientists to reduce stress as much as possible. Unfortunately, nonconsensual contact with other animals is sometimes needed for conservation and research. I also support questioning everything we do without another animal's consent and how we characterize those actions.) Osborn discusses the practice of separating animals who choose one another as partners in order to place them with another animal with a higher chance of breeding. This is a practice I oppose, but I see the logic. She does not discuss artificial insemination as much as one should as it ranges from stressful to horrific depending on the species. I think zoos playing a part increases the problem (reminder: wherein the majority of animals are not endangered and are bred/purchased just for entertainment/profit.) Zoos tend to want to breed species so that they have more of that species to display in captivity, despite the fact that the stresses of the zoo tend to hinder various species interest in breeding. You can see the difference between zoo-run conservation and other types not driven by profit in this book and elsewhere. Even so, the Alala crow efforts are important and sometimes a zoo will hold the only members of an endangered or extinct-in-the-wild species available and thus one must work with them in order to participate.

In terms of herself, Osborn is excellent at describing her strengths, shortcomings, successes, and mistakes along the way. She discusses being a woman in the sciences and which people were her allies vs which ones treated her as subservient. She interrogates her own biases and examines her feelings. Rather than drawing conclusions that all emotion is bad in science, she examines which way her emotions may lead her and why. I don't know if she realized she was using this sort of wisdom around feelings or if it is just evident to me as an outsider. Afterall, isn't the desire to care for and conserve an entire species partly an emotional one? Humans are an extremely emotional species, much like many other animals. I think we benefit far more from these discussions than we do from humans who think that emotion has no place in the sciences (as if that would even be possible with us involved.) But, again, I digress.

I've written plenty and have filled this review with so much of what this book brought up for me because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it every day since I finished. I hope that Osborn's style is a trend in writing that will continue in science, conservation, nature, etc topics. It not only draws people into the worlds of other animals, but it pushes us more towards possible solutions. The planet would not have lost so many of its species with more efforts like that of Osborn. With her and those like her still out there, maybe many still have a chance.

This was also posted to my blog and goodreads. 
Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions by Nalo Hopkinson

Go to review page

4.0

 Nalo Hopkinson ranks in the top tier of my favorite scifi and speculative fiction authors. I have read most of her excellent novels, but she stands out as an author whose short story collections actually end up being my favorites in her repertoire. Falling in Love with Hominids is one of the best short story collections I have read by either a single or multiple authors. Naturally, I was excited to see Tachyon putting out a new collection by Hopkinson: Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions. Nisi Shawl also aided Hopkinson and cowrote one of the stories in the collection as well.

While this collection did not hit as hard as Falling in Love with Hominids for me personally, it is still a strong collection that spans genres as Hopkinson is known to do. There are a couple stories that can be found in other collections, but many of these are ones that were written for specific projects- including a TED talk fiction performance by multiple authors gathered by Neil Gaiman- that are not so easily accessible. I really enjoyed that they included Nalo's words before each story, describing where the stories came from and what her writing process was. It enriched the experience of reading the book. Her description of the aforementioned TED story entry was the longest and most interesting in its discussion of how the stereotypical boundaries of science fiction must often be surpassed when marginalized characters are present. Hopkinson is also excessively humble in some of her assessments of stories. There were ones that were not her favorite that I ended up liking quite a lot.

The best stories in the collection in terms of my own tastes were Broad Dutty Water: A Sunken Story inspired by a Jamaican folksong and real life horrors of flooding, the satirical Clap Back telling truth through fiction about exploitative arts, Repatriationabout a very special type of cruise, and my absolute favorite San Humanité which somehow, despite being only two pages, gripped me and left me craving an expansion of it into a full novel. I do not think I have ever felt that way from a 2 page story before. There are plenty of other excellent stories that people who are fans of all sorts of genres will enjoy as well.

Nalo Hopkinson is not just groundbreaking in her telling of stories with characters not often centered in SSFF genres, though that is definitely a draw for me. She is a damned good writer who continues to evolve with time and this collection is a good example of the many places her fiction has gone. I look forward to the next entry in her writing career, hopefully sooner rather than later.

This was also posted to my blog and goodreads. 
Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-than-Human World by Brandon Keim

Go to review page

5.0

 Brandon Keim's excellent book Meet the Neighbors seems to be one that suffers from a title and cover that don't quite match what is inside. (Though, I do love the subheading phrase "more-than-human worlds.") It's strange that the idiom, "don't judge a book by its cover" is still so popular when it is arguably less practiced today than it ever was given the wide reach of the internet and availability of graphic design. The welcome mat with all of the animals on it resembles a child's nature show to me, but Keim did not write a cutesie book about animals as one-dimensional cartoon characters. I assume the title and design were created to reach as wide an audience as possible- anyone who likes other-than-human animals and wants fun facts about them. This strategy sometimes works for sales but often results in disappointment by readers who expected something lighter.

Keim's book is grounded in reality and is written with great sensitivity, deep thought, and a level of honesty I often do not encounter in these kinds of texts- even from those whose entire goal is to de-center humans in discussions about other animals. This is not a buzzfeed-esque fun-fact book (though there are certainly many fun facts and heartwarming stories within) nor is it a book focused solely on more-than-human animal traits. The parts that mostly focused on facts about animals were the beginning sections of the book which I thought could have used more organization. This initially left me worried that I might be reading another run-of-the-mill book of animal facts, which is just fine, but moving forward took me into another world entirely. This book is includes a mixture of general info and research about other animal minds and experiences as well as discussion about how humans treat and view fellow creatures. The latter can make it tough to read at times. However, even as a person who generally has a hard boundary against reading detailed accounts of animal cruelty and exploitation, I encourage folks to push through those parts. I make exceptions to this rule when the information is used to make larger, complex points and to combat common knowledge in important ways that cannot be done accurately without including said details. Basically, when it makes me think about things in ways I had not before, I will make my way through it. I believe this book does this. It does so in ways that are exceptional in comparison to others in the genre.

We are currently in a place, at least in much of western culture, where it is super cool to talk about climate change, but not to actually take responsibility for it. It is super cool to discuss amazing fun facts about other animals, as long as we always keep them a step below us and don't challenge the ways we exploit them. It is super cool to combat threats to endangered species, including blaming other species introduced by us, as long as the threats combatted aren't human (you know, the main threat.) Even in far left circles, these kinds of neoliberal and reactionary ways of thinking are common in regards to nonhuman animals. It's even fashionable to tokenize human struggles in reasoning as to why other species do not deserve respect and consideration. This book forces the reader to confront all of these anthropocentric biases and more. Keim acknowledges the great importance of the little bits of happiness we can gain from Dodo videos while also acknowledging that we "live in a world of wounds," as he said when he generously joined VINE book club last month. Keim also grapples with conflicts and questions that are often left out on the more liberatory side of things, such as when humans should intervene to help other animals and what kind of interventions are more wasteful or disruptive than they are helpful. He consistently asks the question- what would an individual from this species think or want? He ponders things such as the differences in opinion bears vs salmon might have in regards to habitat management and how humans choose which species to focus on helping or admiring. The most illuminating parts of the book for me personally, were those that discussed introduced/non-native, "overpopulated," and/or species labeled as "pests." I had not even realized just how much bias I had internalized about certain dilemmas even as a 18 year die hard (collective liberation) vegan with a ton of animal rescue experience who knows that these things are more complicated that the anthropocentric ways they are presented.

This book is what I was hoping the the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains would have been. Even though MTN is not entirely about these species and conflicts, it tells multiple sides of the story in honest ways as much as a human can attempt to without being able to interview other species. I had no idea, for instance, that introduced (non-native) donkeys had rewilded in many places and helped other species survive through things like oasis digging in deserts. I had heard of "judas goats," but never knew about "judas donkeys," which were only mentioned in a footnote, but are truly one of the most heart wrenching examples of cruelty I have read about. I can't stop thinking about them, but do not regret learning this as part of the full story. I have read countless texts that explain how rats and feral cats threatened island nesting birds, which insisted that killing all of them was the only solution. Those texts neglected to mention that humans overfishing, habitat destruction, and killing of the ocean were countless times worse for said birds and everyone else. Keim also discussed how said purge of feral cats was also used to reduce competition with foxes, only to find that foxes at more threatened birds than the cats (who ate more rodents.) The culling of introduced pigs ended up taking away food from golden eagles, who then turned on the foxes, which then meant the eagles had to be "managed." I am a birder and often see people patting themselves on the back when telling people to keep their cats indoors (which I agree with for the record,) but will attack anyone who even questions how our actions affect birds (outside of the abstract or pointing the finger at other human groups- usually in oppressive ways.) We learn that feral cats are the "top killers" of birds when they aren't. We are. But, many writers (outside of animal rights and liberation niche texts) are encouraged not to talk about this as the reader needs the ability to channel the upset about what is happening onto someone else. Keim doesn't fall into that trap.

Keim also did a lot of research and got a lot of big names to interview. Bobby Corrigan on rodents for example. Again, the way he approached the book exceeds what you often find in nature and animal literature. He interviews scientists, environmentalists, lawyers, wildlife "management" services, philosophers, naturalists, animal sanctuary founders, zoo employees, and so on. He also presents one of the most honest sections on hunting and fishing- particularly westernized hunting that rebranded itself as "conservationist" (after hunting drove many species to, or near to, extinction.) I don't know if I have ever read a text that acknowledged the horrors hunters have committed, the trouble with ecosystem imbalance caused by overpopulation of certain species (and harm to other species,) the other human activities that often cause more harm but get less attention/ire than hunting (such as urbanization,) the conservation efforts of a subset of hunters, and how those conservation efforts ultimately serve hunters, ranchers, and loggers more than other animals or ecosystems (by prioritizing sport, profits, trophies, and species hunters want to kill even at cost of true balance and other species harmed by their "conservation" practices.) Keim even calls out the permission fallacy and idea of animals "giving their lives" as a way to redirect from the reality that their lives are taken. He is not claiming taking a life is always wrong, on the contrary, it is sometimes a necessity including for other species. But, he combats this view usually touted by people romanticizing hunting by claiming animals are super into being shot or stabbed for conservation, tradition, sport, trophy, food, or all of the above. It's very rare to find that level of honesty and diligent research on a topic so sensitive to many people on all sides. Keim truly seemed more interested in understanding the dilemma than taking a side.

As a bird nerd, I learned so many new things about birds from this book. Some were depressing and far more were fascinating. Yet, he also has me thinking hard about what species I am fascinated by and how that affects my actions. I have lots of photos of birds eating insects and fishes. While I have definitely felt for these animals, especially when that damned ring-billed gull held that squirming fish for ages before finally killing them, what is it about birds that attracts me? And how does that affect my actions? I'm not saying I have never considered these things, but Keim gave me new ways to think about them. One might think based on what I have said here that there is a punishing way to these thought processes, but on the contrary, I actually found Keim's outlook freeing. It is often honesty, however painful, that is much less anxiety inducing in the long run. This book allows me to see myself as part of this world- an animal among many other animals- and to examine what that means to me.

As you may be able to tell, I could write a book on this book. I want to leave some surprises for the reader as well. I highly recommend Meet the Neighbors and I hope that if you find your expectations dashed a bit, that you can move forward and take what else the text has to offer because there is a lot here that I have rarely found elsewhere.

This was also posted to my goodreads and blog