Reviews

Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn

sylviep's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.0

the_reviewer's review

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Lack of time, but will revisit!

katiescho741's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 Stars.
I enjoyed this book. I liked how each chapter was about a certain place, but she also discussed other abandoned sites with similar circumstances. It was a strangely positive book in that Cal Flyn shows us that nature reclaims these areas where humans have fucked things up too much.
There's a lot of variety in the areas, and I liked some more than others. I wasn't too interested in the botanical garden chapter, but the idea of being careful with "alien" plants and animals was interesting in itself. I think sometimes she goes way off on a tangent, and before you know it, you're reading about something you didn't expect. Sometimes this works, but sometimes I found myself bored. She visited each site, and sometimes her personal experiences were the weakest parts of the sections. I personally preferred the history.
The chapter on the Battle of Verdun was my favourite.
Overall, a really good book about how humans screw up and nature bounces back.

solangelicag's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

karlosius's review

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hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

meganholtzapple's review against another edition

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4.5

Really fascinating topic and very accessible scientific facts!

gingergoat's review against another edition

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5.0

My favourite book of the year! I'll definitely be coming back to it many times!

swivelhead's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

jmbeaton's review against another edition

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hopeful informative medium-paced

3.5

elliethecatlover's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0