Lost Songs of Nature: Nature's Symphony in the Age of Noise Pollution

by Michel Leboeuf, Neil Macmillan (Translator)

Overview

FINALIST – Hubert-Reeves Prize, 2025

"Evocative and poetic ... Highlighting the diverse sounds of wild places, Lost Songs of Nature is an engrossing, haunting book with an urgent environmental message." —  STARRED Review, Foreword Reviews

This is an invitation to listen, to discover and rediscover the planet's ecosystems– its forests, marshes, swamps, bogs and shorelines.

An unapologetic plea to save nature's symphony. Man-made noise is increasing dramatically, encroaching on even the wildest of natural habitats. Will an increase in noise pollution herald complete anthropophony-a world that is deaf to the sounds of nature?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773371351
Publisher:	Great Plains Press
Publication date:	06/10/2025
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Michel Leboeuf is a biologist. Editor-in-chief of the journal Nature sauvage for 10 years, he has published some fifteen works that have earned him two Hubert-Reeves awards, crowning the best popular science book in Quebec. He was also the general director of the Lanaudière Ecosystem Conservation Trust. 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword
Prelude

First Movement: And Sound Came to Upper America
Chapter 1: A Brief History of Quebec Soundscapes
Chapter 2: Soundscapes of the Four Seasons

Second Movement: The Nature of Sound
Chapter 3: Geophony, Biophony, and Anthropophony
Chapter 4: What is Sound?

Third Movement: Animal Soundscapes
Chapter 5: How Animals Hear
Chapter 6: Battle Cries
Chapter 7: Love Songs
Chapter 8: Calls of Contact, Alarm, and Distress

Fourth Movement: Plant Soundscapes
Chapter 9: Trees are Sentient Beings
Chapter 10: How Plants Hear

Fifth Movement: The Songs of the Trees
Chapter 11: The New Global Soundscape
Chapter 12: The Background Noise of Species Extinction
Chapter 13: The Homogeocene
Chapter 14: Quartet for the End of Time

Chapter 15: A New Score for the Earth’s Soundscape

By Way of Conclusion
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Further Listening
Correlations Between Common Names and Scientific Names
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Through in-depth research and an accessible style, the author guides us along the paths of bioacoustics, a field that is increasingly studied, but which finds its first literary expression here in Quebec. Just like in his best-selling book Paroles d'un bouleau jaune, Michel Leboeuf makes us aware of the power of Nature and its deep connection with humans." — Vivre à la campagne

"Evocative and poetic ... Highlighting the diverse sounds of wild places, Lost Songs of Nature is an engrossing, haunting book with an urgent environmental message." — STARRED Review, Foreword Magazine

"Through in-depth research and an accessible style, the author guides us along the paths of bioacoustics, a field that is increasingly studied, but which finds its first literary expression here. Just like in his best-selling book Paroles d'un bouleau jaune, Michel Leboeuf makes us aware of the power of Nature and its deep connection with humans."—Vivre à la campagne

“Best-selling author and biologist Michel Leboeuf offers a vibrant plea in defense of the symphony of life.” —Marie-France Bornais, Le Journal de Montréal

“The scientist invites us […] to an unusual, sensory experience. To follow him, you must first find a forest, then close your eyes and listen.”—Caroline Montpetit, Le Devoir

From the Publisher