Inheritors of the Earth

THE TIMES, ECONOMIST AND GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017

It is accepted wisdom today that human beings have irrevocably damagedthe natural world. Yet whatif this narrative obscures a more hopeful truth?

In Inheritors of the Earth,renowned ecologist and environmentalist Chris D. Thomas overturns theaccepted story, revealing how natureis fighting back.

Many animals and plants actually benefit from ourpresence, raising biological diversity in most parts of the world andincreasing the rate at which new species are formed, perhaps to thehighest level in Earth's history. From Costa Rican tropical forests tothe thoroughly transformed British landscape, nature is copingsurprisingly well in the human epoch.

Chris Thomas takes us on agripping round-the-world journey to meet the enterprising creatures thatare thriving in the Anthropocene, from York's ochre-coloured commabutterfly to hybrid bison in North America, scarlet-beaked pukekos inNew Zealand, and Asian palms forming thickets in the European Alps. Inso doing, he questions our irrational persecution of so-called 'invasivespecies', and shows us that we should not treat the Earth as a fadedmasterpiece that we need to restore. After all, if life can recover fromthe asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, might it not be able tosurvive the onslaughts of a technological ape?

Combining anaturalist's eye for wildlife with an ecologist's wide lens, ChrisThomas forces us to re-examine humanity's relationship with nature, andreminds us that the story of life is the story of change.

Reviews

An immensely significant book. It is fluently written, carefully thought through, ruthlessly argued, neatly illustrated with case studies - and shockingly contrarian