BookBrowse Reviews Crossings by Ben Goldfarb

We've all seen it—a dead animal carcass on the side of the road, clearly mowed down by a car. Many of us have been the ones responsible for such carnage, and we've come away from those collisions frightened, upset, and relieved that we weren't the ones injured or killed.

The ubiquity of this violence makes us numb to it. That's why Ben Goldfarb's Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet is so valuable. It reveals in devastatingly clear detail just how much roads have warped and damaged the natural world, while weaving in cautiously optimistic ideas for a better way forward.

The term "road ecology" may seem like an oxymoron, but it's the study of how "life changes for plants and animals with a road nearby." In his panoramic, multi-faceted exploration of those changes, Goldfarb starts with the most noticeable one—roadkill. He interviews scientists ...