Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World

by Emma Marris

Overview

Winner of the 2022 Rachel Carson Environment Book Award * Winner of the 2022 Science in Society Journalism Award (Books) * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize

“Thoughtful, insightful, and wise, Wild Souls is a landmark work.”—Ed Yong, author of An Immense World

"Fascinating . . . hands-on philosophy, put to test in the real world . . . Marris believes that our idea of wildness—our obsession with purity—is misguided. No animal remains untouched by human hands . . . the science isn’t the hard part. The real challenge is the ethics, the act of imagining our appropriate place in that world." —Outside Magazine

From an acclaimed environmental writer, a groundbreaking and provocative new vision for our relationships with—and responsibilities toward—the planet’s wild animals.

Protecting wild animals and preserving the environment are two ideals so seemingly compatible as to be almost inseparable. But in fact, between animal welfare and conservation science there exists a space of underexamined and unresolved tension: wildness itself. When is it right to capture or feed wild animals for the good of their species? How do we balance the rights of introduced species with those already established within an ecosystem? Can hunting be ecological? Are any animals truly wild on a planet that humans have so thoroughly changed? No clear guidelines yet exist to help us resolve such questions.

Transporting readers into the field with scientists tackling these profound challenges, Emma Marris tells the affecting and inspiring stories of animals around the globe—from Peruvian monkeys to Australian bilbies, rare Hawai’ian birds to majestic Oregon wolves. And she offers a companionable tour of the philosophical ideas that may steer our search for sustainability and justice in the non-human world. Revealing just how intertwined animal life and human life really are, Wild Souls will change the way we think about nature—and our place within it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635574944
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	460,126
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Emma Marris is an award-winning journalist whose writing on science and the environment has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, National Geographic, Wired, Outside, High Country News, and many other publications, including Best American Science and Nature Writing. Her previous book, Rambunctious Garden, argued for a new conservation philosophy for the 21st century. Her TED Talk about redefining nature has over 1.4 million views. She was also featured on the TED Radio Hour and the series Adam Ruins Everything. She is based in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Table of Contents

1 The Flight of the 'Akikiki 1

2 Our Animal Kin 15

3 Philosophies of the Non-Human 28

4 Between Dog and Wolf 47

5 The Lion in the Backyard 69

6 The Autocratic Menagerie 84

7 The Dignity of the Condor 109

8 Are Species Valuable? 122

9 Feeding Polar Bears 137

10 The Arrows Tip 152

11 Bloodshed for Biodiversity 169

12 The Friendly Toutouwai 189

13 Compassionate Conservation 206

14 Bilby Thunderdome 221

15 How to Be a Good Human to the Non-Human World 244

Acknowledgments 261

Notes 269

Bibliography 291

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

04/12/2021

Environmental journalist Marris (Rambunctious Garden) ruminates on the "unpredictable complexity" and "strange beauty" of the nonhuman world in this wide-ranging if superficial appeal for humans to reconsider the ethics of their relationships with other species. Noting that, by weight, there is now "ten times as much humanity as wild mammals in the world," Marris describes modern humans as "super influencers" with uncanny effects on the natural world. Climate change and such human activities as farming and deforestation have created "moral dilemmas" for which conservationists have failed to find solutions, she writes, and wonders, for example, if humans are obligated to feed animals whose hunting grounds have been destroyed by human activity. Because of this, humans' relationships with animals have grown "knottier." Marris touches on many examples of odd (and at times troubling) human-animal relations, arguing that Justin Bieber's hybrid cats function as ornaments, and describing the strange new species Europeans introduced to New Zealand in the 18th century. But she fails to go deep in her advice, and some solutions seem unlikely (she imagines feeding endangered polar bear populations plant-based food). Readers hoping for a more grounded discussion of environmental issues should look elsewhere. Agent: Abigail Koons, Park & Fine Literary and Media. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Sober, elegant, and philosophical…Marris questions many of the assumptions we make about nature, naturalness, wilderness, species, genetic purity…Ultimately, it seems, the best approach to salvaging nature will be a piecemeal affair, a mix of doing and not doing, the political and personal." -New York Review of Books

"Fascinating . . . hands-on philosophy, put to test in the real world . . . Marris believes that our idea of wildness—our obsession with purity—is misguided. No animal remains untouched by human hands . . . the science isn’t the hard part. The real challenge is the ethics, the act of imagining our appropriate place in that world." —Outside Magazine

“Everybody who cares about animals should read this fascinating book.” —Temple Grandin, author of ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION

“Where do wild animals fit in a human-dominated world? The answer, for better or worse, will be determined by humans. Emma Marris's exploration of this question is at once thoughtful, thought-provoking, and thoroughly absorbing.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE SIXTH EXTINCTION

“This is a deeply felt and deeply thought book, brimming with compassion and rue, that throws out revelations like a stream of arrows, each one aimed at the very heart of the matter.” —Andrew Solomon, National Book Award-winning author of THE NOONDAY DEMON

“Thoughtful, insightful, and wise, Wild Souls is a landmark work … It should be a guidepost for our thoughts and actions for decades to come.” —Ed Yong, author of I CONTAIN MULTITUDES

“This is the best thinking-and-feeling person's guide to sharing the planet that I know.” —Florence Williams, author of THE NATURE FIX

“[Wild Souls] thinks hard about what words like 'wild' and 'nature' mean. As Marris journeys from Northwest wolves to rats in New Zealand, she finds answers that are as fascinating as they are unexpected.” —Charles C. Mann, author of THE WIZARD AND THE PROPHET

“Through stories that marry adventure and philosophy … Wild Souls proposes a new framework for resolving the moral dilemmas that arise as we try to be good stewards of a thoroughly humanized world.” —Beth Shapiro, author of HOW TO CLONE A MAMMOTH

“With an epic sweep worthy of the subject, Emma Marris links cutting-edge science with deep compassion to provide us tools for approaching the decades ahead.” —Neil Shubin, author of YOUR INNER FISH

“[A] masterpiece of environmental philosophy … This is a book meant to be argued with, in the best possible sense.” —Ben Goldfarb, author of EAGER

“I dare any nature-lover to read this book and not come away profoundly changed.” —Douglas W. Smith, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Yellowstone National Park

"This thoughtful, considerate book is perfect for anyone who wants to understand animals' places in the world." —Terri Schlichenmeyer, Bookworm

"An absorbing and nuanced blend of philosophy and science…Wild Souls questions the very concepts of wildness and nature. The result challenges readers to reconsider how they relate to nonhuman animals, from caged creatures to polar bears in the warming north." —Science News

"From defining wildness and animal autonomy to joining conservationists in grappling with the relative morality of the actions they take, Marris explores some of the ways our lives are intertwined with those of our non-human neighbors, and offers practical suggestions for how we can approach our lives and work with increased humility and create more space for wildlife to thrive." -Rewilding Magazine

"Blending science and philosophy, Marris, an environmental writer, explores the ethical dilemmas associated with preserving wildlife, and forces readers to contemplate what humans owe other animals." - Science News

From the Publisher