annieb123's Review of Beloved Beasts

by Michelle Nijhuis

In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realization: their rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today’s global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis’s “spirited and engaging” account documents “the changes of heart that changed history” (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe).

With “urgency, passion, and wit” (Michael Berry, Christian Science Monitor), she describes the vital role of scientists and activists such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, reveals the origins of vital organizations like the Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund, explores current efforts to protect species such as the whooping crane and the black rhinoceros, and confronts the darker side of modern conservation, long shadowed by racism and colonialism.

As the destruction of other species continues and the effects of climate change wreak havoc on our world, Beloved Beasts charts the ways conservation is becoming a movement for the protection of all species including our own.

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Beloved Beasts is a definitive modern survey course of the conservation movement and the players, both well known and lesser known who have shaped and guided our stewardship of the planet and our fellow creatures presented by Michelle Nijhuis. Due out 9th March 2021 from W.W. Norton & co, it's an information dense 352 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The author has a flowing journalistic voice with a no-nonsense accessible layman-friendly prose. The writing is readable and understandable. She doesn't sugar coat the facts or the realities, including the profiles of the conservationists she examines. The chapters follow a roughly chronological timeline and the thread which weaves them together is species conservation. The whole is punctuated throughout with illustrations drawn from media, history, and the arts. The chapter notes alone provided hours of further exploratory reading, along with the bibliography (usefully arranged by chapter relevance).

This would make a superlative choice for public library acquisition, gift giving, or home library, as well as a good support text for conservation, biology, ethics, and allied studies courses. One of my strongest reads so far in 2021.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Beloved Beasts

by Michelle Nijhuis

Reviewed by annieb123 on Feb 27, 2021

Reading updates