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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
Really, I give this book 3.5 stars. It's a collection of different non-fiction stories about human influence and environmental change, some of them more interesting than others. I purchased this book at a New Orleans book fair, where it was listed as a book about local environmental issues. There are two chapters in the book about Louisiana-specific environmental issues; Frankenstein in the Lower Ninth and Bayou Bonjour. Side note: I don't think you can really spoil a book like this, but if you are sensitive to that type of thing, read no further.
I thought Frankenstein in the Lower Ninth was disappointing. The premise was interesting, how the Lower Ninth ward was overgrown after Katrina and the struggle to clean it up. But it ended abruptly with no real conclusion. This book was first published in 2021, 16 years after Katrina, and people live in the Ninth ward right now. So why did this story only go to ~5 years post-Katrina? Surely there is more that happened. Overall, the chapter felt incomplete.
I did love the Bayou Bonjour chapter, it did a great job covering all the different perspectives surrounding the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. To date, this is an ongoing hot-button issue and the future of the diversion is still unknown (the current Landry administration seems hell-bent on stopping it). This chapter felt exciting and tense as you wait to find out if the diversion will happen or not, and if it's even a good idea or not. And introducing unique characters that have some strong and different opinions about the diversion and the future of south Louisiana was a great way to approach the different factors when building coastal restoration projects. Albertine Kimble was such a character (they all were really, very typical of southern LA) and describing her feelings as "flood-lust" really got me.
Other stories I really enjoyed were the first one, Dark Waters. I've read about this in environmental policy class before, but this was an impactful and streamlined read. I also thought Pigeon Apocalypse was a good read. I don't agree that we should be "resurrecting" the passenger pigeon via somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning, but it was interesting to hear arguments for it. And again Ben Novak was such a character.
Overall, a good read if you're interested in how humans have irrevocably changed our environment and how we struggle (perhaps mostly in vain) to "restore" it.
I thought Frankenstein in the Lower Ninth was disappointing. The premise was interesting, how the Lower Ninth ward was overgrown after Katrina and the struggle to clean it up. But it ended abruptly with no real conclusion. This book was first published in 2021, 16 years after Katrina, and people live in the Ninth ward right now. So why did this story only go to ~5 years post-Katrina? Surely there is more that happened. Overall, the chapter felt incomplete.
I did love the Bayou Bonjour chapter, it did a great job covering all the different perspectives surrounding the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. To date, this is an ongoing hot-button issue and the future of the diversion is still unknown (the current Landry administration seems hell-bent on stopping it). This chapter felt exciting and tense as you wait to find out if the diversion will happen or not, and if it's even a good idea or not. And introducing unique characters that have some strong and different opinions about the diversion and the future of south Louisiana was a great way to approach the different factors when building coastal restoration projects. Albertine Kimble was such a character (they all were really, very typical of southern LA) and describing her feelings as "flood-lust" really got me.
Other stories I really enjoyed were the first one, Dark Waters. I've read about this in environmental policy class before, but this was an impactful and streamlined read. I also thought Pigeon Apocalypse was a good read. I don't agree that we should be "resurrecting" the passenger pigeon via somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning, but it was interesting to hear arguments for it. And again Ben Novak was such a character.
Overall, a good read if you're interested in how humans have irrevocably changed our environment and how we struggle (perhaps mostly in vain) to "restore" it.
"It is in the awkward, painful period, between the emergence of a new world and our realization that we already inhabit it, that imaginative art is most desperately needed. Enlightenment lies not in renouncing reality but in seeing it more clearly. Art, even flawed art, helps us to understand our own place in an unfamiliar landscape."
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
The science essays were brilliant, with a focus on the characters behind the scenes. I found the mostly political ones were less engaging.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Very interesting stories about a range of natural topics.
The alarming glowing green bunny on the cover really grabbed my attention, but it's not addressed until the final chapter, and turns out it doesn't glow green under normal light at all. Which kind of sums up this book for me?
Rich writes about range of topics with the common theme of how humanity has altered our world in ways that can't be undone, focusing on the players -- sometimes people who want to minimize the damage, others who are plunging full steam ahead. In this book we meet jellyfish researchers trying to extend human life. Also, a lawyer who sues a major chemical company and whose client list in his class action lawsuit, it turns out, is every living thing on the planet. One subject is obsessed with bringing back the passenger pigeon. Rich also writes about how New Orleans' 9th Ward was sacrificed and the mess we've made of the Mississippi delta.
For me, this books was a bit all over the place. Some chapters seemed very focused, but others had so many facts, dates and characters that I thought they should have been books in their own right. So, while I liked this book well enough, I don't think it will stick with me.
Rich writes about range of topics with the common theme of how humanity has altered our world in ways that can't be undone, focusing on the players -- sometimes people who want to minimize the damage, others who are plunging full steam ahead. In this book we meet jellyfish researchers trying to extend human life. Also, a lawyer who sues a major chemical company and whose client list in his class action lawsuit, it turns out, is every living thing on the planet. One subject is obsessed with bringing back the passenger pigeon. Rich also writes about how New Orleans' 9th Ward was sacrificed and the mess we've made of the Mississippi delta.
For me, this books was a bit all over the place. Some chapters seemed very focused, but others had so many facts, dates and characters that I thought they should have been books in their own right. So, while I liked this book well enough, I don't think it will stick with me.
inspiring
mysterious
Well full disclosure- I did not in fact finish this book. I read the first two parts. The stories are very fascinating. Even as someone who works in this space I hadn’t heard of some of the issues he introduced. But i simply got too frustrated with his sensational presentation which felt click-baity in parts, was underwhelming in its synthesis and reflection, and at times felt like he did not have the data to come to some of his conclusions but rather just made some really big assumptions about how a community or public acted or felt on an issue. These shortcuts frankly felt lazy, and for a book engaging in such incredibly serious topics it feels really lacking in scholarship.
I was blown away when I read Nathaniel Rich's Losing Earth earlier this year, which was a perfectly paced exposé on the failings of the Reagan administration towards addressing climate agreements. Second Nature is not quite as organized as it's predecessor, but it's still very much worth your time.
Nature is broken up into three sections ("Crime Scene", "Season of Disbelief", and "As Gods") with stories in each being loosely connected to the overarching theme. I do wish there had been an introduction to each section for Rich to further explain how they connected, as the introductory section "Crime Scene" did a solid job of setting the book's tone but felt too brief.
"Here Come the Warm Jets" was my favorite individual story/article here, discussing the Aliso Canyon gas leak in 2015. It gave a solid overview of the issues that aging gas refineries will continue to dredge up and I especially liked the interviews with the Porter Ranch residents—some being comically resistant to leaving the hazardous area. "Frankenstein In The Lower Ninth" was a powerful read as well, giving an oversight into the recovery issues still pertinent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (also acting as a compliment to my current read of Rothstein's The Color of Law). "Aspen Saves the World" was another favorite, showcasing the hurdles facing local governments in enacting strong renewable energy policy even with citizen support.
The final section, "As Gods", was my least favorite overall. I felt the standout story was "Pigeon Apocalypse", discussing Ben Novak's endearing effort to resurrect the passenger pigeon and the wider discussions around "de-extinction" (e.g. does resurrection matter more than conservation? are we ever able to replicate a one to one of a missing species?). The story "Bayou Bonjour" is the centerpiece of this section (and arguably the whole of Second Nature), being the longest here and the only split into multiple parts. I think I got the gist of "Bonjour" within the first thirty pages, and it honestly felt like enough material for a whole other book, so I wouldn't reread this one. Unfortunately the final two stories "Immortal Jellyfish" and "Green Rabbit" were some of the weakest for me and I have trouble recalling their major points.
Despite the mixed stories in the final section, I liked Second Nature quite a bit. Nathaniel Rich's writing is as important as ever, and I think he does an exemplary job of synthesizing massive issues into article format (just read the first story, "Dark Waters" if you want a prime example of this). If you haven't read Losing Earth yet, definitely check that out first, and if you want something comparable to Nature, Thor Hanson's recent book is well worth your time.
Nature is broken up into three sections ("Crime Scene", "Season of Disbelief", and "As Gods") with stories in each being loosely connected to the overarching theme. I do wish there had been an introduction to each section for Rich to further explain how they connected, as the introductory section "Crime Scene" did a solid job of setting the book's tone but felt too brief.
"Here Come the Warm Jets" was my favorite individual story/article here, discussing the Aliso Canyon gas leak in 2015. It gave a solid overview of the issues that aging gas refineries will continue to dredge up and I especially liked the interviews with the Porter Ranch residents—some being comically resistant to leaving the hazardous area. "Frankenstein In The Lower Ninth" was a powerful read as well, giving an oversight into the recovery issues still pertinent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (also acting as a compliment to my current read of Rothstein's The Color of Law). "Aspen Saves the World" was another favorite, showcasing the hurdles facing local governments in enacting strong renewable energy policy even with citizen support.
The final section, "As Gods", was my least favorite overall. I felt the standout story was "Pigeon Apocalypse", discussing Ben Novak's endearing effort to resurrect the passenger pigeon and the wider discussions around "de-extinction" (e.g. does resurrection matter more than conservation? are we ever able to replicate a one to one of a missing species?). The story "Bayou Bonjour" is the centerpiece of this section (and arguably the whole of Second Nature), being the longest here and the only split into multiple parts. I think I got the gist of "Bonjour" within the first thirty pages, and it honestly felt like enough material for a whole other book, so I wouldn't reread this one. Unfortunately the final two stories "Immortal Jellyfish" and "Green Rabbit" were some of the weakest for me and I have trouble recalling their major points.
Despite the mixed stories in the final section, I liked Second Nature quite a bit. Nathaniel Rich's writing is as important as ever, and I think he does an exemplary job of synthesizing massive issues into article format (just read the first story, "Dark Waters" if you want a prime example of this). If you haven't read Losing Earth yet, definitely check that out first, and if you want something comparable to Nature, Thor Hanson's recent book is well worth your time.
Disturbing and thought-provoking reporting from the strange frontiers of the ongoing ecological crisis as humans relentlessly alter our planet. Rich does a great job of seeking out interesting people on which to hang his chapter-long examinations of issues, places, and uncomfortable truths about where we are and where we're headed.