Title:
Pests : how humans create animal villains
Author:
Brookshire, Bethany, author.
ISBN:
9780063097254
Personal Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Physical Description:
xxx, 348 pages : illustration ; 24 cm
Contents:
Fear and Loathing -- A plague of rats -- A slither of snakes -- A place to call home -- A nest of mice -- A dropping of pigeons -- In the eye of the beholder -- A memory of elephants -- A nuisance of cats -- The power of pest -- A band of coyotes -- A flutter of sparrows -- The once and future pest -- A herd of deer -- A sloth of bears -- A pest by any other name.
Abstract:
"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."-- Publisher marketing.
