deextinction,  extinction,  publication

Recovering Lost Species in the Modern Age

My monograph Recovering Lost Species in the Modern Age: Histories of Longing and Belonging was published by MIT Press in October 2019.

In the book, I tell environmental histories of reintroduction, rewilding, and resurrection to situate the modern conservation paradigm of the modern recovery of nature. I argue that the recovery of nature—identifying that something is lost and then going out to find it and bring it back—is a nostalgic process that looks to a historical past and relies on belonging to justify future-oriented action. As a nostalgic process, recovery depends on emotional responses to the lost, particularly a longing for recovery that manifests itself in emotions such as guilt, hope, and grief.

Table of Contents

  1. Recovering: Losing and Finding Nature in History
  2. Reintroducing: Guilt and the Beaver’s Return
  3. Rewilding: Hope in Muskoxen and Fear of Wilder Ways
  4. Resurrecting: Grieving the Passenger Pigeon into Existence Again
  5. Remembering: Narrating Species Loss and Recovery
  6. Reconnecting: Loving the Lost

The book builds upon much of the material I wrote on this blog, as well as some additional material that never made it here. I’m so happy that I was able to work with MIT Press and the series History for a Sustainable Future to make it a reality.

Buy a copy – and don’t forget to recommend it to a friend.

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