Splitter, Jenny. “Michelle Nijhuis, ‘Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction.’” New Books in Animal Studies, May 12, 2021. Mp3, 01:08:19.
In the late nineteenth century, as humans came to realize that our rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving other animal species to extinction, a movement to protect and conserve them was born. In Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction (Norton, 2021), acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the movement’s history: from early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today’s global effort to defend life on a larger scale. She describes the vital role of scientists and activists such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson as well as lesser-known figures in conservation history; she reveals the origins of vital organizations like the Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund; she explores current efforts to protect species such as the whooping crane and the black rhinoceros; and she confronts the darker side of conservation, long shadowed by racism and colonialism.
(Source: New Books Network)
In this episode of New Books in Animal Studies, Jenny Splitter interviews Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction.
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