Tenacious Beasts

Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals

Look inside
Paperback
$24.95 US
6"W x 9"H x 0.87"D  
On sale Mar 05, 2024 | 328 Pages | 9780262548335
Grades 9-12

See Additional Formats
An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons about how to share a planet.

First Honorable Mention, The Rachel Carson Environment Book Award
Winner of the 2024 High Plains Book Award, Non-Fiction Category
Finalist, 2024 PROSE Awards: Popular Science and Mathematics Category
Included in The New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023, So Far"

The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.

Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital, ecological roles. Each section of the book—farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans—offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery.

Tenacious Beasts is quintessential nature writing for the Anthropocene, touching on different facets of ecological restoration from Indigenous knowledge to rewilding practices. More important, perhaps, the book offers a road map—and a measure of hope—for a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.
Christopher Preston's essays have appeared in Atlantic, Smithsonian, Aeon, and on the BBC website. He teaches environmental philosophy at the University of Montana and lives in Missoula, MT.
Christopher J. Preston View titles by Christopher J. Preston
TABLE OF CONTENTS...

Resurgence 1
Farmland Villains 9
Prairie Puritans 51
River Engineers 97
Forest Managers 147
Ocean Partners 199
Creativity and Courage 257
Acknowledgments 269
Notes 277
References 297
Index 311
  • FINALIST
    PROSE Award - Popular Science/Math
  • HONOR | 2024
    The Rachel Carson Prize
  • AWARD | 2024
    High Plains Book Awards
“A must read for conservationists, wildlife biologists, and nature lovers, Tenacious Beasts provides strong and tangible evidence of what can be achieved when humans change their
behavior and help nature heal.”
—Quarterly Review of Biology

About

An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons about how to share a planet.

First Honorable Mention, The Rachel Carson Environment Book Award
Winner of the 2024 High Plains Book Award, Non-Fiction Category
Finalist, 2024 PROSE Awards: Popular Science and Mathematics Category
Included in The New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023, So Far"

The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are also glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable in a century. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? In crisp, transporting prose, Christopher Preston reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.

Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital, ecological roles. Each section of the book—farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans—offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery.

Tenacious Beasts is quintessential nature writing for the Anthropocene, touching on different facets of ecological restoration from Indigenous knowledge to rewilding practices. More important, perhaps, the book offers a road map—and a measure of hope—for a future in which humans and animals can once again coexist.

Author

Christopher Preston's essays have appeared in Atlantic, Smithsonian, Aeon, and on the BBC website. He teaches environmental philosophy at the University of Montana and lives in Missoula, MT.
Christopher J. Preston View titles by Christopher J. Preston

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS...

Resurgence 1
Farmland Villains 9
Prairie Puritans 51
River Engineers 97
Forest Managers 147
Ocean Partners 199
Creativity and Courage 257
Acknowledgments 269
Notes 277
References 297
Index 311

Awards

  • FINALIST
    PROSE Award - Popular Science/Math
  • HONOR | 2024
    The Rachel Carson Prize
  • AWARD | 2024
    High Plains Book Awards

Praise

“A must read for conservationists, wildlife biologists, and nature lovers, Tenacious Beasts provides strong and tangible evidence of what can be achieved when humans change their
behavior and help nature heal.”
—Quarterly Review of Biology

Books for Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month this February and beyond, we are highlighting essential fiction and nonfiction for students, teachers, and parents to share and discuss. Join Penguin Random House Education in celebrating the contributions of Black authors and illustrators by exploring the titles here: Black History – Middle School Black History – High School

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more