Feral

I learned a lot from this book about the ancient ecology of Britain before it became a country of cattle and sheep, and the ancient ranges of large animals like elephants, bears and lions. I learned, to my surprise, that some of those large animals could be reintroduced in Britain and the United States and do fine, even benefiting the ecosystems there, as long as there was public support. And I learned quite a bit about the debates among conservationists about just what they are supposed to conserve and the best ways to do it. So, Monbiot's book contains a lot of eye-opening information, and a way of looking at wildlife and ecology that is different from most conservationists that I have read. However, this book would have benefited from some serious editing. At times it reads like a series of rants, where Monbiot makes the same point repeatedly, asks rhetorical questions, accuses government officials of being in the pockets of agriculture lobbyists, etc. By the end of the book I had lost patience with the ranting and skipped over whatever didn't seem to be imparting information. I'm glad I read this book, but others may not have the patience to wade through Monbiot's opinion pieces.