Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals
by Christopher J. Preston
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2023
328 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons about how to share a planet.
The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction. Bear in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.
Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital, ecological roles. Each section of the book—farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans—offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery.
Tenacious Beasts is quintessential nature writing for the Anthropocene, touching on different facets of ecological restoration from Indigenous knowledge to rewilding practices. More important, perhaps, the book offers a road map—and a measure of hope—for a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.
"Traveling the world, Preston interacted with researchers, activists, and Indigenous people working to restore animals to their former ecosystems, most of which now contain far more humans than before...Rare, well-delivered positive news about animals and the natural world." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Preston writes with the goal of highlighting promising partnerships, building on lessons learned from animals themselves, and questioning long-held beliefs about wildlife and conservation...This makes for an excellent recommendation to readers searching for thoughtful but hopeful books on the future of nature." - Library Journal (starred review)
"In this rewarding study, environmental philosophy professor Preston provides reason to be hopeful about endangered species...The surprisingly intimate accounts of species bouncing back from the brink of extinction serve as glimmers of hope against the backdrop of climate despair. This will hearten nature lovers." - Publishers Weekly
"Pragmatic and inspirational, Tenacious Beasts celebrates the species that 'exist in the same bewildering net of life and time as we do,' yet are rebounding." - Foreword Reviews
"In the midst of ecological crisis, Preston brings genuinely good news: a few of our fellow species are not only thriving, but demanding that we do better by the rest of life on Earth." - Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts
"Preston shows that many species that once seemed doomed have posted surprising recoveries. All they ask is a fighting chance to survive; all I ask is that you read this book." - Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild and Beyond Words
This information about Tenacious Beasts was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Christopher Preston's essays have appeared in the Atlantic, Smithsonian, and Aeon, and on the BBC website. He is author of The Synthetic Age (MIT Press). He teaches environmental philosophy at the University of Montana and lives in Missoula, MT.
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