Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I requested this from NetGalley around the time when I was reading a lot of rewilding books and then proceeded not to read this for ages. But I finally managed to get down to read it because of another challenge. This one was different than the others I read because it was about reintroducing one particular animal back into Britain, rather than focusing on a certain area. 

In this book, Derek Gow talks about the history of the beaver in the UK, how it was hunted to extinction and why (classified as a fish because it swims well, honestly Catholic Church) and how it trying to be introduced back into the UK among the general myths and illogical bureaucracy that he has to deal with. I found the story of him trying to get back the red tape and the irrational protests to the beaver was interesting, mostly because he wasn't afraid to write what he really thought and his annoyed humour helped move it along. I felt like the story of other countries' history of the beaver a little less interesting mostly because it started to bog things down from the part of the book I really wanted to know about. 

The stories Gow had about the beaver, both as an actual creature but also their progress in trying to reintroduce them in various ways were hilarious, saddening and heart-warming in turns. I love hearing about their various escapes into the wilds of Britain long before they were even considering formally reintroducing them and how they learned more about the beaver through trial and error were hilarious, but also how they didn't do well in captivity without being able to do what came natural to them.

I will say that I was far more interested in beavers and their impact on the environment, which had been touched upon in other rewilding books I read, rather than the politics behind the decision to reintroduce them or not. But that was definitely personal preference.

4 stars!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Like many places worldwide, the UK is learning that they need the almost gone Beaver to help with flooding.

Although it took me longer to read this particular book than it normally would it turned out to be A informative, educational and at times entertaining read.

I was interested to learn about the reintroduction of beavers in Devon, but after reading this I’m none the wiser. Apart from a few funny reminiscences of transporting and being bitten by beavers, this is a very dull account of the author’s rewilding attempts in England and Scotland. It contains a lot of material about the UK’s environmental history that was already familiar to me from other recent works. Gow idolizes Gerald Durrell but hasn’t learned from him how to tell a good book-length yarn. Perhaps a co-author could have helped shape the material into something entertaining. There are also unfortunate homophone slips: “loadstone” for lodestone on p. 80, “flow” for floe on p. 134, and “leant” for lent” on p. 160.

This was such a fascinating look into an area in which I have little to no background knowledge—wildlife conservation in the UK. I think what really makes this book special is the passion that the author clearly holds about this subject, and I really did learn a lot. At some points, I felt that the writing could have been improved. It's a polemic, very clearly intended to make its case and convert the reader to join in the good fight. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but perhaps the editor could have done a bit more to refine the structure and the prose itself so that it was a little more polished and effective. All in all, I'm still very glad I read this one and I've come away with an increased awareness of this important issue.

Bringing Back the Beaver is an interesting look into the history and culture surrounding the iconic species. I was intrigued to learn about the history of the Beaver in the UK, since I am only familiar with the history of the Beaver in Canada. It was also enjoyable to read about the controversy surrounding the reintroduction of a species to a landscape that has been thoroughly changed since their disappearance.

I think you'll really like this book if you're a) familiar with nature conservation stories in general and b) familiar with England, Europe, their systems of environmental governance, and the beaver. I fill the first criteria, but I have approximately 0 knowledge on the second.

If you're familiar with how conservation stories typically go - you'll be prepared for the sheer level of bureaucracy that conservation really entails. This has been consistent with nearly all the conservation books I've read in the past year (for example, [book:Stronghold: One Man's Quest to Save the World's Wild Salmon|43255392] and [book:The Snow Leopard Project: And Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation|38740747]) consist of lengthy descriptions of governmental bodies, intergovernmental gridlock, and scientists frustrated at the lack of common sense and cooperation. A LOT of this short, 190 page book is exactly this.

I completely understand this frustration, but sometimes I think conservationists don't give government officials enough credit. Agencies do have to balance the interests of all stakeholders - although conservationists have this one driving goal of, say, beaver reintroduction in mind, agencies have to balance that against competing interests, say, farmers who think beavers are going to destroy their farming system. Beavers particularly are a tricky animal because they are master engineers, hellbent on customizing and altering their environment no matter where they go. Although all animals have some impact on the ecosystem around them, few have the level of impact that beavers do. It's tricky to reintroduce them because of the level of alteration that European landscapes already have - beavers work perfectly if England's rivers were naturally flowing, if floodplains were still in existence, if farmers hadn't taken over England's countrysides. But that's not the case - beavers have been almost extant for so long that the landscape completely changed without them, and reintroducing them now brings lots of fears that chaos will ensue.

I thought the history of the beaver and why it's no longer around was interesting and awful - it's really because of these big fur trapping companies who were so desperate to corner the market that they ordered their trappers to overhunt, then in order to not flood the market with a bunch of pelts at once and with no way of preserving them for the future, these companies basically set the excess pelts on fire. These amazing animals, dying for no reason.

Overall, I hope that Europeans find this interesting - it's a short book written by a clearly passionate environmentalist whose life goal has been the reintroduction of beavers in Britain. And although he's been largely successful, there are many fascinating roadblocks that he endured along the way.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

I don’t live in the UK, but I have studied nature conservation. And although I still haven’t found a way to actually put that to use, stories like these do grab my attention. And so I requested it from Netgalley, but then never got round to reading it. Until I saw the audiobook on Scribd and finally gave it a shot. And it was great.

This is a short story (190 pages, just over 4 hours), and written accessibly written, making it an absolute joy to read. But it is also a very honest read, that doesn’t pull punches and says it as it is. No feelings are spared. And it is a very current read, even questioning the effects of COVID on nature conservation.

In short, this book tells about beavers were hunted to extinction, and Gow’s personal story of his struggles to re-introduce them. And it really is a personal story with lots of anecdotes sprinkled with a good dose of witty humour. And you don’t need to have studied nature conservation like me, or have a passion for beavers. This book is written with everyone in mind, and is very chatty, well-explained and down to earth.

This is just a delightful story written by a very passionate man. And it’s great.

The fascinating story of one man's quest to reintroduce beavers to their natural habit in Great Britain. Beavers play an important role in the ecology of our water systems, among other things, but they've been largely eradicated in many areas. Gow includes a lot of history and biology, as well as charming black-and-white illustrations. Will be interesting to readers who enjoy nature, biology, animals, and history.

“𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 – 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 – 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙮𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮, 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 – 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 – 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”

This brief but passionate book outlines the hunt of beaver to their extinction in the Britain and Gow's attempt to reintroduce it to the it’s natural habitat once again.

The author, Derek Gow, a farmer turned ecologist, is a straight-talking, honest and delightfully witty writer who is passionate about wildlife and totally dedicated to the project of re-establishing beavers in British landscape. He has also reintroduced water voles and the white stork to Britain.

There are lots of stories about who did what when, and there is a lot of humour wrapped up in them. He covers the beaver fur and castoreum trade. Castoreum, exuded from sacs near their anal glands, which they use to scent mark territory, was thought to have medical properties. Medieval apiarists believed it made bees more productive and it is still used to add ‘leather’ notes to perfumes.

He also provides accounts of bureaucratic drives to cull beavers who successfully mated in the wild and outright opposition of the government to reintroduce the beavers.

Bringing Back the Beaver is a quick read for those who enjoy nature-writing, but also for the reader who has little contact with the countryside and its wildlife; for the reader like me who has never seen a beaver in the wild.

I also enjoyed the little illustrations between each chapter. It provides a fantastic insight into the world of beavers. Recommended to all.

Thank you to Chelsea Green Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this quick read about how people are trying to bring back the beaver in the UK. We get the history of how they became all killed over the year. It was interesting to see how long they have been gone on the landscape. It was also interesting archeologist have been finding their homes and their mark on the landscape from past hundreds if not thousands of years ago, also that past people used their areas as home as they provided an ideal location. Then it goes into how not only UK/Scotland but other places have tried to reintroduce the beaver and how, when, paperwork to get it all done.
This reminded me a bit about wolves here in the states and how once back in the landscape they change it for the better. It will be interesting to see how the beaver does in the UK and EU in the comes years and if the people that want to protect it are able. Every education in an easy format for anyone to read and enjoy!

The average American reader hears “beaver” and thinks of hats and maybe over hunting… not much else comes to mind much less the fact that Britain had their own Eurasian beaver!
Of course it was also hunted so close to the brink that it seemed an infinity gauntlet wielding Iron Man would be needed to bring them back.

Rewilding Britain’s waterways is pretty dam important (eh eh see what I did there). The beaver is an excellent tool for expanding or creating complex bio diverse ecosystems in new areas or in breathing new life to the old dried up ones. If you don’t find this fascinating the this may not be the book for you, the rest of us will brew some tea and enjoy the efforts of Derek Gowd and his beaver fever.

Nothing is ever easy these days and a lot people and things, regulations and outdated ideas try to stand in Gowd’s way as he works tirelessly and sometimes on the fringe of the law, to do what’s needed to help rewind depleted British ecosystems. You will laugh, you will learn, you might learn a new way to swear and you’ll enjoy reading this.

The cover art makes you want to pick up the book alone.

If you want to know something nature-y then best see if Chelsea Green Publishing has a book about it because you’ll get firs rate down to earth information.

Derek Gow brings the beaver to the urban reader.

Bringing Back the Beaver is a short, passionate, informal book describing the hunting to extinction of the beaver from British landscapes and the dogged attempts to reintroduce it.

In eight chapters ecologist and farmer Derek Gow covers the beaver fur and castoreum trade, how beavers replenish and reshape landscapes, wildlife reintroduction projects, beaver import, quarantine conditions, and the wily ways numerous projects - most projects - were scuppered by the government.

Though his message is serious, Gow is an affable, cheeky writer. Anecdotes keep the text vivid, and the language is down-to-earth and chatty. This is not a dry, academic read, and no prior knowledge or enthusiasm about beavers is required. I found the pages flying by, and my sympathy well-kindled.

This is a book for those who enjoy nature-writing, but also for the urban reader who has little daily contact with the countryside and its wildlife; for the reader who has, perhaps, never seen a beaver in the wild.

‘Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man's Quest to Rewild Britain's Waterways’ by Derek Gow

Chelsea Green, 2020

ISBN: 978-1603589963

Reviewed by Marian Van Eyk McCain

As Wilding author Isabella Tree explains in her Foreword to this lively and interesting book, the beaver is what is known as a keystone species, …a creature that has a disproportionately large effect in its environment. Like the keystone arch, biological structures depend on it.

Beavers, in their ability to slow down rivers and streams by building dams that alter their courses and by creating side channels and meanders that turn into pools, have the ability to transform a landscape, create new habitat and restore water to dry areas.
They are, in fact, wonderful landscape architects, especially when it comes to restoring lost wetlands, rehydrating dried-out areas and repairing the human-created damage – such as the misguided dredging and straightening of watercourses – that all too often leads to downstream flooding problems.

The author, Derek Gow, who started his working career as a farmer but later turned himself into an ecologist, is a straight-talking, irreverent and delightfully witty writer who is passionate about wildlife and totally dedicated to the project of re-establishing beavers in our British rivers.

Because of course beavers were once indigenous to the UK, just as they were – and in some cases still are – in most parts of Europe. As witness the many place names here that are based on the presence of beavers in past centuries. But being hunted remorselessly for their fur, they eventually disappeared from our shores some time in the Middle Ages.

Having witnessed at first hand the amazing handiwork of these industrious creatures in North America, I have found it hard to understand why there has been such a high level of opposition to the reintroduction of the species here. It would seem to me that given all that is wrong with our environment, the benefits of having them here would more than outweigh any disadvantages.

Scottish National Heritage obviously felt the same way when they reintroduced some beavers on the River Tay in 1994. But ever since those animals made themselves at home and started to proliferate, there has been a lot of opposition to their presence in Scotland. Some of it comes from anglers who worry that beaver dams block the migratory pathways of game fish. Some comes from the owners of tree plantations who resent having their saplings felled by those razor-sharp, orange teeth and turned into building material. Most of it comes from farmers who fume that corners of their prime agricultural land are getting waterlogged. And all of it is exacerbated by the ponderous workings of bureaucrats at various levels of government. Gow’s book chronicles this long, slow – and still ongoing – Scottish battle and all its ups and downs. Plus the parallel story of his efforts to reintroduce beavers into England.

Along the way, we learn a lot about the nature of the beaver, its lifestyle and habits and how its populations differ in certain ways such as colouring. We also get
some fascinating nuggets of historical information. Such as the fact that at one time the Catholic Church officially classified beavers as fish – because apparently their meat has a very fishy taste even though beavers themselves are vegetarians – and that meant that Catholics were allowed to eat beaver meat on Fridays. Who knew?!!

As well as his work on behalf of beavers, Gow has been busy on his Devon farm breeding and restoring to the wild thousands of creatures from depleted populations, particularly water voles, whose numbers have crashed, largely due to the predations of escaped, non-native, fur-farmed mink.

Mostly, this book reads like an adventure story, replete with a host of very funny anecdotes interspersed with passages of lyrical and inspiring Nature writing. And, thanks, in large part, to the years of dedicated effort by this author and his colleagues, I think the story will end in victory. There is now at least one river in England – the River Otter in Devon – where beavers are living legally, albeit still on a trial basis but it is looking as though they will soon be granted permanent residency. They will prove to be vital allies in the coming years as we re-balance our priorities and work at repairing our damaged ecosystems and at restoring habitat so that our wildlife can prosper, thereby successfully re-wilding what we hope may once again become our truly green and pleasant land.

This book was an awesome read! I love that it was basically one man's radical quest to bring back an animal that we basicaly hunted to extinction. So interesting to learn about his fight and the impact he has made throughout Britain. More people need to fight for things with his enthusiasm. Go Derek Gow!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Thanks to Derek Gow, Chelsea Green Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had no idea there were beavers anywhere other than North America. I'm so grateful I've come across this book.
This is a short, but detailed and well-informed book about the history of beaver and their reintroduction into the British wilderness. It's so interesting to read about how beaver are such an important part of the ecosystem and ecological benefits of beavers in different countries. Even though it’s not new information it’s heartbreaking to read how we’ve gotten rid of them in many places. It’s equally hard to read about the mistakes that have been done during the reintroductions.
It is clear that the author has a special relationship with beavers and it really shines through each page of the book. The personal touch makes it lively and special. I enjoyed the little illustrations between each chapter, such a nice touch.

A short but well-researched book about the history of beaver, and it’s reintroduction into the British wilderness. It’s interesting to read about what humans have thought about beavers during different times, and in different countries. Even though it’s not new information it’s heartbreaking to read how we’ve gotten rid of them in many places. It’s equally hard to read about the mistakes that have been done during the reintroductions.

It is clear that the author has a special relationship with beavers, which is important because of what he is doing, but it is most definitely also an advantage when writing a book. It is a mixture of history, science, and personal experiences. The personal touch makes it lively and special.

I received an advance reader copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful look at introducing beavers back into the UK. Never realized they had them there, as I thought it was a North American species. I live in Minnesota, so see the positive effects of beavers, although I also know people who kill them just because too. Sad. A beaver dam is the only acceptable dam there is. Wish the powers that be would remove man made ones. Off my soapbox. Enjoyed this and highly recommend this book. Could use images and formatting not the best on my phone kindle app, but minor issues.

Every once in a while I like to read outside my normal literary genres and "Bringing Back The Beaver" by Derek Gow was my most recent experiment. Wow, I was richly rewarded! Derek Gow, a farmer turned beaver ecologist writes a rollicking tale about the long journey to try to reintroduce beavers into the British landscape and along the way meets a riotous lot of colorful characters who share his passion. Some of his stories had me laughing out loud, and his enthusiasm for his beaver quest had me cheering him on. I really cannot overstate what an engaging writing style he has.

I have an interest in the environment and leaving a space for animals as so many species dwindle, but beavers? I honestly never thought about them before reading this. The book is short enough that you don't get dragged down with minutiae, and interesting enough that you want to plow on. I am proof that you don't have to harbor any great interest in the re population of beavers to find this an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Chelsea Green Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the ARC of this book.