Review by Booklist Review
Self-described "itinerant biologist" turned journalist Nijhuis tracks the many-faceted evolution of the great debate over whether we should protect other species, and, if so, which ones and how, questions we've grappled with ever since we invented technologies that enable us to quickly drive species into extinction. Nijhuis parses thorny social and ethical issues, while anchoring this exceptionally comprehensive and enlightening history of conservation to incisive profiles of many ardent and intrepid individuals devoted to protecting animals and their habitats. Taxidermist and zoo director William Temple Hornaday took paradoxical measures to help keep bison alive. With millions of birds being slaughtered every year for their feathers, indomitable and eloquent Rosalie Edge championed avian preservation. British evolutionary biologist and tireless popular-science advocate Julian Huxley helped build the foundation for international conservation. Nijhuis spotlights key moments in the evolution of ecological thought and practice inspired by the likes of biodiversity defender Edward O. Wilson, Nobel Prize--winning political economist Elinor Ostrom, and pioneering conservation biologist Michael Soulé. Along the way, she exposes the racism inherent in environmental decimation, chronicles the struggle to establish community-based conservation initiatives, and explains efforts to protect common species before they decline, introducing heroic contemporary innovators. Nijhuis has created a defining and invaluable chronicle of an increasingly urgent lifesaving effort.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Efforts to prevent the loss of wildlife are "likely as old as the images of steppe bison painted on cave walls," writes journalist Nijhuis (The Science Writer's Essay Handbook) in this thorough history of wildlife conservation movements. She begins with the bison, a species nearly driven to extinction by humans in the late 1800s, and details how efforts to protect them led to the early conservation movement in America. From there, Nijhuis describes the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (which passed in 1918 and put an end to the plume trade, for which millions of birds were killed for their feathers) and outlines the work of environmentalist Aldo Leopold, who, during the Depression and Dust Bowl, advocated for an "ecological concept of habitat." Until then, Nijhuis observes, conservation "meant protecting animals from bullets, not protecting shrubbery and wetlands." As she lays out the origins of environmental groups including the World Wildlife Fund and Nature Conservancy, Nijhuis warns that organizations and governments are not doing enough to stave off mass extinction. To that end, she argues conservationists must "revive humans' sense of responsibility towards all species." Nijhuis's comprehensive survey is sure to delight nature enthusiasts and those concerned with disappearing species. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Science journalist and editor Nijhuis tells a wide-ranging tale in this history of a movement. She effectively tells how what began as the passion of collectors or hunters ultimately became a closer examination of wildlife and habitats by enthusiasts, and how what was once the work of individuals became the motivation of societies. Inspired to fight for endangered species and decrease the risk of extinction, formal organizations such as the National Audubon Society and World Wildlife Fund emerged, and organizational action became law over the course of time. The author covers a large group of contributors including the well-known work of Rachel Carson and E.O Wilson, while also shedding insight on the lesser-known contributions of Michael Soulé, Stewart Udall, and Rosalie Edge. Nijhuis also details how a narrow branch of biology became the rapidly growing field of biodiversity, and how first-world activism was broadened with the success of community-based conservation projects. In doing so, she engagingly relates conservation efforts of individual species, such as the whooping crane and American bison. VERDICT Nijhuis does an excellent job narrating the achievements and challenges of individuals, groups, and governments in understanding biological ecosystems and the human impact on them past, present, and future.--Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A fine history of the genesis of the conservation movement. Nijhuis, a project editor at the Atlantic and co-editor of The Science Writers' Handbook, admits that the sixth extinction shows little sign of slackening, and people are still killing too many animals and destroying too much habitat. On the bright side, modern conservation movements have many victories to their credit--and even some political clout. The author delivers a vivid account of the movements' past and present along with compelling minibiographies of the lives of many brilliant and energetic if not always admirable men and women. Without their work, there would be "no bison, no tigers, and no elephants; there would be few if any whales, wolves, or egrets." Like many histories of the natural world, Nijhuis looks at Carl Linnaeus and Charles Darwin, but readers will encounter many other intriguing names and factoids. For example, who saved the first animal from extinction? William Hornaday, who almost single-handedly saved the bison and went on to become the director of the Bronx Zoo. Other lively characters populating this illuminating narrative include Rosalie Edge, who established the first reserve for birds of prey in 1934; and the well-known crusaders (Aldo Leopold, Julian Huxley, Rachel Carson) who converted environmentalism into a mass movement. The author concludes with a review of current efforts to preserve wildlife and wilderness, and she believes that in addition to ecological concerns, "conservationists need to pay a lot more attention to human complexity." Despite progress in many areas, in 2019, "a global assessment by an international panel of biodiversity experts estimated that a million species were in danger of going extinct within decades--including as many as a quarter of all plant and animal species." Compassionate yet realistic and candid throughout, Nijhuis makes a significant contribution to the literature on environmentalism. An engrossing history of conservation and its accomplishments. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
