Feral

Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life

By: George Monbiot

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

To be an environmentalist early in the 21st century is always to be defending, arguing, and acknowledging the hurdles we face in our efforts to protect wild places and fight climate change. But let's be honest: Hedging has never inspired anyone.

So what if we stopped hedging? What if we grounded our efforts to solve environmental problems in hope instead, and let nature make our case for us? That's what George Monbiot does in Feral, a lyrical, unabashedly romantic vision of how, by inviting nature back into our lives, we can simultaneously cure our "ecological boredom" and begin repairing centuries of environmental damage.

Monbiot takes listeners on an enchanting journey around the world to explore ecosystems that have been "rewilded": freed from human intervention and allowed - in some cases, for the first time in millennia - to resume their natural ecological processes. We share his awe, and wonder, as he kayaks among dolphins and seabirds off the coast of Wales and wanders the forests of Eastern Europe, where lynx and wolf packs are reclaiming their ancient hunting grounds. Through his eyes, we see environmental success - and begin to envision a future world where humans and nature are no longer separate and antagonistic, but are together part of a single, healing world.

©2014 George Monbiot (P)2019 Tantor

So informative.

Great personal stories mixed with some very important environmental info that people like to ignore.

Species review for reestablishment in Britain

A who's who of birds fish mammals and insects common to parts of Africa and parts of Europe that used to breed in Britain from which they were persecuted or eaten to extinction. Rated from 1-10 these post the ice age to pre boreal species expands the ecological imagination to revive healthy ecosystems. The basis for healthy ecosystems is both a better understanding of landowners and hunters to leave these species alone and subsistence farmers who naturally fit in with the species. African and southern Asia is where mega fauna have survived because of hominids habitation patterns similar to subsistence farmers defined enough forage. Beavers, wolves, and lynx in North America and England are leading the reintroduction way after being successful in parts of Europe. Is a healthy ecosystem necessarily composed of native species? The writing is magnificent bring to life landscapes and streams and the species that populate them with the wonder that consumes us when we chance across these myths of our historical past.

For people in the UK - Not for North Americans

A good story and written in a good way and with good motivation. However It would do him a service to dive in regenerative agriculture. Instead he ragged on sheep and farming. I am not sure that he understands that imported food to the UK degrades land somewhere and it is how the food is produced that is the problem. The wedding of the natural world with agriculture is very possible. Eco tourism is as damaging is most places including here in New York's ADK's. Also as most folk steeped in western paternalism, He misunderstands human relationship with the Earth.

equally enchanting and foreboding

a beautiful and haunting depiction of our wildness, how we systematically destroyed it and what we might do to renew it.

Mildly Thoughtful

Too full of disjointed humanistic blather to make much meaning of these pages. Too bad, he seems to have meant well.