I have enjoyed Annie Proulx's fiction writing in the past and this book of nonfiction interested me greatly. However, once I dug into it, I found it to be overly technical for pleasure reading and I just couldn't get into it.

The title may sound depressing, but the book is not. True, the celebrated novelist expresses grief and anger at the shrinkage of global wetlands whose role in species conservation, methane retention and CO2 capture has been undervalued. However, the scope of this marvellous essay surpasses the climate crisis. Ranging from the eerily preserved bog people of pre-history to the marsh setting of Dante’s fifth circle of hell, she invites us to experience wetlands as generative webs of cultural significance. Her prose sparkles with wonder: the ‘fingerlike reaching’ of bog plants across dark water ‘looks from the air like ribbons of fraying green silk.’ --GMG

In Fen, Bog, and Swamp, well-known author and lifelong environmentalist Annie Proulx (The Shipping News, Brokeback Mountain, Barkskins) has created a succinct overview of the science and human history of the world’s peatlands and a plea for us to protect them from destruction. Long appreciated as an important habitat, scientists have come to understand the key role that peatlands play in storing carbon, twice as much, in fact, as the world’s forests.

However, humans have seen them as inconvenient, stinking, reviled wetlands and have spent hundreds of years draining them, tearing them up, and drying them out.

The book has a simple structure beginning with an introductory essay followed by one each on the different peat-producing wetlands (fens, bogs, and swamps). In each, Proulx explores both their biological role and what we’ve done to them through history. From the English fens, to the Pantanal, to the US’s Great Dismal, Canada’s Hudson Bay lowlands, Russia’s Great Vasyugan Mire, and more, Proulx takes us around the world to see both the richness of these wetlands and their widespread destruction.

I was fascinated by this simple book and learned a lot. It also prompted me to learn more about the natural areas I know well.

I’ve always loved visiting wetlands. The diversity of species is always astounding and they have a beauty and a mystery about them that’s always appealed to me. In particular, bogs with their carnivorous plants and ability to preserve things for centuries have a mystery and a fascination. Whenever I have the opportunity to visit a wetland (especially one with a protective boardwalk), I can’t stay away.

But, beyond their beauty and role as habitat, the role in regulating the global climate is critical. In a week in which Hurricanes Fiona and Ian have battered (are battering) places I know well, I’m reminded that the increasing ferocity of these storms is attributable to climate change. A book like Fen, Bog, and Swamp helps me to continue to develop my understanding of the complexity of this issue, in particular, the key role of peatlands and the importance of protecting them. Highly recommend.

Thank you for an ARC copy of this book! I really enjoyed this book even though it is not a genre I read as often (although this book made me want to read it more often). This book was informative but easy to digest which I think is more valuable to readers as it will target a larger demographic. I loved that the book touched on science, sociology, climate impact, history and geography. At times the book seemed to jump around a bit but overall it was informative which I liked. With a background in archeology I especially enjoyed the discussion of bog bodies and data archeologists have collected from fens, bogs and swamps. I do wish that possible solutions for the climate impact were mentioned in the book but talking about the destructions of these habitats and the impact it has on accelerating climate change was good. Overall the book kept me engaged and I would recommend it to people wanting to learn a bit more about these habitats and their importance.