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A review by ernestleberbe
Rewilding – The Illustrated Edition: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery by Cain Blythe, Paul Jepson
4.0
A much better introduction to rewilding than Tree's "Wilding" if looking for a slightly more scientifically toned, and less narratively-based telling of the genesis of the movement and what it stands for. Not to say that Wilding doesn't have value in its own right - cf. my review of it, plus it does touch on some topics hardly evoked here such as soil health or the impact of beavers -, but I would probably suggest to start with this one first for a more pragmatic overview giving a good framework, although it is perhaps more dry a read. Now if looking for more casual a read to start with, then Tree's book is probably the way to go. That being said, the illustrated edition here largely reads like a 215 pages magazine more than a book, as the double pages are always self contained - they have a title giving the overarching point, and there's a bit of text to detail it. So this book is certainly easier to pick up and read a couple pages from than longer form full text.
I am not exactly sure how much of the text from the figures was present in the non-illustrated version, but I find that the diagrams largely either reiterate or clarify what was already in the main text. So there isn't much in the way of 'true' additions. But I certainly can see the benefit of some of the diagrams, while the many beautiful photos serve the double purpose of making the book much nicer to read and look at, and of reminding us of the beauty all of this is aimed at preserving. Now it's not always all very good - I found page 113 to be a bit funny if I'm honest. But overall I'd say the extra investment towards the illustrated version is quite worth it.
In terms of content, this book provides a rather shallow overview of many aspects of rewilding - from the onset of the idea, the theory of shifting baselines and the woodland-pasture hypothesis, its most widely known implementation (wolves in Yellowstone, the Oostvaardersplassen, Pleistocene Park, giant tortoises in Mauritian islands), the ethical and practical issues surrounding it, its most extreme forms (e.g. the idea of introducing cheetahs in controlled zones of Northern America, to fill an ecological niche previously occupied by now extinct species), and a perhaps too brief overview of the damage done to nature - page 64-67 is particularly striking, followed by a case made that rewilding would support the restoration of many ecological and global processes such as nutrient cycles, the reduction of the albedo effect in the Arctic (see pages 130-133). The tone is decidedly aimed at the broadest audience and refrains from much scientific or academic level detail. Thus any one of these topics is touched on only briefly and superficially, but the book's value lies in bringing them together in a coherent thought process. It does a great job of providing the reader with a framework from which they may wish to further explore any sub-topic they wish, perhaps starting with ones the authors themselves mention they have not given much space to such as marine rewilding.
Because it tries to keep the tone accessible and not too academic, and because it tries to excite its audience about the new ideas brought on by rewilding, the book does feel a bit overoptimistic in many places. Page 147 talks about rewilding not having the 'blame' component often found in more traditional ecology. Well that's all well and good, and certainly the main question lies in what do we do now, but there is no denying that a lot of blame is well due. The cynic in me had to look a bit past the ubiquitously excited and positive tone of the book, but it is not really detrimental to the actual content of it anyways.
Overall, I'd recommend this as a starter to anybody interested in modern developments in ecology, conservation science, natural history, the interaction between humans and their ecosystem (even going back thousands of years before the onset of the industrial revolution), and the place rewilding may occupy in our overall handling of the planet's future - whether it be climate change-related, or for preservation and expansion of wildlife. 4/5
I am not exactly sure how much of the text from the figures was present in the non-illustrated version, but I find that the diagrams largely either reiterate or clarify what was already in the main text. So there isn't much in the way of 'true' additions. But I certainly can see the benefit of some of the diagrams, while the many beautiful photos serve the double purpose of making the book much nicer to read and look at, and of reminding us of the beauty all of this is aimed at preserving. Now it's not always all very good - I found page 113 to be a bit funny if I'm honest. But overall I'd say the extra investment towards the illustrated version is quite worth it.
In terms of content, this book provides a rather shallow overview of many aspects of rewilding - from the onset of the idea, the theory of shifting baselines and the woodland-pasture hypothesis, its most widely known implementation (wolves in Yellowstone, the Oostvaardersplassen, Pleistocene Park, giant tortoises in Mauritian islands), the ethical and practical issues surrounding it, its most extreme forms (e.g. the idea of introducing cheetahs in controlled zones of Northern America, to fill an ecological niche previously occupied by now extinct species), and a perhaps too brief overview of the damage done to nature - page 64-67 is particularly striking, followed by a case made that rewilding would support the restoration of many ecological and global processes such as nutrient cycles, the reduction of the albedo effect in the Arctic (see pages 130-133). The tone is decidedly aimed at the broadest audience and refrains from much scientific or academic level detail. Thus any one of these topics is touched on only briefly and superficially, but the book's value lies in bringing them together in a coherent thought process. It does a great job of providing the reader with a framework from which they may wish to further explore any sub-topic they wish, perhaps starting with ones the authors themselves mention they have not given much space to such as marine rewilding.
Because it tries to keep the tone accessible and not too academic, and because it tries to excite its audience about the new ideas brought on by rewilding, the book does feel a bit overoptimistic in many places. Page 147 talks about rewilding not having the 'blame' component often found in more traditional ecology. Well that's all well and good, and certainly the main question lies in what do we do now, but there is no denying that a lot of blame is well due. The cynic in me had to look a bit past the ubiquitously excited and positive tone of the book, but it is not really detrimental to the actual content of it anyways.
Overall, I'd recommend this as a starter to anybody interested in modern developments in ecology, conservation science, natural history, the interaction between humans and their ecosystem (even going back thousands of years before the onset of the industrial revolution), and the place rewilding may occupy in our overall handling of the planet's future - whether it be climate change-related, or for preservation and expansion of wildlife. 4/5