World in Their Hands is a collection of short biographical sketches of 17 environmental philosophers and activists curated and written by Steve Johnson. Due out 1st June 2021 from Rowman & Littlefield, it's 254 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is an interesting layman accessible overview of the conservation movement over the last century. The essays are each roughly ten pages in length and include vital statistics (birth, death, family connections) as well as their involvement and contributions to world conservation. Many of them were familiar to me already but not all of them. I found it an engaging and learning-rich read. The book is sparsely illustrated, but there are some black and white photos of the subjects themselves and places they visited, studied, or fought to protect.

The author has also included a short resources and links lists to modern conservation organizations and links for further reading.

Four stars. This is an information rich nonfiction book and would make good selection for library acquisition or home use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book consists of roughly ten-page recaps of the lives and accomplishments of people involved with the natural world. They’re categorized as thinkers, doers, or fighters, but I found the placements rather arbitrary as most people could easily have been placed in more than one category.

There’s also one person who simply doesn’t belong in the book in my opinion. Nothing against his accomplishments, but agriculture doesn’t fit with the careers of all the other people profiled. I reread the introductory material and that chapter looking for an explanation without success. I think it will be obvious to all readers.

It’s not really suitable as an introduction for children because of language used.

I was familiar with most of the people included, but the book did make me want to read more by or about a few of them.

Thanks to Falcon Guides and NetGalley for an early copy to read.