Nature's Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World

by Larry Nielsen

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of big environmental challenges—but we need inspiration more than ever. With political leaders who deny climate change, species that are fighting for their very survival, and the planet’s last places of wilderness growing smaller and smaller, what can a single person do? In Nature’s Allies, Larry Nielsen uses the stories of conservation pioneers to show that through passion and perseverance, we can each be a positive force for change. In eight engaging and diverse biographies—John Muir, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank Jr., Wangari Maathai, and Gro Harlem Brundtland—we meet individuals who have little in common except that they all made a lasting mark on our world. Some famous and some little known to readers, they spoke out to protect wilderness, wildlife, fisheries, rainforests, and wetlands. They fought for social justice and exposed polluting practices. They marched, wrote books, testified before Congress, performed acts of civil disobedience, and, in one case, were martyred for their defense of nature. Nature’s Allies pays tribute to them all as it rallies a new generation of conservationists to follow in their footsteps. These vivid biographies are essential reading for anyone who wants to fight for the environment against today’s political opposition. Nature’s Allies will inspire students, conservationists, and nature lovers to speak up for nature and show the power of one person to make a difference.  

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Biography, Environment, Science, History, Sustainability

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2017

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this informative and approachable, an inspiring read for the people who want to change the world for the better, or save what they see as worth saving.

I was not familiar with some of the names, but many Americans should have heard of them. John Muir, a Scot who moved to Wisconsin, started out working in lumber mills and became a field geologist and naturalist, who led the movement to get Yosemite declared a national park. This saved the wilderness from rapacious lumber dealers.
Jay Norwood Darling was a cartoonist published as Ding, whose cartoon still adorns the duck hunting licence apparently. He encouraged the preservation of wetlands for wildfowl at a time when lands were being drained wholesale - one of the causes of the 1930s Dustbowl along with ploughing of sod.
Aldo Leopold, forester, because the first US Wildlife Professor and restored a sandy soil ruined farm.
Rachel Carson, marine biologist, famously researched and wrote 'Silent Spring' about the dangers of pesticide use building up through trophic levels and making birds of prey lay sterile eggs or eggs whose shells were too thin.
Chico Mendes was a rubber tapper who championed rubber trees and Brazil nuts as family industry rather than deforestation of the Amazon. Sadly he and others were killed for their views.
Billy Frank, Native and ex-Marine, championed sustainable fisheries.
Wangari Maathai benefited from the Kennedy Airlift programme to be educated in America, then returned to her native Kenya to encourage communities to plant trees - especially fruit and nut trees - instead of felling trees to grow cash crops as had been occurring. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
Gro Harlem Brundtland from Norway also got involved with green movements and was director-general of the World Health Organisation.

Read the excellent book, enjoy the photos and share the stories. We can all do something good. This would work well as a book for students of journalism, geopolitics, the history of natural history, environmental studies and social science.
I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a thrilling motivational read. Nielsen showcases the fact that these eight people were passionate about the quality of human and environmental conditions. So much so, they endured and perservered through hardships to deliver their message of land and wildlife protection.

Honestly, I have been reading this awhile.

It is a heavily chronicled account of these amazing conservationists.

I am a true admirer of all eight, and absolutely love the amount of research and detail in this read. I also love that it includes excerpts of; a Noble Peace Prize Lecture, a eulogy, and written content and photographs from those days. It is a superb read.

I reviewed for Island Press and Net Galley

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The format made this an easy and accessible read. The subject matter was pretty much always engaging and there was a theme of hope throughout the book .
A must read for budding conservationists but also those in need of some conservation optimism.

[David Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the subtitle suggests, the book consists of eight chapters, each of which gives a short biography of a highly influential and consequential conservationist. Some of the eight will be familiar to most everyone, others not so much. The book brings their stories in roughly chronological order with respect to their lifespans and periods of activity.

Early chapters deal with well-known conservationists like John Muir and Rachel Carson, along with Aldo Leopold and Ding Darling. Despite being more recent, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank, Wangari Maathai, and Gro Harlem Brundtland may be new names for many people.

Nielsen provides a succinct review of their upbringings and the events that led them to become "nature's allies." There are similarities with all - most spend considerable time roaming in nature during their youth, for example - but also differences. Unexpectedly, most were very comfortable meeting new people and working with others (Carson being the notable exception). All were highly self-motivated and caring of both nature and humanity. Most of them had a primary focus for their attention: Muir for the Yosemite valley, Carson for the sea (as well as the more famous "poison book" about DDT), Mendes for rubber tappers in Brazil, Frank for Native American fishing rights in the northwest.

Three of the eight are women, including the last two profiled. Maathai focused intensely on planting trees with a sustainable ecology in mind; Brundtland was broader, both in terms of seeking a sustainable world and her participation in the political process. Where the others were outsiders working to get insiders attention, Brundtland was Environmental Minister and then Prime Minister in Norway, which allowed her to direct a societal appreciation for sustainable growth.

Overall the book is well written and easy to read. It would be great for anyone wanting quick insights to some key people in the history of conservation.

[Matt Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read -- 8 shortish biographies of pillars of the environmental movement. To the regular names (Muir, Leopold, Carson), Nielson adds some less commonly heralded figures such as Ding Darling, Wangari Maathai, Billy Frank Jr., Chico Mendes, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, about several of which I new only a little. The inclusion of people from non-European cultures and non-conventional educations (Frank and Mendes) was fantastic, and Nielson does a good job at trying to elucidate how different backgrounds enabled these people to see and approach environmental and social challenges with new perspectives that broke through political log-jams, and changed the trajectory of environmentalism for the better. I was already fairly familiar with Maathai's story -- and yet was amazed again at this incredible woman. And I knew virtually nothing of Brundtland other than the famous report that is named after her. Her story of an unrelenting rationality and dogged persistence even with a political rise and fall, was thought provoking.

I didn't read them in order...so if there was any kind of growing theme or thread throughout, I missed it. And while there is a good intro that tries draw some emergent patterns, there is nothing at the end...it just stops with the last word about Brundtland -- leaving the reader want some kind of dismount. But overall, I recommend it for anyone not so familiar with some of these champions of environmentalism.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nature's Allies is a book that highlights the lives of 8 individuals who consider themselves conservationists. Their stories are of ordinary folks who had an early interest in nature and that interest further grew as they grew into adulthood. Their concerns for the natural world would lead them to generating both awareness and programs that would become renowned in the conservation field.

This book is for those who are into environmentalism and other natural sciences. Especially in troubling times where science is becoming more disregarded, Nature's Allies serves an inspiration. The eight biographies highlights these people's endurance and devotion to their cause. It took time to prepare their research, and often, wasn't an easy task to collect their data nor when it came to critical attacks from opposition. However, they pushes forwarded and made themselves a mark in history in progressing conservation efforts as well as discussions on maintaining a connection between conservation and sustainable living. If anything, Nature's Allies can serve as an inspirational tool for a new generation of scientists to continue where these eight conservationists left off.

[Rachel B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this was a fairly dry read, I did enjoy some of the chapters in the beginning, such as the ones about John Muir and Aldo Leopold, which also explored nature. Once the conservationists profiled turned to politicians and "activists" in the more traditional sense, my interest waned.

It's interesting to see how many of the people who have done so much for the earth do so because they worship creation instead of the Creator. Christians can certainly learn from these people - what God created is worthy of wise stewardship - but reading about all of the broken relationships, pride, etc. that seemed to rule these conservationists' lives made me ever the more grateful that I serve a God who is powerful enough to care for the earth as well as the people on it.

There was some minor language (when people were being quoted), including taking the name of God in vain.

All in all, it was interesting to learn a bit more about the history of conservation, but this was a read that I labored through and wouldn't recommend.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Torie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to Nielsen talk in person about a few of the conservationists in his book earlier this year. His passion and the dedication that he put into each biography was very evident. It took a hot minute to actually get around to reading the book, but I can definitely say it was the best collection of biographies I've ever read. This generally isn't my genre of choice, but it was wonderful to read such in-depth, well-presented biographies of a diverse range of conservationists.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a free read of this courtesy of NetGalley, post-publication (it was published in February) and for that I am grateful.

Interesting, if slightly romanticized biographies of eight conservationists, some you'll recognize and some you may not. The author says it was a "career in the making", which would explain, and excuse, the shadow of gushing.

[Mandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nature's Allies opened my eyes up to conservationists whom I've known, but quite a few whom I didn't. Each chapter gives a biography of each of the featured eight conservationists that could, easily, be pared down a bit further. I found it difficult to stay engaged, as the narrative is fairly dry, but was appreciative to learn about the achievements of each person.

[Jared | beardedreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take your time with Nielsen's Nature's Allies. A well-written volume of bios about those who have dedicated their lives to conservation, and what made them standout enough to be noticed by the world. And hell, it may even make you rethink how you treat nature.

[Pamela Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was sort of an odd choice of conservationists to include. Kind of a teaser, too. Each of the eight bios were just not quite long enough to inspire me to read more about that individual.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the general ratings - maybe 3.5. Essays deserve to be read and the eight people honored by us for their efforts. I'll admit that I hadn't heard of some of them, so I was glad to read these brief biographies.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very interesting. Some of the names are very familiar, but others are not. It never ceases to amaze me how much opposition there is to protecting nature.

[Ryan H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the 8 short biographies of these conservationists. All had different backgrounds but all had common environmental beliefs.

[Natalie Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for understanding conservation history.
Recent plethora of eco-fiction mentioning John Muir and others led me to this.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Carson I knew. The other 7 people were unknown to me. Very enlightening.

[Hunter Gustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Pam Cipkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid introduction to the human forces who shaped the idea and practice of conservation around the world. The eight individuals profiled in this collective biography were selected for inclusion partially to give a balanced worldview of conservation across the globe. Some are more well-known than others, but each merits their place in this volume. From pesticides to fishing rights, land management to sustainable development, a comprehensive picture is created to show the value and need of environmentalism as a local, national, and global concern.

[Patrick McGarry]

Great!