Wildlife

Rethinking the Great White North book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Rethinking the Great White North: Race, Nature and the Historical Geographies of Whiteness in Canada

Unlike most academic books, Rethinking the Great White North stirred enough irritation to be attacked by a Globe and Mail columnist. Repeating an old saw, Margaret Wente previously wrote that what makes someone Canadian is having sex in a canoe. Maybe new immigrants should be taught to canoe, Wente said, […]

This Crazy Time book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

This Crazy Time: Living our Environmental Challenge

When reviewing a book, I mark it up mercilessly. I jot down notable points, create a list of possible quotes and scribble down potential themes that might shape my review. When my lists are long, jumbled and written in my fast, furious – and almost illegible – handwriting, it means […]

Rambunctious Garden book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World

What should conservation look like in the Anthropocene age? Under the premise that humans have transformed nearly the whole planet in some way, shape or form, Emma Marris challenges readers to reconsider their definitions of conservation, and proposes a paradigm shift in how humans define, perceive and understand nature to […]

Climate, Culture, Change book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

Climate, Culture, Change: Inuit and Western Dialogues with a Warming North

There is no denying the unique vantage point of Timothy Leduc’s new book, Climate, Culture, Change: Inuit and Western Dialogues with a Warming North. Your first clue is right there in the subtitle: that’s dialogues with, not about, Canada’s northern ecology.

The Crossley ID Guide book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds

Apart from a knowledgeable mentor, the field guide is a nature enthusiast’s most valuable tool. With the right guide, a seemingly featureless swath of unfamiliar habitat comes alive with ecological insight. In ornithology, guides are particularly valuable due to the immense variability that birds display. In The Crossley ID Guide: […]

The Ptarmigan's Dilemma book review A\J AlternativesJournal.ca

The Ptarmigan’s Dilemma: An Exploration into How Life Organizes and Supports Itself

If I were asked by a visitor from outer space for the best information on the history and ecology of life on Earth, I’d offer this book. Deservedly short-listed for the 2010 Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize, The Ptarmigan’s Dilemma: An Exploration into How Life Organizes and Supports Itself covers all the bases, […]