Eager
The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
by Ben Goldfarb
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jun 27 2018 | Archive Date Jul 01 2018
Talking about this book? Use #Eager #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat.
Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”—including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens—recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts.
Eager is a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781603587396 |
| PRICE | $24.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
nathan h, Reviewer
A mesmerizing and thorough examination on why beavers are a true keystone species, as they are often overlooked, vilified, and sorely misunderstood.
Many animals have their inherent value, to be sure, but Goldfarb issues his proof that the ability for so many species to thrive hinge upon the ability of beavers to do what they do best, even if their efforts seem to produce nothing less than chaos and less-than-aesthetically-pleasing views of nature (I suppose that also depends on who's looking).
Goldfarb writes of the beaver's integration within the history of many parts of the world (most notably North America), reminding us that the pelt trade was an important one in its time, and fueled so much of our conquest of any slab of untamed forest and stream. As the book progresses, you learn of many, many attempts to re-incorporate beavers into failing landscapes & watersheds, the installation of artificial dams meant to simulate the presence of the animals, and the struggles through which honorable proponents of beaver-kind have to navigate to simply get a fair consideration of data proving that the animal is definitely more help than hurt, which brings me to the next point...
If there's a hang-up for a reader in this book, it's around the middle where Goldfarb may seem to go in circles: He'll hang out with a conservationist/scientist/beaver enthusiast, you'll read of them restoring a habitat, the data will show some sort of improvement, and you'll be treated to at least some level of a conclusion. That happens several times, but please allow me to state that much of the frustration experienced by those who are pro-beaver must be the issuance of positive scientific results being met with sustained resistance against their cause; I imagine Goldfarb is doing his best to amass a most convincing stack of examples to help dispel as much doubt as he possibly can.
The passion for not just the co-existence but the full inclusion of beavers within our waterways is on prominent display here, and it's convincing, charming, logical, and so very worthy of your time. A super-fantastic read.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
