Beaverland

How One Weird Rodent Made America

De: Leila Philip

Narrado por: Christine Lakin

An intimate and revelatory dive into the world of the beaver—the wonderfully weird rodent that has surprisingly shaped American history and may save its ecological future.

From award-winning writer Leila Philip, Beaverland is a masterful work of narrative science writing, a book that highlights, though history and contemporary storytelling, how this weird rodent plays an oversized role in American history and its future. She follows fur trappers who lead her through waist high water, fur traders and fur auctioneers, as well as wildlife managers, PETA activists, Native American environmental vigilantes, scientists, engineers, and the colorful group of activists known as beaver believers.

Beginning with the early trans-Atlantic trade in North America, Leila Philip traces the beaver’s profound influence on our nation’s early economy and feverish western expansion, its first corporations and multi-millionaires. In her pursuit of this weird and wonderful animal, she introduces us to people whose lives are devoted to the beaver, including a Harvard scientist from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, who uses drones to create 3-dimensional images of beaver dams; and an environmental restoration consultant in the Chesapeake whose nickname is the “beaver whisperer”.

What emerges is a poignant personal narrative, a startling portrait of the secretive world of the contemporary fur trade, and an engrossing ecological and historical investigation of these heroic animals who, once trapped to the point of extinction, have returned to the landscape as one of the greatest conservation stories of the 20th century. Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Beaverland reveals the profound ways in which one odd creature and the trade surrounding it has shaped history, culture, and our environment.

The New York Times Editors' Choice

NPR Science Friday Book Club Selection

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Lyrically written, meticulously observed, and exhaustively researched, BEAVERLAND is going to break your heart—and then heal it with compassion, beauty, and wonder.”—Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus

"We can't have enough books about this wonderful creature--and this one is particularly strong on the remarkable history of the animal in our continent's history and imagination. A loud slap of the tail in approval!"—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"BEAVERLAND is wonderful, captivating, and illuminating. I learned so much — about natural history, business history, the world of today's fur trappers, and the role of a large, strange rodent in America's ecological future. Leila Philip is a skilled and engaging guide through this beaver-influenced terrain."—James Fallows, co-author of Our Towns

“Before the Anthropocene we had the Casterocene: a North American environment profoundly shaped by millions of beavers. In BEAVERLAND, Leila Philip takes us on a fascinating tour of the beaver’s effect on human history, and how, after its near extinction, we need to bring this rodent back for the sake of our ecosystems.”—Frans de Waal, author of Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist (Norton, 2022)

“BEAVERLAND may be the best-realized book about an American animal in years. A work of open-hearted discovery. Can returning beavers and their works save our future? However you answer that, this fine book is going to re-arrange the furniture in your head.”
—Dan Flores, New York Times bestselling author of Coyote America

“An astonishing, intrepid compendium about the world according to beaver, including social, cultural, and ethnographic history, juxtaposed with personal narrative. Philip brilliantly paves the way for us to enter this unlikely shaper of our nation as she follows naturalists, researchers, trappers, and local historians, as well as visiting her own backyard pond.

She dives into many avenues of research, including the enslavement of Native Americans, the cunning greed of John Jacob Astor, the obsession of Dorothy Richards who lived with 14 beavers in her Adirondack house, and the lifeways of indigenous peoples. Every inch of the way we know we are in good hands. BEAVERLAND is poignant, impeccably researched, and as artfully put together as any this 'wired rodent's' houses, with an eye toward the beaver's role in the anthropogenic disaster of our changing climate and damaged ecosystems.”—Gretel Ehrlich, author of Unsolaced and The Solace of Open Spaces

Not for everyone

This book had a great start for me but as I got to the end it started to slow down and get kinda boring

A thought-provoking and deeply researched book.

A wonderfully researched and presented book that covers so many aspects of beavers. Beautiful

An excellent nature tale told with heart

I so enjoyed listening to this work! The personal journey the author took through the fur trade and the trapping industry was fair and was an exploration of the truth and not just a slam job. Focused on the people and the history. The history of beavers in North America is very interesting and fascinating!

Excellent

This is an excellent, informative, well-researched,and inspiring book about these diligent, intelligent, and important, animals. High recommended!

amazing animals, amazing history

a wild and perfect book. i learned so much about river systems, american history and this unique creature.

the total history of american exploitation of beavers

whole account on beaver's exploitation
real and crude
american way of life
colonialismo
sincerity

Worthwhile, eye-opening

Though it could've been edited to maybe 60% of its length, it was still worthwhile -- and full of surprises. For me one of the biggest takeaways was a new appreciation of the "natural" state and shape of rivers, which bear little resemblance to the picturesque single-channel flow of water that first comes to mind. TLDR, everything is interconnected, and beavers play a key role in the shape and health of watersheds, forests, and entire ecosystems.

Amazing story and volumes of information

Excellent narration. The author’s investigative journalism flourishes in an compelling story. I learned a lot about beavers and the role they played and are playing in history and the environment.

Excellent - a lot of information about beavers and the impact they have made in America

Great stories and performance. Talks about nature, hunting, environment, politics and industry with respect of the beaver. I really enjoyed this book.

Disappointed

Read an excellent summary in the WSJ about this book that covered some very interesting parts such as how John Astor made his fortune. This book may be of interest to a layman who knows little of wildlife, but is not really a book for professionals or serious naturalists. I had trouble with the narration in audio, which sounded like it was given by a total novice…