Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures

by Peter Laufer

A fascinating exploration into the world of turtles across the globe; Laufer charts the lore, love, and peril to a beloved species.

Dreaming in Turtle is a compelling story of a stalwart animal prized from prehistory through to today―an animal threatened by human greed, pragmatism, and rationalization. It stars turtles and shady and heroic human characters both, in settings ranging from luxury redoubts to degraded habitats, during a time when the confluence of easy global trade, limited supply, and inexhaustible demand has accelerated the stress on species. The growth of the middle class in high-population regions like China, where the turtle is particularly valued, feeds this perfect storm into which the turtle finds itself lashed. This is a tale not just of endangered turtles but also one of overall human failings, frailties, and vulnerabilities―all punctuated by optimistic hope for change fueled by dedicated turtle champions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Environment, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 20, 2018

About the author

Peter Laufer, Ph.D., is the author of more than a dozen books that deal with social and political issues, including "Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq," "Wetback Nation: The Case for Opening the Mexican-American Border," and "Iron Curtain Rising: A Personal Journey through the Changing Landscape of Eastern Eurpoe." He is the coanchor of "The Peter Laufer Show" on radio station Green 960 in San Francisco. More about his books, documentary films, broadcasts, which have won the George Polk, Robert F. Kennedy, Edward R. Murrow, and other awards, can be found at peterlaufer.com. He lives in Bodega Bay, California.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt the author did a great job with Dreaming in Turtle. I already know about many horrible things done to our wildlife in this world, being a wildlife activist myself, but this book gives even more behind the scenes with those horrible people.

We also get to meet "Fred" a turtle that was rescued and turned over to Matt Frankel at the Turtle Conservancy. The author was sent "Fred" (this is what the author named him) via Ship Your Reptiles. Matt gave Peter some instructions on Fred's upkeep. Fred lived with the author for a bit of time, but since Peter was going to be away from home for quite some time he eventually had to send Fred back to Matt. I'm going to wager that Fred lives a long and happy life.

I did skim over some of the more unsavory parts because it just wasn't the day to read about things I already know and hate. Turtles/Tortoises can live for hundreds of years if humans and other animals don't bother them. We have a few hundred year olds around to this day. I still can't image an animal living to be that old, it's like what all have they seen in their lifetime?

No one can ever tell me turtles don't know things. The author talks about it in this book as well. There is also a part about everyone having a turtle story. I have a few myself.

To me, turtles are like Elephants with their memories. I think they are so beautiful, they are like old souls. I think the author mentioned that as well. Anyway, when I was a little kid we were on our way to my grandmothers. There was a big turtle dead on her dirt road leading up from a spring. Dad, with the good eyes he had back then, saw a little tiny body next to the bigger turtle. And thus I had my new baby turtle. (I have pictures I will add someday if I can find them. We have MANY pictures) This little baby fit in the palm of my hand. We keep him/her awhile (can't remember how long as I was little) and then they made me let him go at the spring down from my grandmother's farm where we found them =( I wanted to keep him forever, which I could have, given he didn't get sick.

I trained said baby (still can't remember what I named him) to run across the floor and climb into my hand to eat his freeze dried worms. Yes, it was nasty but so much fun to have him eat out of my hand. The little baby grew and was happy and healthy. I would sit out on the back porch and let him walk across the picnic table. This is where we spent time in the sun and he would turn his little head at me for him to rub the top of his head and under his neck. He loved this! He would close his eyes and like a dog, if you stopped, would give you the stink eye. Lol! He also liked this legs rubbed too. I would say this little guy was spoiled. The more I talk about him the more I miss him!

Also while growing up and to this day we would have turtles meander into the yard and I would go out and give them tomatoes, grapes and strawberries. I will pictures and videos of those too when I find them. These turtles would hang around for awhile at the back door waiting for their daily meal and they would watch us cut up the food and put it on the ground. They would all wait patiently and then eat when we were finished. This would happen after the first couple of times leaving food out after seeing them for the first time. They knew who we were from then on out. Do you know what it feels like to have a turtle cut his head toward you and look and you with his beautiful eye while you talked and cut up his food? I can't begin to explain it.

Well, that's enough of that or I could go on forever

Mel

Back to the book, the author tells of things you don't want to know and things that are very interesting. I mean not everything is doom and gloom in the book. But we all know there are evil people out there killing our wildlife and poaching on everything they can get their hands on. I hope someday there is a stop to it all. I'm guessing when the world is dead.

Happy Reading!

Mel ♥

*Thank you to the Publisher for a print copy of this book.*

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[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gorgeous watercolor cover did NOT prepare me for what was far less a natural history book than a a rundown on wildlife crime and the threats turtles face globally. The journalist author did a great job highlighting the myriad dangers these prehistoric creatures are up against, but it made for heavy reading that outweighed the lighter moments, including the interludes in which Laufer discusses his pet turtle.

Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book (and one other book on turtles) over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[Booksandchinooks (Laurie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really found this book to be a worthwhile read. I love turtles! I’ve been lucky enough to swim with turtles in the wild as well as see turtles laying their eggs. On my bucket list is to see the little turtles come out from the nest and off into the water. I think turtles are beautiful and fascinating. They look so wise as you look into their eyes. The book shows us some of the good and bad in the turtles plight in the world. Sadly there are many people around the world who like turtles and tortoises for other purposes. Some people believe turtles have medicinal uses, some people enjoy eating them, and some people find various uses for their shells. Some of this may have merit but we have to be careful with these beautiful creatures so that generations after us can learn about them and love them. After the author becomes a temporary caretaker for Fred, a turtle, he learns the importance of slowing down. Overall a very well written book. If you have any interest in turtles and their place on the earth be sure to check this out. Please note there are some disturbing elements so be aware of that.

[Rhiannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I have a pet tortoise and a pet turtle and was looking to learn more about different chelonians. I expected some gruesome coverage, but did not expect nearly the entirety of the book to focus on the countless ways turtles and tortoises are tortured and brutally murdered. Beheadings and scrambling brains, cutting steaks out of live turtles, cutting off legs...the overwhelming MAJORITY of this book discussed eating and killing. The writing itself hopped all over the place with no clear purpose. The worst part? Throughout the book, the author interviews many people who state they believe turtles have their own personalities, and the author repeatedly states his disbelief in this possibility. He fosters a turtle *only for the research on this book* and then returns him. I would LOVE to read a book about turtles from someone who is legitimately passionate about them and respects them as individual animals who have their own personalities. I finished this book out of spite.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Everyone has a turtle story” is a refrain throughout Dr. Peter Laufer’s book Dreaming In Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures. And, yes this book is filled with a variety of turtle and tortoise stories that all point out the value of these creatures to our world and examine the man made and environmental forces that threaten their existence.

Highly entertaining and informative, Dreaming In Turtle is both a personal journey and reads like a travel narrative at times, at others like a true crime essay, and often like a historical and cultural magazine article. Dr. Laufer is a journalist not a scientist and writes in an easy to understand prose style that explains scientific information about turtles and tortoises in a easy to appreciate manner.

Laufer and his wife, Sheila, even foster a box turtle they name “Fred.” Enjoying a life of basking on his heat pad and eating worms, bananas, and dog food, Fred seems like a very happy turtle. Laufer credits Fred with showing him how to relax and take time to smell the roses along the way. Alas, a busy travel schedule prompts Fred’s return to the Turtle Sanctuary he came from located in his native warm climate.

Traveling the globe from China to Africa, Laufer describes how these animals are valued by cultures. In Asia, the Southern United States, and various locales, turtles are sought after a food sources. In Asia, the turtle is renowned for its alleged boost to male potency and the promise of life extension. Not only is turtle consumed as food but its parts made be made into medicines, cowboy boots, or glasses frames. Some parts of the world sacrifice turtles in their religious rites or for the purpose of healing illness.

As a result, the most popular or allegedly most potent animals become the most sought after thus drastically reducing their populations through a thriving black market of illegal turtle and tortoise trade between nations. Laufer interviews a couple of different offenders who were caught and were serving time. These encounters are fascinating to read about with the convicts willing to discuss their motives, methods, and interestingly their affection for turtles.

But it is just not these poachers, fine diners, and would be doctors and priests who endanger these humble animals, it is also climate change, increasing real estate development, use of habitat as grazing lands, ocean pollution, and us. As we continue to use and abuse our planet, more and more species of animals and plants will disappear. Laufer asks us to be aware of both our actions and inactions that allow the loss of species to occur.

Many different types of readers will enjoy this book from nature lovers, science nerds, fans of travel writing, and those many readers who just enjoy good stories.
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An advanced readers copy of this book was provided to me in return for a fair and honest review.

Sent from my iPad

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did NOT enjoy this book.

I thought I'd learn about turtles and conservation, which I did to some degree. But, I just though this whole book was a mess.

There are many issues affecting turtles: poaching, global warming, the pet trade. The author spends far too much of the book divulging the gross-out rituals of turtle sacrifice. So much so, that you wonder if the author has a macabre fascination with it. I read far too much about turtle beheadings and bleeding. Yuck.

The poaching chapters go on and on and on in different locales as the book continues to be super boring. The chapters are basically the same with some characters swapped out. The pet trade is included in it... vaguely. But the details about that are more lacking. Even less global warming, which just gets a short snippet or two in this far-too-long book.

Also... Fred. Dumb ole Fred. The author decides that to understand the turtle he must adopt one. Now the poor reader has to read over and over again about Fred basically not doing anything. The author will voice his skepticism of turtle intelligence again and again and again. Okay, we get it. They aren't bright. Also you'll read about a million times: Eating/ raising turtles make you respect going slow in life. This book is soooo repetitive.

I was between library books so I finally decided to finish it. Thankfully the final chapters are short whereas most of the chapters are overly long and dry. The short ones are just dry. You could seriously have chucked 100 pages out of this book and would have lost nothing.

I'm not even sure who would like this book. Maybe someone who likes to read about the underworld of poaching and ritual sacrifice. Surely not someone who actually loves turtles as they'd have to read about them getting brutalized throughout the book. Anyway, I don't really recommend this book. Don't brutally murder a turtle for your religion. No one is watching and nodding in agreement up in the sky. Sorry.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not quite what I was expecting, and that's on me. I should have paid closer attention to the subtitle. I picked it up thinking it was a popular science book about turtles: their natural history, physiology, diaspora, trivia, etc., in addition to problems facing turtles today. Turns out it was almost exclusively about exploitation through smuggling and poaching and threats to turtle populations and habitats due to development and human encroachment, interspersed with details about conservation efforts. With such a narrow focus, the book as a whole is...pretty depressing. On the other hand, I was tickled to learn about Jonathan, the Seychelles tortoise who, at age 191, is currently the oldest living land animal (a tidbit I have since shared with numerous family and friends). So while I had wanted to learn more about what makes turtles so interesting, I gained some other knowledge that is equally important. I am also left with a greater fondness and respect for turtles and tortoises.

[Dallin Kohler · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Everyone has a turtle story' is what Laufer says, and he's compiled a smattering of good ones here, ranging from international smuggling to his own foray into turtle stewardship. Good, light read. 7/10.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, enlightening exploration of the world of turtles and tortoises, which can get quite depressing when it delves into threats of habitat loss and the dark world of illegal global trade decimating populations.

[Michael Kiripolsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody has a turtle story. #weloveyouFred

[DW · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off pretty interesting, with descriptions of a Santeria priest performing a ritual involving gargling fresh turtle blood. But in the middle of the book it goes downhill. Most of the book is in present tense, which works until the author cuts in descriptions of turtle smugglers from police reports, which are of course in past tense, making the whole section very hard to follow. By the end of the book, I was also pretty sick of reading about why everybody he met likes turtles (it's pretty much the same reasons - everybody had them as pets, they have different personalities, they are a relic from another time, they aren't the obvious stars that cute furry panda bears are).

The interludes where he describes watching Fred (the author's own pet turtle) were funny at first, but since the turtle doesn't actually do anything besides eat, poop, yawn, and bask, they also got boring and repetitive. I also lost a lot of respect for the author when he said he shipped Fred back to Arizona. What?! He got a pet, bonded with it, wrote a bunch of stuff about how relaxing it was to watch it, and then disposed of it when he had checked the box "has owned a turtle". Obviously better than him releasing it into a stream, but it still seems feckless.

Interesting bits:
- the prisoners in Washington state who are in a program to care for sick turtles
- drugs, guns and exotic animals are wrapped up in the same trade (owning endangered animals is kind of a status symbol for criminals)
- Most turtle smuggling in the US as of the last few years is exports to Asia, instead of imports.
- If you are at an animal market in Asia and there are signs by a stall that photos are prohibited, they are probably selling endangered animals (illegally)
- Concordia farm in Louisiana made huge amounts of money in the late 1990s and early 2000s selling turtles to Asia. Then the Asians started raising their own turtles.
"'When they got everything they wanted big enough to breed, our sales collapsed. That market is gone.' 'You supplied the turtles that put yourself out of the China business?' 'That's right,' is his soft reply. 'We made lotsa money doing it,' he recalls. [...] 'Quite the collapse,' I say, and he lets out a pained hearty belly laugh before saying, 'You can't blame them,' about his Chinese competitors. [...] 'That's the American way. I don't blame nobody for that.'" p127
- Couple thoughts - Was it shortsighted or inevitable to put himself out of business? He credits the Chinese entrepreneurs for following the American way, but I feel like the American way now is, while you are rich, to lobby Congress for laws that ensure that your competitors will never overtake your market. Perhaps that wouldn't work because Americans have much less control over Chinese laws ... makes me think differently about large businesses in the US.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars.

Substance-wise I think this could have been improved a bit and a bit better organized and that probably puts this around 3.5 stars, but I enjoyed reading it and found it an easy read so I bumped it up to a 4.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

About six years ago we became a family that loved turtles. Totally by accident. Since we don't have pets and our son needed to tell about his pet or a pet he would like, I suggested he talk about turtles. A love of turtles, tortoises and terrapins was born. This book goes into amazing detail and stories about why I am not allowed to own a turtle as a pet where I live. The book details not only our historic associations with turtles through ritual, connection and yes, even food, but how turtles are extremely threatened and in danger of disappearing. The stories of smuggling turtles in this book completely boggled my mind and how much people will pay for a rare turtle is astounding and stupid at the same time. This book is a call to action and the writer does an excellent job of "bonding" with a turtle named Fred, talking to people who were smugglers, conservationists, turtle experts and aficionados and getting a perspective of an animal I love and no realize that all humans are connected to. As the writer says, everyone has a turtle story. I hope we can see the need for turtles on this planet and how they need protection so that everyone in the future can have a turtle story. Very well written and extremely detailed in some cases, but I was entranced by the stories of all the ways humans interact with turtles. A must read for anyone who has a turtle story - and that means everyone.

[Gregory Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife and I were married on the beach in Hawaii several years ago, accompanied by my two teenaged children. In the days surrounding our wedding, we spent time snorkeling the shores of the resort alongside large numbers of green sea turtles. Consequently, sea turtles have become attached to our identity as a family, memorialized by us getting turtle tattoos together this past Christmas.

The author repeats the phrase "everyone has a turtle story" throughout the book, and I suppose this now is ours. While on a recent trip together to Washington, my kids picked up this book and said I should read it, and now that I have, I feel much more educated and enriched knowing much more about these fascinating creatures than I did before. And most importantly "that saving chelonians is of existential importance to us all. They are canaries in the coal mine called Earth where we all live." As the subtitle suggests, because they predate us, through their slow, deliberate, survivalist nature throughout history, they help us see the observable arc of our own existence within their untroubled, unhurried lives.

[Janine2610 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faszination Schildkröte

Die Schildkröte steht auf der Liste stark bedrohter Tierarten. Sie ist nicht so niedlich wie ein Panda, nicht so kuschelig wie ein Koala und auch nicht so prächtig wie ein Eisbär, dennoch scheint sie die Menschen auf irgendeine Art und Weise zu faszinieren. Peter Laufer hat sich in seinem Recherche- und Dokumentationsreise-Roman ganz dem Thema »Schildkröte« gewidmet. Er nimmt uns mit auf eine ausgiebige Reise durch die Welt und bringt uns dabei die Schildkröte in all ihren Facetten ganz nahe. Allein, wenn man dann erfährt, dass die Schildkröte bereits im Dinosaurierzeitalter existierte, betrachtet man diese Wesen mit ganz anderen Augen.

Man fragt sich, warum die Schildkröte in so vielen Gegenden verehrt und als heilig angesehen und in anderen Gegenden wiederum gejagt und verkauft wird. Ihr Lebensraum wird mancherorts zerstört – für Golfplätze, für Öl, für Solaranlagen. Besonders nachdenklich gemacht, hat mich die Aussage der Biologin Mercy Vaughn. Sie denkt, dass die Welt bereits "im Arsch" ist und wir Menschen "die Meister unseres eigenen Untergangs" sind. Es gibt "zu viel Geldgier und Verlangen nach Macht" und "wieso sollte man sich da um ein paar Schildkröten irgendwo in der Wüste sorgen"? Dennoch gibt es sie immer wieder, Tierschützer und Tierschutzorganisationen, die alles in ihrer Macht stehende tun, um das Reptil zu retten und in seinem Lebensraum zu beschützen.

Als Leser ist man einfach nur bestürzt, wenn man all die Gründe erfährt, weswegen der Mensch Interesse an Schildkröten, auch an vom Aussterben bedrohten Schildkrötenarten, hat: Mit ihnen werden Schildkrötenopfer praktiziert. Man glaubt, dass, wenn man sie isst, man sehr lange lebt oder geduldig, weise und fruchtbar (Teile von ihr benutzt man als Viagra.) wird. Sie hat einen Platz auf Gourmetspeisekarten und wird als Heilmittel eingesetzt. Besonders die Asiaten können die Finger nicht von ihr lassen. In China spielt die Schildkröte eine zentrale Rolle: sie wird gewildert, geschmuggelt, am Schwarzmarkt (für SEHR VIEL Geld) verkauft. Ein seltenes Tier zu besitzen ist für Reiche mit Sammelsucht ein besonderer Kick. Aus ihrem Panzer wird Schildpatt hergestellt: Kämme, Haarschmuck, Plektren. Aus ihrer Haut: Schuhe und Taschen. Schildkröten landen häufig in für den Fischfang riesigen Netzen als Beifang und verenden dort elendig.
Es gibt unendlich viele Gründe, weshalb die Schildkröte gefährdet ist. Sie lebt unter Umständen sehr lange, muss aber auch ein gewisses Alter erreichen, um sich fortpflanzen zu können. Aus einem Schildkrötennest mit mehreren 100 Eiern überleben nur ein paar wenige, die das Erwachsenenalter erreichen.

Der Autor hat sogar einen Schildkrötenschmuggler in Gewahrsam und einen auf freiem Fuß interviewt, um deren Motive zu erfahren und verstehen zu können. Laufer hat sich wirklich voll auf sein Schildkrötenprojekt eingelassen, denn auch er selbst hat sich eine Schildkröte zugelegt, um ein Weilchen mit ihr zu leben und ihre Faszination auszumachen. Zwischen Laufers Schildkrötengeschichten finden sich im Buch diese grau hinterlegten Texte, in denen der Autor von Fred berichtet, seiner vorübergehenden Pflegeschildkröte. Diese Absätze wirken wie erholsame Päuschen zwischen all den Unglaublichkeiten und Abscheulichkeiten rund um den Schildkrötenhandel. Manch ein Fakt widert einen an, manches erschreckt und manches lässt einen einfach nur den Kopf schütteln. In jedem Fall hat sich der Inhalt bei mir eingeprägt und ja, die Schildkröte sehe ich heute definitiv mit anderen Augen.

»Jeder hat eine Schildkrötengeschichte.« sagt Peter Laufer in seinem Buch immer wieder. Ich hatte in meinem Leben bisher kaum etwas mit diesen Tieren zu tun. Aber ja, trotzdem kann auch ich "eine Schildkrötengeschichte" erzählen: Meine Mutter hatte zwei Schildkröten. Die zwei lebten noch bei uns, als ich ein Kleinkind war. Erinnern kann ich mich daran allerdings nicht mehr. Irgendwann sind die beiden ausgebüxt und nie mehr wieder zurückgekommen. Heute habe ich meinen eigenen Haushalt in einem anderen Ort und seit ein paar Monaten hängen in unserer Nachbarschaft mehrere "Schildkröte entlaufen"-Schilder an Masten, die wohl ein besorgter Schildkrötenbesitzer dort angebracht hat. Da sie heute immer noch dort hängen, kann ich annehmen, dass besagte Schildkröte noch nicht wieder aufgetaucht ist. Das sind meine Schildkrötengeschichten. Sie sind nicht lange und nicht aufregend, aber es gibt sie.
Und, was ist deine Schildkrötengeschichte?

[Sarah Ewald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone has a turtle story... I know I do, from the turtle that used to come up to my backyard from the wetlands in the distance, to the one I dodged the other day on the road.

This was such an interesting book, considering that turtles are secretive, shy and don't want to harm anyone. That said, they are maligned and hunted by those that want to eat them in turtle soup or as a steak. The most gruesome passages in this book are when the author visits street markets in foreign lands where turtles are just another commodity to be bought and sold, for nefarious purposes. Stories from the Cajun south, where turtle soup is a delicacy, to points west by the Louisiana/Texas border where those who catch turtles in Texas are caught themselves smuggling the reptile into the neighboring state. Turtles are worshiped in some parts, and parts of them are used in medicine, and to boost a lingering male's libido. Some turtle habitats have been devastated, and in the good ole USA, turtles bought in a pet store, once they have lost their lure, have been let go in rivers, and canals only to take over from an area's native turtles.

The story most fascinating was the one about the Kai Xu, a smuggler of turtles into Canada to be sent to China.
"On the Windsor side (of Canada), they waved Xu into a secondary inspection lane and ordered him of of the Escape. A quick search revealed fifty-one turtles taped to his body--41 to his legs and another 10 taped around his groin. Easter box turtles, red-eared sliders, and diamond back terrapins."
And then there is a turtle connection with the deservedly maligned 45th president, who, at his golf course in West Palm Beach, said that the turtles that lived in the area to be amended to the course's additional holes were repatriated to a different beach. Or were they? (no one in the Trump organization wanted to answer queries...)

As part of his research, he is sent a turtle from a turtle rescue (The Turtle Conservancy) in Phoenix, Arizona, in an effort to connect one-on-one with the species. Fred, and the author, had quite the story of their own, bonding (if one can imagine that), before returning Fred to the rescue at the end of his foster period.

As for his 'relationship' with Fred and his research:
"One thing I've learned from him-and from this turtle and tortoise quest I've been on-is that saving chelonians is of existential importance to us all. They are the canaries in the coal mine called Earth where we all live. Even if we humans force the demise of these animals connected to ages that predate us, our distain for their environment translates by definition to a lack of adequate concern for the sanctity of our own. So this quest has become a call to action."

Such an interesting book. I learned so much about the lowly turtle and will never look at them the same way when I see several of them communing on a log.

[Kristen Lindquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

The oft-repeated inherent tagline of this book is, “Everybody has a turtle story.” Indeed, everyone journalist Laufer talks to does. This fascinating collection of “turtle stories,” conveyed in short sections within each chapter, comprises a diverse range of information: from glimpses into the world of turtle smuggling that reminded me of Susan Orleans’s THE ORCHID THIEF, to the beaches of Cuba, Gabon, and Costa Rica where turtle eggs hatch, to the turtle’s role as sacrifice in Santeria ritual. In the middle of all these world travels, the author attempts to establish a relationship with Fred, a desert box turtle. The end result is the reader’s exposure to a diversity of really interesting narratives and, I would bet, an increased engagement in the worldwide plight of these appealing reptiles. It was not easy reading about the illegal international trade, smuggling and hunting activities, and food and pet markets. But it was important and necessary that this not be an easy, “la-la-la turtles are awesome” kind of book. To that end, I only wish the final “call to action” was a bit longer and stronger. Maybe Richard Branson, who wrote the introduction and is briefly mentioned in the book, could have played a bigger role as advocate in the Epilogue?

While at times it felt as if Laufer was spreading himself a bit too thin—in a very literal way, as he jumped around the world from story to story—the book was a joy to read and gave me a newfound interest in an animal that, as an avid birder, I haven’t heretofore paid a lot of attention to. I did wonder if a more in-depth exploration of the plight of one or two species might have better served the author’s goals; but I learned a lot from and was very engaged by this excellent book.

I also found myself a bit frustrated with the author’s insistence on playing the skeptical journalist, questioning everyone about whether they felt turtles have personalities and can really relate to people/express emotions. Haven’t we moved beyond that in our studies of animals at this point? And while I enjoyed the lessons in patience that Laufer learned from Fred, I was also frustrated by his almost desperate need for connection with Fred, who ended up getting returned to Arizona at the end of the book. As much as he learned from Fred, the turtle ended up seeming like just a narrative prop for the writing of this book. (For that reason, if I could figure out how to do it, I’d really give the book 4-1/2 stars.)

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for writing an honest review. St. Martins Press should be proud of this contribution to animal writing.

[Robert W Bendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a journalistic account of the various cultural roles and trade, usually illegal, in turtles. The beginning discusses turtle anatomy and adaptations, including how the neck withdraws (or doesn’t into the shell). He investigates the desert turtle in the US and loss of habitat including large solar projects and military desert training. He also ponders our human willingness to rescue and keep tortoises. This direct connection of chelonians to people is counterpointed throughout the book by vignettes of his adoption of a desert tortoise named Fred. The role of turtle in myth and religion, includes his visiting practitioners of turtle sacrifice in the Afro-Cuban religion. An Afro-Cuban priest recommends his keeping a turtle, hence Fred.
The book is primarily about the people, those trying to conserve turtled and those compromising turtle survival, often in the lucrative turtle trade in threatened or endangered species. He brings an even hand, trying to understand the smugglers, the trappers and traders, as well as the scientists. In the end, the only real conclusion is that turtles are threatened pretty much everywhere. Their fate is tied to our fate, as canaries in the mine of our planet. How we relate to chelonians is a constant reference theme of the book embodied in his insistence that everyone has a turtle-story and that many have had red sliders in little plastic islands with palm trees. We did as kids.
There are some conservation successes such as the Cuban sea turtles, although apparently they were even more numerous until Columbus arrived. He visits the closing of the zoo in Buenos Aires because it is wrong to keep animals in captivity. This may be self-defeating approach. The book makes a case that teaching children about animals and having direct experiences with them may be important to survival of the animals and indirectly to that of the children. The role of Shell oil in protecting an area of biodiversity in Gabon is remarkable, but unfortunately, they sold the property as the oil ran out. I am not sure there is clear message for the future. The author is sympathetic to the conflict between first world conservationists and local more impoverished people trying to survive. His little story of the missing gopher tortoises on Trump’s Florida golf course may be emblematic of our future.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Topics: A book about turtles? Peter Laufer writes about more than turtles. Poachers, smugglers, and the environmentalists trying to save them all appear in this carefully crafted narrative of one of the oldest creatures on Earth and the difficulties it faces. Laufer follows these creatures across the globe to give us a sense of just how widespread the turtle trade is and just how much it also affects us.

Ringing true throughout is the catchphrase: “everyone has a turtle story”. My turtle story is one that is directly referenced in Dreaming in Turtle. I remember going to Montana and seeing the red-eared sliders in every place possible; I guess they really are as invasive as Laufer says. I’m sure you have a turtle story too, and I’d love to hear it.

Opinions: The way this was written was informative and yet at the same time draws the reader in. It doesn’t read as an informational book since Laufer writes it in a way that explores his travel and his research process as well. There are places where the humor is exactly my type and that kept me reading as well. It’s also very sobering in other places, a perfect balance for this topic.

Recommendations: I would recommend to animal lovers and those who don’t care either way. For those who care, this book highlights the nuances and might even show a way that you can help - in fact, it ends with a call to arms. As for those who couldn’t care less, perhaps reading this will open your eyes- and remember, turtles aren’t the only animals that you should care about, but they’re a great place to start.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn't often that a book makes you change the way you think about an animal. It wasn't that I ever disliked turtles, but I was never fascinated by them, before. I happened to finish reading Dreaming in Turtles while traveling in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico. Yesterday, we toured that Marietas Islands where we saw everything, but turtles. While traveling back to the mainland I finally got to see a sea turtle poke its head up above the waves. I shouted "tortuga!" and our guide slowed so we were able to take it all in. I felt so lucky, my trip was complete.

Dreaming in Turtle tells the story of turtles through so many different lenses, some so far from home they are hard to grasp, and others right in my backyard. I'd recommend Dreaming in Turtles to anyone that roots for wildlife and to anyone who desires to continue learning. Laufer does a wonderful job of balancing the scientific bits with his own turtle stories. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the interludes where he discusses his personal thoughts around his own turtle, Fred. Fred is the perfect name for a turtle.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St Martin's Press. Which is pretty cool, I appreciate that.

I really liked this book though it bummed me out at times. Seems like people and the environment just don't get along. Though, to be honest, now I'm kind of wondering what turtle tastes like.

Anyway, the book talks about people-turtle relations from open air markets in east Asia to poaching and farming turtles in the United States. It talks about everything people do with turtles from eating them because "Hey! There's good eating on a turtle" or eating them because it will supposedly give long life or keeping them as pets or status symbols. Or, and I found this really odd, releasing them in order to earn good karma.

And it goes deeper, from efforts to protect the environment and turtles to the cat and mouse game between poachers, smugglers and law enforcement.

Overall, it was really interesting to read. I didn't know just how much people and turtles interacted in this world.

[Maura Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a comprehensive and entertaining read about the unassuming turtle, a fascinating creature that has been around for more than 100 million years and is now in danger from our deserts to our oceans.

We all have our turtle story. Mine is parking at a nature preserve to join a walk about turtles and seeing one laying dozens of eggs at the edge of the parking lot, almost as if it was there to impress us. I was chastened to learn that day how very few of those eggs would survive to actually hatch. I've been hooked on turtles ever since and I am the madwoman who stops on the side of the road to do "turtle rescues" and help them get safe passage across.

Peter Laufer does a terrific job of exploring the complexities of our relationships with turtles, though some sections were too graphic and upsetting for me to read closely and I admit I skimmed squeamishly over these parts of the book. But please don't let that stop you from reading this wonderful and well researched book about these amazing animals. My respect and admiration for them is even greater now after this read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laufer brings attention to a pressing issue-the exponential decrease in turtle populations worldwide. Fittingly, he focuses on the humans that are major contributors to these declines (poachers, developers, etc.) and the humans trying to prevent them (researchers, educators, game wardens).

Unfortunately Laufer wanders off in exposition or really works to draw a connection to turtles (viewing 50's era cars in Havana as turtles or going to the Louv and seing some turtle-related art). These moments that intersperse the book are distracting and could've been replaced with more explorations of turtle ecology or deeper conversations/dissections of the characters that impact turtle populations.

Laufer explores cultural implications of turtles and the characters that interact with them - the snippets from biologists conducting desert tortoise surveys was heartbreaking. This book is less natural history, more meandering anthropological exploration of turtles and their relations with humans.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be more focused on factual evidences and statistics, but it was a nice surprise to see the author also investigate the emotional aspects to turtles. Laufer interviews people from all different backgrounds and cultures to find out what their turtle story is. I honestly did enjoy even the gruesome parts that was described in the book and found myself fascinated with how people treat turtles and the environments their kept in. Laufer also had a surprisingly talented flare for writing descriptive and detailed aspects of his travels. However, a flaw I found in the book was the erratic and had points going off topic. Also, in the epilogue, it would have been nice to receive a more straight forward call to action that the readers can follow in order to aid in the turtle extinction crisis. Overall, Dreaming In Turtle is one of the more interesting and enjoyable non-fiction books I've read due to the pathos that Laufer incorporated into his writing. I liked the book and I liked reading Laufer's writing.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book because I have two turtles and I’m passionate about the species. This book was not what I expected at all. It’s titled “Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures,” with a pretty cover of a sea turtle and some water color. I expected to learn about how meaningful turtles are to cultures throughout the world, how they’re sold for profit, and a bit about the suffering they endure.

But this book is probably 10% about the passion around turtles and 90% about the profit and peril associated with them. It really should have been titled and marketed differently. The author goes into vivid, graphic detail about turtles being beheaded and slaughtered alive multiple times throughout the book, right from the beginning. It’s almost to point that it’s seems like a morbid fascination of the author. Much of the detailed gore should have been cut out because it did not serve to further the point.

There were some interesting parts and the book is well-researched, which is why I give it 3 stars.

[Reen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love turtles and find them fascinating creatures. Unfortunately, I am also fully aware of our history of exploitation of turtles for decoration, medicinal purposes, as an exotic food source or just for exhibition. The author does a wonderful job of chronicling the history of these beautiful creatures and our duty to preserve them and their habitats. from threats, both man-made and natural. We also get to see Laufer becomes a caretaker for Fred, a turtle he is given through the Turtle Conservancy. He ships him via Ship Your Reptiles to his home and is given basic care instructions for Fred. Through his time with Fred, he learns the importance of slowing down and living life in the moment. Overall a very well written book if you have any interest in turtles and their history, be sure to read this one.

[Dan Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started caring about turtles when my wife and I installed a turtle dock in the pond behind our home. Observing their comings and goings has fascinated us over the last several years. So when I picked up the author’s book at the library I was expecting to learn more about these fascinating creatures. I did learn some things but more importantly was introduced to a world of great peril for many species of turtles. This is not a comfortable book to read at times but it is a book more people should read to better understand what is occurring in the world of turtles. Like so many of our disappearing creatures, these guys also need our help even though they may not be as glamorous as pandas and polar bears.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone has a turtle story. I absolutely love sea turtles. I have artwork featuring them, I love videos with them, I have figurines throughout my house. I found this book in the wrong section at work and though - this is obviously for me!

This is a very insightful piece on the endangerment of turtles and how this has happened. There is lore, history, medicinal practices, and more. I was intrigued to learn how many cultures eat turtle and why; I found the why to be fascinating at times and horrifying at others.
I truly enjoyed the journey with Fred as well. It put an even more human element on an already important topic.
Nature lovers, turtle lovers, this is the book for you!

[Joshua Buhs · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea; execution lacking.

Laufer wants to write about the various and sundry ways turtles intersect with human lives--and human lives with turtles. Which topic drew me to the book. But the book is never cohesive, chapters jumping around, people and places introduced only to be dropped. (We get to know that he went to many places, and met many people; nice for him, I guess.) The end of each chapter is a reflection on his attempt to raise a turtle of his own, but these are too idiosyncratic to relate to the rest of the material and feel forced. You'll learn some nuggets of turtle natural history, but you've got to really mine for them.

[Kristin Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ I enjoyed this book because it opened my eyes up to many problems that are occurring here in the United States with poaching turtles. It also highlighted a lot of the frustrations that law enforcement, conservation groups, and anyone trying to make a difference face and how the laws and regulations in place need to be reconsidered to do a better job at protecting these beautiful creatures. Even if you aren’t a fan of turtles, this book will inspire you to consider the emotional lives and well being of all animals, and how our existence effects them. This book highlights how we can change our way of thinking to make a significant difference for animals.