Writing opportunities: Thoreau Society
Here’s an interesting opportunity to contribute your thoughts and insights on Thoreau: Submissions on the order of 400 to 1,000 words are invited for the website. We are looking for …
History
Extinction on Display: Ghosts Behind Glass
The extinction genre continues to expand and evolve as writers provide new and unique perspectives on the loss of animal species and how we come to terms with such losses. …
Wild Fictions; Essays on Literature, Empire, and the Environment by Amitav Ghosh
The University of Chicago Press, 2025 Among writers of climate and environmental fiction, Amitav Ghosh is known for his 2016 non-fiction book The Great Derangement, where he argues that fiction …
Lost Animals: Voices of Extinction
What would the last living passenger pigeon (seen in silhouette above) have to say if he or she were alive today? Or the Tasmanian tiger? Or the Carolina parakeet? In …
Bloom Again, A Novel by Marybeth Holleman
University of Alaska Press, 2025 Edward O. Wilson, a pioneer of evolutionary biology, once wrote, “Humanities will have to blend with the sciences, because technology is going to demand the …
Confucius’s pet dog: The Chinese Animal Studies Network
If you’re interested in learning more about animal histories in China check out the Chinese Animal Studies Network. They have an excellent newsletter. I recently read this Talking Animals Q&A …
Book Review: Animal History: History as If Animals Mattered
In the introduction to Animal History: History as If Animals Mattered, Andrew Linzey and Clair Linzey write, “An animal does not just have a biology, but also a biography.” Sadly, …
Black Gold: Clearing the smoke on American coal
If I were to mention the words “black gold” you might picture oil (Thank you, Beverly Hillbillies). But the original black gold was coal and it is the title of …
Book Review Flashback: Animal Resistance
I had mentioned the passing of author Sarat Colling last month. Today I’d like to revisit her book Animal Resistance in the Global Capitalist Era. We reviewed the book four …
New and forthcoming environmental books (September 2025)
I’m pleased the share the latest batch of fiction and nonfiction books with environmental themes… Footprint: Four Itineraries By Radhika Subramaniam The book takes the footprint for a walk—to the …
The Omnivore’s Deception: Conscience makes cowards of us all
If the title of this book reminds you of the bestseller The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, that is intentional. For as author John Sanbonmatsu writes, Michael Pollan did a …