George Monbiot

This book explodes with wonder and delight. Making use of remarkable scientific discoveries that transform our understanding of how natural systems work, George Monbiot explores a new, positive environmentalism that shows how damaged ecosystems on land and at sea can be restored, and how this restoration can revitalize and enrich our lives. Challenging what he calls his "ecological boredom," Monbiot weaves together a beautiful and riveting tale of wild places, wildlife, and wild people. Roaming the hills of Britain and the forests of Europe, kayaking off the coast of Wales with dolphins and seabirds, he seeks out the places that still possess something of the untamed spirit he would like to resurrect. He meets people trying to restore lost forests and bring back missing species--such as wolves, lynx, wolverines, wild boar, and gray whales--and explores astonishing evidence that certain species, not just humans, have the power to shape the physical landscape. This process of rewilding, Monbiot argues, offers an alternative to a silent spring: the chance of a raucous summer in which ecological processes resume and humans draw closer to the natural world.

Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life

Feral

Pavonini

A call to action. Took a while to pick up, but was worth it. Doesn't overwhelm you with facts but gradually builds up a picture of a landscape Monbiot obviously knows and loves, painfully degraded by humans. The descriptions felt overly long in places (why use one sentence when you can use a paragraph?) but you end up feeling like you know Britain like an old friend. That's invaluable. 

He loves nature. The way he talks about it makes this clear. He can't get enough of it, and that's an essential quality if you're going to communicate its value effectively. His many descriptions of the sea open up an environment that is likely a mystery to many. The wilderness has a quality hard to communicate, but he often manages it.

The way he talks about the human element of rewilding is particularly impressive to me (especially in "The Hushing"), striking a delicate balance between the urgency of saving the natural world and the need to not trample all over communities who have already been treated so shoddily over and over that they're often barely clinging on to their ways of life. There's no glossing over the past, no pretense about our present or future - he engages with the social dimension in a way that I think all scientists should (actually going out and talking to the people whose lives are affected and listening, participating).

The picture he paints of the possible futures is quite seductive (at least to me) with wild boar, lynx, wolves etc. roaming beautiful British rainforests (yes rainforests), and marine protected zones allowing sealife to come back and thrive. I do foresee many obstacles (especially in landowners) but surely capturing the public imagination won't prove that hard? If there's one thing this book does well it's reignite my love of the wild.

It also (for me) inspires further reading, with plenty of references and ideas. As a paradigm shift in conservation, rewilding seems pretty reasonable to me. It certainly captured my imagination the first time I encountered it (but that was the slightly different definition where you attempt to recreate prehistoric ecosystems with equivalent or even revived megafauna etc.) as his description of some traditional conservation starting to resemble "gardening" does feel pretty accurate. It leads to a fantasy of control, and limits on attention/time/resources I'd imagine. Reading the examples in the book it looks like that's exactly what happens. The approach used by Trees For Life sounds very successful precisely because they understand the limits of control, and leverage what they have effectively.

Overall I did love the book, though it took me longer than expected to read it because I found the style a little verbose. The important thing is the way it leaves you with a clear feeling and understanding of how things are now and what should come next as well as an appreciation of nature. It's not a barrage of facts, but it does give you many key ones (and they're often horrifying). I'll be recommending it to others.

How many of us sometimes feel that we are scratching at the walls of this life, seeking to find our way into a wider space beyond? That our mild, polite existence sometimes seems to crush the breath out of us? Feral is the lyrical and gripping story of George Monbiot's efforts to re-engage with nature and discover a new way of living. He shows how, by restoring and rewilding our damaged ecosystems on land and at sea, we can bring wonder back into our lives. Making use of some remarkable scientific discoveries, Feral lays out a new, positive environmentalism, in which nature is allowed to find its own way. 'Passionate, brilliant, timely . . . we need such big thinking . . . let the wild rumpus start.' Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph 'Feral reflects a very real need in us all right now to be released from our claustrophobic monoculture and sense of powerlessness . . . To rewild both the landscape and ourselves. It is the most positive and daring environmental book I have read.' Thom Yorke 'His passion is for a wilder world, a world less circumscribed by fear and greed. And he's right . . . he refreshes your view.' Simon Barnes, The Times 'To read this seminal, subversive, sometimes intoxicating book could mean never to look at our landscape in quite the same way again.' Michael Viney, Irish Times 'It imagines the lives we no longer lead, but might, the species that no longer exist, but could.' Robert Macfarlane 'Made me dream of seeing lynx and beavers roaming the countryside.' Ali Shaw, Observer, Books of the Year

Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life

Charlotte Dann

Dean Sas

Cal Desmond‐Pearson

Capucine Fachot

How many of us sometimes feel that we are scratching at the walls of this life, seeking to find our way into a wider space beyond? That our mild, polite existence sometimes seems to crush the breath out of us? Feral is the lyrical and gripping story of George Monbiot's efforts to re-engage with nature and discover a new way of living. He shows how, by restoring and rewilding our damaged ecosystems on land and at sea, we can bring wonder back into our lives. Making use of some remarkable scientific discoveries, Feral lays out a new, positive environmentalism, in which nature is allowed to find its own way. From the seas of north Wales, where he kayaks among feeding frenzies of dolphins and seabirds, to the forests of Eastern Europe, where lynx stalk and packs of wolves roam, George Monbiot shows how rewilding could repair the living planet, creating ecosystems in the UK as profuse and captivating as any around the world. Already, large wild animals are beginning to spread back across Europe, and fin whales, humpback whales and bluefin tuna are returning to the seas around Britain. Feral is a work of hope and of revelation; a wild and bewitching adventure that argues for a mass restoration of the natural world - and a powerful call for us to reclaim our own place in it. 'The suburbs dream of violence. Asleep in their drowsy villas, sheltered by benevolent shopping malls, they wait patiently for the nightmares that will wake them into a more passionate world' J. G. Ballard

Feral Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life

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