The Story of Nature
A Human History
Published on 10. September 2024
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-0-300-24565-3 (ISBN)
Description
The story of humanity's evolving relationship with the natural world from pre-history to the present day
Nature has long been the source of human curiosity and wonderment, and the inspiration for some of our deepest creative impulses. But we are now witnessing its rapid impoverishment, even destruction, in much of our world.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Jeremy Mynott traces the story of nature-past, present, and future. From the dramatic depictions of animals by the prehistoric cave-painters, through the romantic discovery of landscape in the eighteenth century, to the climate emergency of the present day, Mynott looks at the different ways in which humankind has understood the world around it. Charting how our ideas about nature emerged and changed over time, he reveals how the impulse to control nature has deep historical roots.
As we reach an environmental crisis point, this vital study shows how human imagination and wonder can play a restorative role-and reveal what nature ultimately means to us.
Nature has long been the source of human curiosity and wonderment, and the inspiration for some of our deepest creative impulses. But we are now witnessing its rapid impoverishment, even destruction, in much of our world.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Jeremy Mynott traces the story of nature-past, present, and future. From the dramatic depictions of animals by the prehistoric cave-painters, through the romantic discovery of landscape in the eighteenth century, to the climate emergency of the present day, Mynott looks at the different ways in which humankind has understood the world around it. Charting how our ideas about nature emerged and changed over time, he reveals how the impulse to control nature has deep historical roots.
As we reach an environmental crisis point, this vital study shows how human imagination and wonder can play a restorative role-and reveal what nature ultimately means to us.
Reviews / Votes
"In his finest book to date, the philosopher Jeremy Mynott has drawn up a near-perfect summary of our relations with the rest of planetary life in The Story of Nature: A Human History."-Mark Cocker, New Statesman"Mynott's ambitious undertaking pays off, shedding light on thousands of years of human history by striking a finely calibrated balance of big-picture analysis and specific examples. As sweeping as it is edifying, this impresses."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Included in the New Statesman "Books of the Year 2024"
"Truly epic. . . . A broad-brush history of our relationship with the natural world: past, present and future. Mynott wears his immense learning lightly, and with his own deep curiosity, guides the reader through the millennia, in a truly informative and compelling way."-Stephen Moss, Mark Avery's Blog, Book of the Year 2024
"This is a roundly enthusiastic book, which carefully joins artistic and literary criticism with scientific explanation."-Megan Kenyon, New Statesman
"A book unlike any other that we're apt to see published this year, or next year, or the next: a work of natural history that, like torchlight in a newly discovered cave, illuminates wonders, perils, and pathways-both forward and back-that we didn't even know were there."-Benedict Cosgrove, Red Canary Magazine
Included in Prospect's "Books of the Year 2024"
"An encyclopaedic undertaking . . . a catalyst for extending the story of how we conceive and act upon what 'nature' is"-Terry Gifford, Green Letters
"Lively, well-illustrated tour of an immensely diverse subject."-Andrew Robinson, Nature, "Best Books of 2024"
"A book that conveys a wealth of knowledge with a lightness of touch that makes it a pleasure to read and hold."-Poul Holm, Society
"Jeremy Mynott's book . . . is grander, deeply researched, solidly academic and masterful; beautifully written, it is genuinely compulsive and persuasive reading, wonderfully illustrated and enriching . . . and profound."-Rob Ixer, Fortean Times
"It's a profound subject, and Mynott brings to it extensive, and well-digested, learning, and a style which not only bowls you along but is surprisingly humble. . . It's a book to make you think.."-Peter Marren, British Wildlife
"Totally captivating, wonderfully readable-a glorious tour de force, celebrating everything that nature means to us, exploring why it matters, and setting out what we might yet do to restore and protect it. Not just a beautiful elegy but an urgent call to action-reminding us not only of what we have already lost, but also what we still have time to save, if we choose to do so. A triumph of wisdom and wonder."-Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton, Pavilion
"Mynott shows that we are part of nature and our potency in relation to it imposes an obligation on us. Told with an extraordinary brightness, clarity and sense of authority, this book is a marvel."-Adam Nicolson, author of The Seabird's Cry
"Jeremy Mynott is one of our most thoughtful and intelligent nature writers. In this wide-ranging and fascinating book, as we and the natural world face existential threats to our future, he tries to answer a deceptively simple question: 'what is nature and why does it matter?'"-Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds That Changed the World
"Absorbing, erudite and infused with the latest scholarship. . . . Mynott puts his stamp on the rich and complex but oft-told story of the meanings of nature in the western world, from palaeolithic cave art and last century's environmental thought to today's climate crisis-ridden Anthropocene and beyond."-Peter Coates, author of Squirrel Nation: Reds, Greys and the Meaning of Home
"The vast erudition and the clarity of Mynott's writing will make The Story of Nature not only an important resource for scholars but also an ideal textbook for many courses in history, the sciences, and the humanities."-Boria Sax, author of Imaginary Animals
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
48 color illus.
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
972 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-24565-3 (9780300245653)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jeremy Mynott's books include Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience, Birds in the Ancient World, and The Consolation of Nature. He is an emeritus fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and was formerly chief executive of Cambridge University Press.