Wild New World: The Epic Story of Animals and People in America

<i>"The staggering losses in the first five thousand years of the Anthropocene pitted a superpredator species - us - against prey animals that either had no experience with us or whose evolutionary defenses were keyed to older dangers and were unable to protect them against our spread and efficiency. But animals confronting us over the past five centuries have faced something different. Since then we've thought of living creatures as mere resources in an economy designed to enrich us, and that has produced one ugly, depraved story after another, a history of inhumanity perpetrated by ordinary Americans in the name of freedom and the market, its cruelty and barbarism as often as not endorsed by government and sometimes even carried out by its agents. This is how we de-buffaloed, de-pigeoned, de-wolfed America."</i><br /><br />Wild New World is a heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful reflection on the relationship between human beings and other animals in America. Beginning with our early spread through the continent and moving to the present day, Flores highlights the initial extinction of megafauna hunted by our ancestors. He then moves to more recent extinctions - the result of habitat destruction, hunting, trade of animal parts, and attempts to eliminate "evil" predators. This segues into the rise of environmentalism in the 60s and ends with the reflection that, while many species will never be seen again, we have the chance to save the ones that are still here. <br /><br />A thoroughly researched, devastating history. Thank you so much to Dan Flores and W. W. Norton &amp; Company for this ARC through NetGalley. Wild New World is available as of October 2022 for purchase.

Dan Flores butchered his chance with this book. The subject matter here is so ambitious; a complete history of North American wildlife, truly from the beginning. This could have been perfect. <i>I wanted this to be perfect so badly</i>. This book should have been my shit. And yet I found myself slogging through chapter after chapter. <br /><br />There's no real coherent organization. It's <i>roughly</i> (with as much emphasis as possible) chronological, but bounces around so drastically from species to species, region to region. You quickly get whiplash trying to follow not only the species, but the various human characters involved in the stories of their extinction or rescue. <br /><br />Flores also injects himself into the story at several points. Not only are these sections tedious, they break up what little narrative he's been able to cultivate. <br /><br />This book is the most infuriating mix of mind-blowing facts and tidbits, interspersed with long meandering buried ledes and near-constant changes in setting. 3/5, I'd still recommend it purely for the information it holds, but jesus I'll never read a Flores book again.

Fascinating nonfiction portraying the evolutionary origins, pre-human abundance and post-human plunder of North America’s wildlife and wild lands. This book is spread out in a narrative journey that is easy to digest and connect with. <br /><br />Flores paints a picture of ancient North America that is so starkly contrasted with our modern reality. It’s jaw dropping to think about how wild it really was before the onset of the Anthropocene and European colonization. <br /><br />Despite the tales of loss, organized into the stories of specific beloved species, Flores incorporates elements of conservation and hope as we grapple with modern environmental challenges. This book is a powerful educational tool that encourages fierce and swift protection of the majestic and unique wildlife of North America.

This is a fascinating overview of people vs. animals (really) in the Americas from like 21,000 years ago to the 21st Century. Basically, the author makes the case that the human animal over millennia has combined a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_killing" rel="nofollow noopener">"henhouse syndrome," more scientifically known as surplus killing</a>, w/biological first contact where animals do not know to fear humans to head toward extinction or near-extinction. This goes from archaeological evidence of mass killing for only a few choice cuts, which I have read about in <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/1404135.Time_Detectives_How_Archaeologists_Use_Technology_to_Recapture_the_Past" title="Time Detectives How Archaeologists Use Technology to Recapture the Past by Brian M. Fagan" rel="noopener">Time Detectives: How Archaeologists Use Technology to Recapture the Past</a> to the disruption caused by disease spreading in the 15th and 16th Centuries by Spanish explorers. This is interesting for the early primary sources observing animal density declines with proximity to human settlements, but returns once those human populations were decimated. This is also the first time I recall reading that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age#Decreased_human_populations" rel="nofollow noopener">Little Ice Age is deemed by some to have a root cause in decreased human population</a>. The Stone Age approach to herd management was taken up by more European visitors taking out the bison herds as well as completely eradicating the great auk, passenger pigeon, Carolina parakeet, etc. and wreaking a devastating toll on otters, wolves, etc. and through DDT birds including the national symbol. These are sad and dispiriting histories including a conspiracy theory that wiping out the "buffalo" herds was an American government conspiracy as well as the reckless abandon of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfers_(hunting)" rel="nofollow noopener">wolfers</a> dispensing cyanide and strychnine causing untold collateral damage. <br /><br />The author grew up in Louisiana and tells much of Louisiana animals, including <a href="https://www.laseagrant.org/2017/la-alligators-threatened-to-thriving" rel="nofollow noopener">how Louisiana alligators went from threatened to thriving</a>. The author is not as hopeful about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, dismissing all evidence brought forward through September 2021. I am saddened by the implication this includes <a href="https://youtu.be/PJFkTllhR7c" rel="nofollow noopener">the video evidence I saw on YouTube</a>.<br /><br />Overall this is very educational, enlightening even. I am only somewhat disappointed in the narrator.

Wild New World was an wonderful read. It got me thinking about many things but mostly, it made me melancholic that we were are living in a significantly less wild America.

With a great narrator and an enthusiasm for animal human and fauna Daniel Flores does a great job telling a story and teaching at the same time. With every mention of a people animal or to rain tidbits and facts are given and it is so interesting. I have never read a history book executed with such A flare in original concept. I can honestly say I listen to this book from beginning to end and loved it all. The narrative flows flawlessly and you don’t even realize you’ve already gone several chapters and it doesn’t feel like it. I can’t say enough good things about this great audiobook the original execution and flawless narrative make it oh so awesome I truly loved this book and hope the author writes more like it in the future. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A fantastic synthesis of America’s historic and prehistoric political, economic, and cultural relationship to wildlife. Flores presents the Americas Columbus encountered as a land of relative wild bounty compared to other regions of the world — and one already impoverished and fundamentally altered at the hands of humans. A fascinating read!

I am a fan. The book is primarily about how the Europeans/colonists/Americans decimated the ecological balance causing the extirpation/extinction of iconic animals. The tale includes the passenger pigeon (well known) and Carolina parakeets (lesser known but equally disturbing). The narrative is filled with anecdotes and written accounts which makes the story even more poignant. Justifying wanton slaughter defies how we think today.<br /><br />For specifics which actually caused me to waiver between scoring a 4 or 5. I initially understood that the author's effort would cover more immediate post-Pleistocene human involvement. A few butchering sites are described, then the arrival of the Spanish. Secondly, the author provides explanations that seem to lack evidence. Page 234, Native Americans stole several dozen horses from the Spanish. Within 150 years, dozens of Indian tribes are relocating as horse-riding hunters of bison while giving up subsistent farming. Also, vast herds of wild horses are in competition for the same grass lengths as the bison.<br /><br />A score of 5 is my grade. One example is John Gast's painting of American Progress as a subsection intro. I thought it was a powerful use of Americana. The second is John Cook's (pg 230) fabricated story of how a secret Federal effort was in place to encourage Americans to slaughter bison as a way to starve Native Americans into submission and their eventual move to reservations. The Texas legislature, a bending bill to protect bison populations, and a speaker (Philip Sheridan) are given to establish credibility. Unfortunately, no archival evidence is found, and Sheridan died several years prior. Like other more current conspiracies, lack of evidence was not an issue that prevented its repeated use.<br /><br />Offering a 4 out of hundreds of gleanings from the book only illustrates the array of information a reader is exposed to in the book. The tragic story of our abuse of this land, native peoples, and the ecological balance is comprised of facts. This a story that is well written and deserving of praise for the work and its author.

2.5 stars<br /><br />the first part of this book about the ice age was great, i learned lots, and was interested (aside from the times when the author discusses fertility symbols in cave paintings that are drawings of the “human vagina” when i’m nearly certain he could’ve spent 30 seconds on google and learned the word he was looking for was “vulva”). i think he handled the discussion on colonialism very poorly, but i came back around and enjoyed the final chapter about the birth of the modern environmental movement. all in all, i enjoyed about half this book, hence the 2.5 stars

”Know the heaven and earth that was, but experience the world that is.”