Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains

English language

Published Dec. 5, 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-309727-8

(2 reviews)

An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons—and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world

A squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A pigeon on the street. Humans have spent so much of our history drawing a hard line between human spaces and wild places. When animals pop up where we don’t expect or want them, we respond with fear, rage, or simple annoyance. It’s no longer an animal. It’s a pest.

At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, Pests is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. It’s not a natural history of the animals we hate. Instead, this book is about us. It’s about what calling an animal a pest says about people, …

An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons—and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world

A squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A pigeon on the street. Humans have spent so much of our history drawing a hard line between human spaces and wild places. When animals pop up where we don’t expect or want them, we respond with fear, rage, or simple annoyance. It’s no longer an animal. It’s a pest.

At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, Pests is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. It’s not a natural history of the animals we hate. Instead, this book is about us. It’s about what calling an animal a pest says about people, how we live, and what we want. It’s a story about human nature, and how we categorize the animals in our midst, including bears and coyotes, sparrows and snakes. Pet or pest? In many cases, it’s entirely a question of perspective.

Bethany Brookshire’s deeply researched and entirely entertaining book will show readers what there is to venerate in vermin, and help them appreciate how these animals have clawed their way to success as we did everything we could to ensure their failure. In the process, we will learn how the pests that annoy us tell us far more about humanity than they do about the animals themselves.

1 edition

mikerickson@bookwyrm.social reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

-

3 stars

Maybe I'm just too used to reading nonfiction published from university presses and academia in general, but this felt more colloquial and less informative than I usually prefer. I get that there's a market for this kind of less intimidating pop sci nonfiction to bring in readers that normally wouldn't give it a shot, but I guess I just wanted something with a little more meat on the bones.

I appreciate that the introduction lays down the gauntlet that the book will only be dealing with vertebrates, because when I hear the word, "pest," my first thoughts point to any number of bugs: cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, termites, ants, centipedes, etc. None of those guys show up here, but we get a good variety of animals from the usual suspects (mice, rats), to the "yeah, I guess so" critters (deer, pigeons), and even to the "didn't know that was a problem" …

Maybe I'm just too used to reading nonfiction published from university presses and academia in general, but this felt more colloquial and less informative than I usually prefer. I get that there's a market for this kind of less intimidating pop sci nonfiction to bring in readers that normally wouldn't give it a shot, but I guess I just wanted something with a little more meat on the bones.

I appreciate that the introduction lays down the gauntlet that the book will only be dealing with vertebrates, because when I hear the word, "pest," my first thoughts point to any number of bugs: cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, termites, ants, centipedes, etc. None of those guys show up here, but we get a good variety of animals from the usual suspects (mice, rats), to the "yeah, I guess so" critters (deer, pigeons), and even to the "didn't know that was a problem" animals (elephants in Kenya, pythons in the Everglades). And while there are occasional discussions of ~what makes an animal a pest?~, for the most part this reads as a series of personal anecdotes where the author got a stipend from the publisher to travel the world and speak to experts in a narrow field. Again, nothing wrong with that kind of book, but not what I typically read.

I wish the conclusions (for each chapter but also for the overall book) were a little stronger and landed on something more substantial than, "maybe we can be nicer to the animals around us." This felt afraid to commit one way or the other: instead of arguing either in favor of a maximum conservationist, "all animals are sacred" approach or a, "fuck 'em, let's kill them all" power fantasy we landed somewhere in the middle. And I find myself maybe a little more informed, but not persuaded to change my attitude towards the wildlife around me.

But if you hate nonfiction books but want to read one just to say that you did, this is decently approachable.

Matt Chambers reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

Great read!

5 stars

I really enjoyed this. Bethany Brookshire takes the reader through mankind's complicated relationships with various animals, including Asian sparrows, cane toads, white year, and black bears. She is a very good writer and clearly understands the biology and science behind the issues she discusses. She also has a delightful sense of humor. She may cause you to re-examine the way you see wild animals in your life.

Lists

Libros que quiero leer