Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind - Hardcover

Quammen, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393051404 ISBN 13: 9780393051407

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 2003

Synopsis

For millennia, lions, tigers and their man-eating kin have kept our dark, scary forests dark and scary and their predatory majesty has been the stuff of folklore. But by the year 2150, big predators may only exist on the other side of glass barriers and chain-link fences. Their gradual disappearance is changing the very nature of our existence. We no longer occupy an intermediate position on the food chain; instead we survey it invulnerably from above - so far above that we are in danger of forgetting that we even belong to an ecosystem. Casting his eye over the rapidly diminishing areas of wilderness where predators still reign, David Quammen examines the fate of lions in India's Gir forest, of saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia, of brown bears in the mountains of Romania and of Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. In the poigant and troublesome ferocity of these embattled creatures, we recognise something primeval deep within us, something in danger of vanishing forever.

About this title

Review:

"Erudite, witty, and utterly fascinating, David Quammen's exegesis of the life and habits of four parlous predators - creatures that can and do consume humans - sets a new standard in nature writing.Here we have biology, history, sociology, politics and behaviourism combined in as full and rich a portrait of these animals and their environment as had ever been produced" (T. C. Boyle, author of THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE)

"David Quammen is a brilliant young star of nature writing"

"David Quammen is a master"

"David Quammen has given us a frontline report from the longest war in human history - the struggle against man-eating carnivores - and shows how much we have lost by winning it. Monster of God is an adventure to read - and a sobering reminder of our place in the natural world"

From the Publisher:

A provocative and richly detailed exploration of the critical relationship between humans and the great predators of the animal kingdom by the award winning author of The Song of Dodo.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0393051404
• ISBN 13: 9780393051407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384