Reviews

De terugkeer van de mammoet by Torill Kornfeldt

kmfeeney's review against another edition

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5.0

This was truly a remarkable book. The author presented a lot of information about current research it de-extinction in a clear and readable way. She conveyed enthusiasm while maintaining balanced coverage of the research projects. The pros and cons, believers and non-believers were all given a voice. My only complaint was that there wasn't more. Are there more projects like the ones discussed in the book? Are there resurrection projects for more animals?

emilyctrigg's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5

elirichey's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

3.25

scribepub's review against another edition

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Pick up this book and you’ll be glued to its pages, and soon convinced that bioengineering will continue to change the world in ways difficult to imagine.
Good Reading 4.5 Stars

Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?

[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian

[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser

The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews

Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish

It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste

Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist

Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly

This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness


The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker

In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University

scribepub's review against another edition

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Pick up this book and you’ll be glued to its pages, and soon convinced that bioengineering will continue to change the world in ways difficult to imagine.
Good Reading 4.5 Stars

Reading The Re-Origin of Species was a delightful adventure. Torill Kornfeldt took me by the hand and led me all around the world, and back through history, teaching me about how extinction works and how the restoration of all kinds of species, from the woolly mammoth to feathered dinosaurs, just may be a part of our future.
Tim Urban, Wait But Why?

[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.
The Guardian

[E]xpresses the full complexity of this topic in a lighthearted, masterful way, raising critical questions … which guide the reader to develop informed opinions about how humankind can limit the ongoing destruction of nature.
Adelaide Advertiser

The author's careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on—even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.
Kirkus Reviews

Any number of terms apply to Torill Kornfeldt's fascinating overview of this profoundly important subject: clear-eyed. Skeptical. Open-minded. But the word that sticks with me is one I haven't had cause to use in a very long time: hopeful. The Re-Origin of Species gives me hope.
Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Starfish

It’s less like reading a college text book and more like reading about a famous explorer digging into cultures not seen since the dawn of time. It’s like Indiana Jones light, for the scientist.
Adventures in Poor Taste

Extinction might not be forever! ... Free of most scientific jargon, Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study that”s well fit for public library audiences.
Booklist

Kornfeldt interviews researchers intent on recreating mammoths and passenger pigeons, saving the northern white rhino, and reintroducing chestnut trees to North America.
Publishers Weekly

This thought-provoking and deeply engaging book throws into the question the very meanings of life and death as we understand them. STARRED REVIEW
Shelf Awareness


The projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.
The New Yorker

In her cleverly titled book, The Re-origin of the Species, Swedish science journalist Torill Kornfeldt examines the world’s most famous (or perhaps most infamous) attempts to resurrect extinct species ... Crisscrossing the globe to interview the world’s leading experts on de-extinction, she offers her personal impressions of their laboratories, their research, and even their motivations ... The Re-Origin of the Species is a welcome addition to the growing corpus on de-extinction, and a strong debut by a gifted writer.
Abraham H. Gibson, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Stony Brook University

skylacine's review against another edition

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4.0

Great non-fiction about the possibility of bringing back extinct animals.

Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2022/08/book-review-re-origin-of-species-by.html

k_a_ewan's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

annarella's review against another edition

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5.0

This is an enjoyable and interesting book that looks lat why and why not to recreate species now extinct.
The book is well researched, the exposition clear and entertaing.
It gives you a lof of food for thought.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Scribe US and Edelweiss for this ARC

ofarrero's review against another edition

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3.0

Overall this was an insightful and thought provoking read. It toyed with your moral standpoint and just when you thought you had found your footing your viewpoint was swayed again. I did find it felt repetitive at times meaning the pacing was a little off but it was by no means sluggish.

ryner's review against another edition

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4.0

Since the release of Jurassic Park both scientists and the public have dreamed wildly about the possibility of somehow bringing back extinct fauna to roam the earth again. Kornfeldt, a science journalist in Sweden, summarizes in this book a number of current research projects which, by one method or another, all have this lofty goal. Whether the ultimate aim is a woolly mammoth or the only recently-extinct passenger pigeon, the methods vary -- from extraction of ancient DNA to breeding in (or out) particular characteristics of existing creatures and working backward. Like the author, I am concerned about ethical implications and somewhat dubious about the extent to which these feats can be realized, but also hugely excited about the possibilities.

I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.