Publishers Weekly11/04/2013
With 33 essays spanning 27 years, the collection from Australian scientist, explorer, and conservationist Flannery covers a lot of ground, both geographically and philosophically. This range is both an asset and a drawback. Given the breadth of coverage, there's likely something for everyone, but the short essays do not fully satisfy. Many of the early pieces were published in Australian Natural History and detail some of Flannery's expeditions to wild places like the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea and the Gold Ridge of Guadalcanal. While the adventures are interesting, the writing feels lackluster. The book's largest section consists of book reviews, most of which were originally published in the New York Review of Books.
