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Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
ŷ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2021)What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. The answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and "danger tree" faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.
Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to "problem" wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.
Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and "danger tree" faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.
Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to "problem" wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published September 14, 2021
3,941 people are currently reading
60.1k people want to read
About the author
Mary Roach
26books12.8kfollowersMary Roach is a science author who specializes in the bizarre and offbeat; with a body of work ranging from deep-dives on the history of human cadavers to the science of the human anatomy during warfare.
Mary Roach is the author of the New York Times bestsellers STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers; GULP: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, PACKING FOR MARS: The Curious Science of Life in the Void; BONK: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex; and GRUNT: The Curious Science of Humans at War.
Mary has written for National Geographic, Wired, Discover, New Scientist, the Journal of Clinical Anatomy, and Outside, among others. She serves as a member of the Mars Institute's Advisory Board and the Usage Panel of American Heritage Dictionary. Her 2009 TED talk made the organization's 2011 Twenty Most-Watched To Date list. She was the guest editor of the 2011 Best American Science and Nature Writing, a finalist for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize, and a winner of the American Engineering Societies' Engineering Journalism Award, in a category for which, let's be honest, she was the sole entrant.
Mary Roach is the author of the New York Times bestsellers STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers; GULP: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, PACKING FOR MARS: The Curious Science of Life in the Void; BONK: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex; and GRUNT: The Curious Science of Humans at War.
Mary has written for National Geographic, Wired, Discover, New Scientist, the Journal of Clinical Anatomy, and Outside, among others. She serves as a member of the Mars Institute's Advisory Board and the Usage Panel of American Heritage Dictionary. Her 2009 TED talk made the organization's 2011 Twenty Most-Watched To Date list. She was the guest editor of the 2011 Best American Science and Nature Writing, a finalist for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize, and a winner of the American Engineering Societies' Engineering Journalism Award, in a category for which, let's be honest, she was the sole entrant.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,719 reviews
October 4, 2022
I've read quite a few Mary Roach books. All 3 or 4 stars, none of them ever quite hit the heights for me and eventually I got bored with her light-touch pop science writing that had plenty of humour and not enough science. This book is different, and not at all like her other books. There is still humour, but it is minimal, and there is plenty of deep investigation and science. Essentially the book is about plants and animals that are seriously dangerous to people.
I have the two most dangerous plants in the world growing in my garden. I knew they were poisonous but not that much! One is a tree whose little seeds we call . They are very pretty, shiny scarlet with a big black dot, lovely for jewellery and in the book they are rosary beads. Abrus pecatorius is the botanical name and they are deadly.
The other is the castor oil plant. That is where ricin comes from. There is a picture of me (taken a while back when my grass hadn't been cut - grass here grows 6' or 7' tall if it isn't cut every couple of weeks) behind a young one. They have very pretty when mature. No one plants them here, they are weeds.
The book discusses which method of preparation leads to the most deadly poison from the plants!
Since I can't read yet, my eye sees a white veil dotted with tiny black dots , I'm listening to this. I'm getting used to audio, but it's not as good as print.
I have the two most dangerous plants in the world growing in my garden. I knew they were poisonous but not that much! One is a tree whose little seeds we call . They are very pretty, shiny scarlet with a big black dot, lovely for jewellery and in the book they are rosary beads. Abrus pecatorius is the botanical name and they are deadly.
The other is the castor oil plant. That is where ricin comes from. There is a picture of me (taken a while back when my grass hadn't been cut - grass here grows 6' or 7' tall if it isn't cut every couple of weeks) behind a young one. They have very pretty when mature. No one plants them here, they are weeds.
The book discusses which method of preparation leads to the most deadly poison from the plants!
Since I can't read yet, my eye sees a white veil dotted with tiny black dots , I'm listening to this. I'm getting used to audio, but it's not as good as print.
October 16, 2021
A few years ago my partner and I were hiking in a state park in Maryland. Because
I moved off the path, checking the ground for poison ivy (I made that mistake once and it's not one I'd like to make again). Finding a clear spot, I squatted.
When I pee in the woods, I scan all around in case someone is coming. I don't know why because if I can see them, they can see me and once my pants are down around my ankles, well....
So anyway, there I was squatting and feeling free and looking all around. Suddenly, a large black furry thing entered the periphery of my vision.
Bear! my mind screamed! I don't know for sure but I think my pee stopped mid-stream.
"S!" I whisper-yelled. "S! There's a bear! Right behind us!"
S looked around and, city dweller that she is, said, "Are you sure? It's probably a dog."
"YES!" I whisper-screamed again. "I'm sure! It's a bear, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
I stood, pulling up my pants, ready to flee. The big, furry bear came running in our direction, passing a couple yards away. Abruptly, perhaps catching our scent, it came to a halt and turned around.
"I think you're right, Jenna," S said (now also in a whisper). "Dogs don't run that fast!"
When I get scared, I tend to laugh maniacally and shout "fuck" over and over.
"Ha, ha, FUCK, ha haaaa!" I cackled, forgetting to whisper-yell.
With that, the bear suddenly rose, higher and higher and higher. Black bears, when standing upright, are between five and seven feet tall. In my memory, however, this was a giant bear, looming twenty feet above us.
"Oh my god, fuck, ha, ha, ha. Fuck!"
"Shhh! What should we do?" S hissed, motioning for me to keep my voice down.
My mind went from panic to 'take-control-of-the-situation' mode. I recalled having heard that when confronted by a bear, you should make a lot of noise and make yourself appear larger.
Waving my arms in the air, I started yelling "Whoooooo!!!!! GRRRRRRR! EeeeeyAAAAAAhhhh! Boom, boom BOOOM!".
The confused bear did not turn and run. Instead, it kept looking at us, at me, no doubt wondering what the fuck I was doing and why I didn't realise I just looked like an idiot.
"Oh, fuck, ha, haaa, haaa! S, I don't think it's working! Ha, haaa, haaa-fuck!"
I turned around to see S holding a log, yes, a freaking log, above her head. I don't know how she managed to do that; it must be like in those stories you hear of women lifting entire cars off a child. Her fear gave her strength, whereas mine just made me laugh and curse like a crazy person.
It made me feel safer to see her with that log, even though I figured it wouldn't do jack-shit to stop the bear if it decided to eat us. It continued to stare at us, nose sniffing the air.
"S!", I whisper-yelled, the shouts not having worked. "I think we need to run!".
We had seen how fast that bear could go, much faster than us, but I didn't know what else to do.Not only can bears run fast, they can shimmy up a tree in seconds.
We took off racing in the opposite direction. S, with the hundred pound log above her head, instructed me to call for help.
"Ha, ha, ha! Who do I call, fuck! I don't know who to call, ha hah, haaaa!"
Of course, even if I'd known who to call, it's not like anyone could get to us, a few miles up the trail. There wasn't time for a ranger to come and stop that bear from mauling us if it decided it'd had enough of my antics.We weren't in the city after all, with a police station just around the corner.
We ran and ran, S with her log and me giggling and cursing, all those miles back to civilization.
Near the beginning of the trail, a woman was walking towards us. Knowing we must appear like lunatics, I tried to explain. "BEAR! Bear ahead!" I managed to get out. I hope she didn't get eaten because she continued on, looking at us like we'd escaped from an asylum.
Well, if she was eaten, it's not my fault. She shouldn't judge crazy-looking women fleeing the woods, even if they're laughing hysterically or running with a twenty foot log above their head.
Thankfully we didn't get eaten, though it was no thanks to me. Maybe S saved us with that log or, more likely, the bear never had any intention of bothering us.
Had Mary Roach published her book Fuzz a few years ago, I might have known not to act like I did. As she explains, you only need to make noise and attempt to look larger if a bear's ears are lying flat. Our bear had no intention of messing with us.
Of course, if I ever see a bear again, I'll still be scared and unable to control my laughing and cursing. When you suddenly encounter a large animal in the woods, it's kinda hard not to be scared. You're reminded that we humans are pretty damn weak.
Ok, let's talk about the book. Mary Roach is, as always, entertaining, writing in a lighthearted way about things that aren't all that lighthearted.
We humans like to think we're above nature and everything should bow to us. Animals should stay out of our environments, even as we take more and more of theirs. Plants should know which ones are weeds and stop growing where they're unwanted. We use all kinds of methods to rid our world of life we don't like.
Mary Roach travels around the world talking to people whose jobs it is to control animal populations and "keep them in their place". They're nature's "fuzz", the police of the natural world.
At times it was difficult to read and it's not as funny as Ms. Roach's previous books. Some of the methods of curtailing animal populations or dealing with "killer" animals are downright cruel.
However, in India, where gods and goddesses often take the form of animals, attitudes about animals are different than in the west. I enjoyed reading about the way they handle and think about elephants and macaques. The macaques are especially amusing and she related one story about a macaque that got into a medical center and took to pulling the IVs from patients' arms to drink the glucose water. I suppose it wasn't so amusing to the patients and nurses....
In the west, many people are now calling for more humane methods than previously used, or are content to reside alongside other animals. Hopefully in the future, we'll stop killing animals just because they're somewhere we don't want them to be. As Ms. Roach sensibly points out, "Supermarkets and chain stores don’t poison shoplifters; they come up with better ways to outsmart them."
There are lots of fun facts in this book, including facts about scat and how to identify not just the animal it came from, but its health, its gender, the number in the area, and more. Ms Roach added drawings of big cat scat and I amused myself by noting the similarities to my Chloe's poo (very similar to that of a lion and a bobcat, but not as long. You're welcome.)
I had to skip over a few of the more disturbing ways we "handle pests" but for the most part, enjoyed learning many new things in this book.
And if I encounter another bear in the future, hopefully I'll remain calm, appreciate its beauty, and take a selfie. Unless those ears go down and then...... Ha haa haaaa fuck!!!!!!
May 18, 2023
…I…follow along behind a small group of conservation officers heading to the lawn outside. Their leather hiking boots squeak as they walk. “So she looks in her rearview mirror,� one is saying, and there’s a bear in the back seat earing popcolrn.� When wildlife officers gather at a conference, the shop talk is outstanding. Last night I stepped onto the elevator as a man was saying, “Ever tase an elk?�Mary Roach is up to her old tricks. A science writer now publishing her seventh book, Roach has written for many publications, including National Geographic, Wired, NY Times Magazine, and many more. She begins with a notion, then goes exploring. Roach tells ŷ, in a book-recommendation piece, that she came across a potential story about cattle breeders staging deaths to commit insurance fraud. She even had a grand theft avocado story lined up, but the local Smokeys would not let her come along, which was a requisite. She shifted to wildlife.
I paid a visit to a woman at the National Wildlife Service forensics lab who had authored a paper on how to detect counterfeit “medicinal� tiger penises. - from the GR pieceWait! What? (there is link to the study in EXTRA STUFF, of course) But again it was nogo accompanying the officers into the field. Really? Her presence would blow a National Wildlife Service raid on a market selling junk johnsons? It is pretty easy to come up with a descriptive for such unwarranted reticence. (Rhymes with sickish.) In any case, in her investigative travels, Mary came across a weird 1906 book about the prosecution and execution of animals and realized she had her hook. What if animals were the perpetrators of crimes instead of people? She breaks the book down into “criminal� categories, homicide, B&E, man-slaughter, larceny, even jaywalking, and off we go.
Mary Roach - image from Lapham’s Quarterly
First, and foremost, I need to let you know straight away that you will be laughing out loud at least every few pages. This is not an experience I have with any other writer, and yet have had it consistently with Mary Roach, across the several books of hers that I have read. Ditto here. Well, fine, your sense of humor may not be like mine, but Mary has the key to my funny-bone.
Her intro offers a stunning representation of just how stupid people have been when attempting to enforce laws on animals over the course of history. Python-worthy material, totally side-splitting, and jaw-dropping. Really, they actually did that? Yes, gentle reader, they totally did.
On June 26, 1659, a representative from five towns in a province in northern Italy initiated legal proceedings against caterpillars. The local specimens, went the complaint, were trespassing and pilfering from people’s gardens and orchards. A summons was issued and five copies made and nailed to trees in forests adjacent to each town. The caterpillars were ordered to appear in court…Of course no caterpillars appeared at the appointed time, but the case went forward anyway.It goes on. Would have been tough making a charge stick anyway. They would have just blamed each other. It was that caterpillar, not me. I was nowhere near that orchard. And even if they were jailed they would have just flown out anyway. The law may be , far too often, but sometimes it truly boggles the mind.
As usual, Mary interviews experts in all the areas she investigates. She begins her contemporary explorations with a gathering of Canadian Conservation officers (in the USA) getting Wildlife Human Attack Response Training or WHART. They don’t, but you go right on ahead and call it what it is, CSI-Wildlife � ! Mary brings plenty of funny to her reporting, but a lot of it is simply laying out the facts and letting them make you laugh themselves. For example, the test manikins are named for brands of beer. Good one, eh? And there is that quote at the top of the review. You will also learn some real-world intel like the significance of a round versus a more oval drop of blood at a crime scene.
As usual with Mary, you will find yourself learning a whole bunch of information you never knew you wanted to know, like how to tell the difference between a bear and a cougar kill. (No, not that sort of cougar, the one with fur and claws, a mountain lion, Geez! and no, no, no, not that sort of bear, creatures of the Ursus genus, not those other large hairy beasts. Stop that right now!) She considers issues with elephants, leopards, cougars, bears, macaques, gulls, vultures and other birds, rats and mice, trees, and beans. Come again?
The lines here get a bit vague. It is not just animals that are the focus but some non-critter-based elements of nature as well. Sticking with critters for the moment, there are considerable challenges in managing the interface between people and animals. For instance, the that farm mice seem to extract from farmers regardless of what is done to get rid of them can turn peaceable crop-growers homicidal. Mary looks at the control methods that have been tried, and explores a promising, more laid-back approach.
Rats in the Vatican (which is an outstanding name for a band, just sayin�) present the challenge of managing the property while taking seriously the lead of Saint Francis of Assisi, an animal rights figure of long-standing, and a major inspiration for Pope, ya know, Francis. Mary talks to the guy in charge of this problem (I could not help but imagine , sorry), the Vatican Director of Gardens and Garbage, Rafael Torning. The considerable Vatican rat population has a taste for wires, and damages a lot of machinery. VG&G does what they can, trying to avoid using nasty chemicals. But even so, aren’t there ethical concerns? So, she talks with the house bioethicist, Father Carlo. Let’s just say that if you could count the number of angels on the head of a pin, Father Carlo could very nicely twist all of them into pretzels with his words.
A possible solution to half of the Vatican’s Gull-and-rats problem? - image from the Irish Sun
The Vatican has a considerable problem with herring gulls as well, thousands of ‘em. None of this Mary Poppins nonsense. The feathered rabble that descend on Saint Peter’s seem more like the gathered horde in . You will not come away from this book fond of gulls. I found her lapsed-Catholic’s tour of the Vatican to be worth many, many , rich as it was with fun details and ambience.
Chapters on elephants and leopards are particularly alarming.
…when a leopard stalks and kills more than three or four people, villagers consider it a demon. - [it, clearly, considers them takeout]There was one historical case in which a single leopard killed over a hundred people. Mary travels with government and non-government people as they try to educate local populations in best practices for avoiding potential conflict. Not all leopard attacks are the same. You will learn the sorts. And not all attacking leopards are handled the same way. She looks at changes that have been at least partially implemented to try to reduce the carnage. (Indoor toilets, for example), and the challenges going forward in handling the problem, getting leopards to leave people alone.
Leopard - image from Wild Cats India
When it comes to elephants, Mary Roach knows her shit, literally. She reports on a Smithsonian project that measured daily defecation by an Indian elephant. A poop scooper will not do. Maybe a poop plow? 400 pounds, give or take, per diem. Elephants loom large as a danger, laying waste to crops, trampling fields and bulldozing buildings. People are sometimes accidentally trampled. Sometimes it is no accident, as when one elephant did a headstand on someone. A bull elephant in an elevated period of breeding excitement, called musth, is particularly aggressive and a mortal peril. She can also tell you about the effectiveness of small arms against big pachyderms. Keep your powder dry. Most bullets do little or no damage. Even a bit of armor-piercing ordnance intended for tanks needs a follow up to get the job done.
Indian elephant in musth - image from Wikipedia
Monkeys in India come in for a look. Macaques in particular, have made pests of themselves in urban areas, becoming aggressive thieves, to the point of violence, and even of extortion, as some will steal your phone, handing it back only when you pay the fee in food. Government officials struggle to come up with solutions, tough in a place where the monkey is a sacred animal. It is impossible to deliver directed doses of birth control without endangering other native wildlife, for example. Roach delivers a bleak portrait of official finger-pointing and inaction.
Street Monkeys in India � image from Outlook
While reporting on the damage done to area farms and people, and the impact of wildlife in places populated with humans, Roach does point out that a lot (all) of these conflicts result from people expanding into the native territory of dangerous or potentially pestiferous, animals.
I was surprised that there were parts of the book dedicated to non-creature natural perils. The material is interesting, but thematically it felt a bit off the central topic.
There is much surprise information (well, for me anyway) about “danger trees,� those fully grown trees that have come to the end of their lives, at least in terms of growing. They still serve as useful woodland citizens by providing places in which creatures can nest, wood in which bugs can live, biomaterials that will be absorbed back into the woods. This is all good, but there is still one problem. The rotting tops of these gentle souls can come crashing down on passers-by, unaware of the peril. The approach that is taken, by woodland managers makes one wonder whether it is better to yell “Timber� or “Fire in the Hole!�
Decay throughout this tree makes it too hazardous to fell with a saw. It was felled with one bundle of fireline explosives taped to the side of the tree - image and text from the US Forest Service
There is an element in this book that you should be aware of. The disposal of animals considered pests. This is of particular relevance in places where invasive species have arrived and laid waste to significant segments of the local fauna, and/or flora. Not all of these are the usual suspects, stowaway rats wiping out bird populations with their fondness for eggs, brown snakes, ditto and far too many others, often foolishly introduced by people attempting to counteract an earlier invasives problem. Some of the invaders are adorable and not on your likely list of things that MUST BE EXTERMINATED NOW. Mary looks at the techniques attempted (usually failed) and on the thought that goes into trying to make a creature’s passing as quick as possible. You might want to skip that chapter (14). Many of my daily companions are on that list and, although I did read it all, it was disquieting at times. Just lettin� ya know. I hope this does not turn you off the book if you are otherwise interested.
She does focus on ways in which people can live in coexistence with nature. This includes a greater understanding of the deer-in-the-headlights syndrome, and a workable approach for reducing roadway carnage.
Deer in the headlights - image from Bryans Blog
I have issues with the titling of the book. The raised-patch addition to the hardcover jacket goes very nicely with the patches my wife and I picked up at many US National Parks. Mary might have called it Nature Gone Wild, but that was already taken. Naming it Fuzz, though, (maintaining the tradition of single-syllable Mary Roach book titles) does make it seem like it is about the police-type officials who are charged with coping when forces of nature interfere with people. Although there were indeed some badged officials in her stable of interviewees and guides through these fascinating worlds, she spoke as often with people who were researchers or administrators, and the stories were about the problems, not so much the law enforcers. Many may be related to parks here and there. Some were employed by wildlife services, but it just did not sit well with me. Her reporting is as much about a wider view of the issues as it is about the direct, Book-em, Danno “crimes� supposedly perpetrated on people by the furry or feathered set. So, I will not shy away from this. When it comes to actually describing what the book is about the title is decidedly fuzzy. There. I did it, and I am not sorry. Well, ok, maybe a little. Not that I can come up with anything better, just whining.
That done, it is clear that wherever Mary Roach shines her light there will be surprises, there will be new knowledge, and there will be smiles, lots and lots of smiles, covered with copious quantities of laughter. Follow along behind Mary as she opens some closed doors, peeks into some hidden corners, and pesters defenseless officials to find fascinating, wondrous real-world material. Even despite that one grim chapter, I found myself reacting as I always do to a Mary Roach book, laughing out loud, often, very, very often. There is a definite joy in trailing after Mary as she shines her very bright light into unseen corners and calls back “Hey guys, come see what I found!� If you have enjoyed her books before, this one should do quite nicely. There is nothing fuzzy about that at all.
Feeding animals, as we know, is the quickest path to conflict. The promise of food motivates normally human-shy animals to take a risk. The risk-taking is rewarded, and the behavior escalates. Shyness becomes fearlessness, and fearlessness becomes aggression. If you don’t hand over the food you are carrying, the monkey will grab it. If you try to hold onto it, or push the animal away…it may slap you. Or bite you. The Times of India put the number of monkey bites reported by Delhi hospitals in 2018 at 950. [When your teenager makes off with your car, just remember that it all began when they were small, and you made the mistake of offering them food]
Review first posted � October 29, 2021
Publication dates
----------Hardcover - September 21, 2021
----------Trade Paperback - August 30, 2022
I received this book from Barnes & Noble in return for cold, hard cash
==========In the summer of 2019 GR reduced the allowable review size by 25%, from 20,000 to 15,000 characters. In order to accommodate the text beyond that I moved it to the Comments section directly below. But in Summer 2021, GR disallowed the use of external links in the Comments section, so I have posted the entire review, including EXTRA STUFF, on my site, . Stop by and say Hi!
September 7, 2021
Man vs. Nature. As we encroach further and further into territories once the feeding grounds of wild animals, clashes are inevitable, which is the focus of this book. Not just animals but threatening plants and invasive species are also discussed. Roach travels all over the world investigating the mitigation efforts that are being employed by various cultures in an attempt to protect people as well as animals.
My favorite parts were the bears in Colorado, though I admit I can find them fascinating because I don't live where I would run into any. They infiltrate houses, stealing food, they can open the refrigerator, take out a carton of eggs and remove the eggs one by one. Monkeys that hold cell phone hostages until they are given food by the tourists. Yellow eyed penguins, only found in New Zealand that are now in danger of extinction. Much information in this book, sometimes a little too much, but as always her research seems impeccable. Her trademark humor is inserted here and there but not as much as in some of her works.
ARC by Edelweiss.
My favorite parts were the bears in Colorado, though I admit I can find them fascinating because I don't live where I would run into any. They infiltrate houses, stealing food, they can open the refrigerator, take out a carton of eggs and remove the eggs one by one. Monkeys that hold cell phone hostages until they are given food by the tourists. Yellow eyed penguins, only found in New Zealand that are now in danger of extinction. Much information in this book, sometimes a little too much, but as always her research seems impeccable. Her trademark humor is inserted here and there but not as much as in some of her works.
ARC by Edelweiss.
November 22, 2021
Oh, those fun footnotes!
The ethical questions!
The ethical questions!
October 7, 2021
Humorous science writer 's latest book involves the "crimes" committed against mankind by an unlikely culprit - nature. From animals who bite the hands that shouldn't be feeding them to trees that have the audacity to fall on people . . . we are surrounded by impolite lawbreakers.
Roach is one of my absolute favorite nonfiction authors, but this book left me feeling unsatisfied, and pretty depressed. Her usual witty quips don't really work here when we discover that most encounters between humans and hungry animals don't end well for the critters. Unhappy subject matter aside, this book seems padded, packed full of irrelevant tidbits to stretch it to book length.
I also couldn't help comparing Roach's book to one on the same subject matter that I enjoyed much more -
If you want a quick sum-up, it is this - Feeding wild animals is the quickest path to conflict.
Roach is one of my absolute favorite nonfiction authors, but this book left me feeling unsatisfied, and pretty depressed. Her usual witty quips don't really work here when we discover that most encounters between humans and hungry animals don't end well for the critters. Unhappy subject matter aside, this book seems padded, packed full of irrelevant tidbits to stretch it to book length.
I also couldn't help comparing Roach's book to one on the same subject matter that I enjoyed much more -
If you want a quick sum-up, it is this - Feeding wild animals is the quickest path to conflict.
September 14, 2021
to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive.
The topic of Mary Roach’s eighth (!) book is human-wildlife conflict, or, what problems arise when humans and the natural world attempt to co-exist in the same spaces. She discusses things like using forensic work to deduce whether or not a wild animal was responsible for an attack on a human, elephants destroying rice crops, and even using gene modification to drive a pest species into extinction. It’s an entertaining book, but doesn’t avoid the normal hangups associated with her work (see the above video for more on that).
The topic of Mary Roach’s eighth (!) book is human-wildlife conflict, or, what problems arise when humans and the natural world attempt to co-exist in the same spaces. She discusses things like using forensic work to deduce whether or not a wild animal was responsible for an attack on a human, elephants destroying rice crops, and even using gene modification to drive a pest species into extinction. It’s an entertaining book, but doesn’t avoid the normal hangups associated with her work (see the above video for more on that).
July 9, 2024
I’m honestly not sure this one is 5 stars (maybe 4-4.5), and it’s not the best of her work by any measure, but reading Mary Roach is just such a delightful experience the whole way through. There’s a bias of fandom, but if more people read Mary Roach, I think they’d understand what a good time her books always are.
More detailed review going on my tiktok later today.
Thank you Norton for providing a review copy.
More detailed review going on my tiktok later today.
Thank you Norton for providing a review copy.
September 23, 2021
Fuzz:
�.a mass of short, curly hairs.
Or
�.to make or become fuzzy �..
Mary Roach gets us thinking about things we didn’t realize we need to think about.
It’s hard to resist a Mary Roach book�
She’s the most endearing scientist/author I know. (Three times we’ve met).
When details flew over my head; I certainly didn’t understand everything�
but Mary Roach
managed to stimulate my thinking anyway�.
ABOUT BIZARRE subjects—that seems less bizarre, after she kick-starts our thinking� on a new brain path.
Inside FUZZ � we read about
Bears, elephants, leopards, (and ‘why� they’re man-eaters)� Monkey’s (birth control possibilities?) Cougars,
what animals eat, what they drink, how they sleep, and their many varied behaviors�. Along with meeting some folks who work for wildlife agencies.
Elephants for example are vegetarian‘s. They like grains,grass, leaves, stems, twigs, bark, etc
But Indian elephants won’t eat tea leaves. (too bitter). Ha, most humans don’t like to eat tea leaves either.
So, along with learning about predatory behaviors—from our fuzzy friends (behaviors and feelings, etc)�. we also learn a little bit more about our human friends (some very caring), but animal cruelty, is ‘not� fuzzy!
Take for example�.
Mary teaches us that suggested progressive USDA Wildlife Services operators give to property who call because they want a mountain lion killed for preying on their livestock or pets.
Mary asks�.
“What if Wildlife Services made these things a requirement rather than a suggestion? Better yet, what if they arranged and paid for the brush-clearing or the enclosures to be built?
What if non-progressive operators had to start being progressive?
Mary says�.
“Let’s just say the ship is slow to turn. But it’s turning�.
Mary Roche said:
“I met a lot of good intelligent people at these agencies, professionals who saw their job as protecting people and animals both. But because of the financial model, it can be hard to set aside the nagging sense that institutional priorities are at play. The money is coming from hunters, to a large degree� and that makes it hard for agencies to win the trust of everyone else. (And creates perplexing mottoes like ‘Support Nevada’s Wildlife�. . . Buy a Hunting and Fishing License)�
When a bear harms or kills a person, the state wildlife agency may be held liable, and bears, unlike planes, aren’t generating the revenue it would take to cover the costs.
There were a couple of lawsuits recently, one in Utah and another in Arizona, where large payouts to families of the victims were paid out.
We learn about how hunting alters behavior of the hunted�.
and how hunting perpetuates fear and avoidance of humans�.
� we learned about inebriated bull elephants (I kid you not)�
and the horrors of elephants who electrocuted�
Etc etc etc.
and shhhh “how animals break the law”�.
The human-wildlife squabbles are important�
Both humans and animals need healthy boundaries.
Mary Roach offers up her knowledge- research - her funny bone - her humbleness—all with the intention to deepening our understanding�.animal wildlife.
We are blessed with Mary’s fuzzy compassionate humanity and teachings.
It’s impossible not to admire this woman.
�.a mass of short, curly hairs.
Or
�.to make or become fuzzy �..
Mary Roach gets us thinking about things we didn’t realize we need to think about.
It’s hard to resist a Mary Roach book�
She’s the most endearing scientist/author I know. (Three times we’ve met).
When details flew over my head; I certainly didn’t understand everything�
but Mary Roach
managed to stimulate my thinking anyway�.
ABOUT BIZARRE subjects—that seems less bizarre, after she kick-starts our thinking� on a new brain path.
Inside FUZZ � we read about
Bears, elephants, leopards, (and ‘why� they’re man-eaters)� Monkey’s (birth control possibilities?) Cougars,
what animals eat, what they drink, how they sleep, and their many varied behaviors�. Along with meeting some folks who work for wildlife agencies.
Elephants for example are vegetarian‘s. They like grains,grass, leaves, stems, twigs, bark, etc
But Indian elephants won’t eat tea leaves. (too bitter). Ha, most humans don’t like to eat tea leaves either.
So, along with learning about predatory behaviors—from our fuzzy friends (behaviors and feelings, etc)�. we also learn a little bit more about our human friends (some very caring), but animal cruelty, is ‘not� fuzzy!
Take for example�.
Mary teaches us that suggested progressive USDA Wildlife Services operators give to property who call because they want a mountain lion killed for preying on their livestock or pets.
Mary asks�.
“What if Wildlife Services made these things a requirement rather than a suggestion? Better yet, what if they arranged and paid for the brush-clearing or the enclosures to be built?
What if non-progressive operators had to start being progressive?
Mary says�.
“Let’s just say the ship is slow to turn. But it’s turning�.
Mary Roche said:
“I met a lot of good intelligent people at these agencies, professionals who saw their job as protecting people and animals both. But because of the financial model, it can be hard to set aside the nagging sense that institutional priorities are at play. The money is coming from hunters, to a large degree� and that makes it hard for agencies to win the trust of everyone else. (And creates perplexing mottoes like ‘Support Nevada’s Wildlife�. . . Buy a Hunting and Fishing License)�
When a bear harms or kills a person, the state wildlife agency may be held liable, and bears, unlike planes, aren’t generating the revenue it would take to cover the costs.
There were a couple of lawsuits recently, one in Utah and another in Arizona, where large payouts to families of the victims were paid out.
We learn about how hunting alters behavior of the hunted�.
and how hunting perpetuates fear and avoidance of humans�.
� we learned about inebriated bull elephants (I kid you not)�
and the horrors of elephants who electrocuted�
Etc etc etc.
and shhhh “how animals break the law”�.
The human-wildlife squabbles are important�
Both humans and animals need healthy boundaries.
Mary Roach offers up her knowledge- research - her funny bone - her humbleness—all with the intention to deepening our understanding�.animal wildlife.
We are blessed with Mary’s fuzzy compassionate humanity and teachings.
It’s impossible not to admire this woman.
October 15, 2021
Despite it being interesting in parts, I do wish this book had been more like the book I expected. Sometimes being surprised by a book can be a pleasant experience, but in the case of Fuzz, it was a jarring disappointment with a constant feeling of dissonance.
Given my familiarity with Roach’s writing and the subtitle of this book being “When Nature Breaks the Law,� here’s what I expected: The podcast Wine & Crime aired an episode about animals being taken to court during the Middle Ages for crimes they’d committed. Think: rats who had been accused of stealing barley and were thus taken to court. I thought this was the kind of thing Fuzz would talk about. I accepted there would also most likely be sections about animals in present-day who had attacked and killed humans or other animals. Maybe, at a stretch, I wondered whether Roach might include the time Montreal banned pit bulls.
Here’s what I got: The first chapter does cover the forensics of animal attacks, and that was a good start. The book, however, quickly slips deeper into animal control rather than in the direction of animals going through the human legal system I had hoped for. And when I say animal control, I mean mass slaughters of tens and hundreds of thousands of animals; mostly birds and rodents. And while I appreciate knowing the straight facts of the outrageous historical and present day methods of animal control, I really hated reading about one example of mass brutality against animals after another. While Roach is on the side of the animals, her usual quips did not blend well with this particular content. (Again, I really wish I could read her take on the rats who had their own lawyer.)
Topics Roach explored like poisonous plants and India’s attempts at humane monkey population control were interesting enough, but it was a stretch, really, to say this is nature breaking the law. This book is really about the means by which humans attempt to curb population growth of animals deemed pests or dangerous. With a few exceptions, each chapter was about the evolution humans killing species of animal en masse in detail. That it was set to the tune of Roach’s witty writing that I so enjoyed in Stiff was all the more disconcerting. It really did not work for me. The actual topic of this book would have been better under the guidance of, perhaps, an investigative journalist; a muckraker of sorts. And I would have avoided the book based on the topic and read whatever article summarized the information, instead.
Given my familiarity with Roach’s writing and the subtitle of this book being “When Nature Breaks the Law,� here’s what I expected: The podcast Wine & Crime aired an episode about animals being taken to court during the Middle Ages for crimes they’d committed. Think: rats who had been accused of stealing barley and were thus taken to court. I thought this was the kind of thing Fuzz would talk about. I accepted there would also most likely be sections about animals in present-day who had attacked and killed humans or other animals. Maybe, at a stretch, I wondered whether Roach might include the time Montreal banned pit bulls.
Here’s what I got: The first chapter does cover the forensics of animal attacks, and that was a good start. The book, however, quickly slips deeper into animal control rather than in the direction of animals going through the human legal system I had hoped for. And when I say animal control, I mean mass slaughters of tens and hundreds of thousands of animals; mostly birds and rodents. And while I appreciate knowing the straight facts of the outrageous historical and present day methods of animal control, I really hated reading about one example of mass brutality against animals after another. While Roach is on the side of the animals, her usual quips did not blend well with this particular content. (Again, I really wish I could read her take on the rats who had their own lawyer.)
Topics Roach explored like poisonous plants and India’s attempts at humane monkey population control were interesting enough, but it was a stretch, really, to say this is nature breaking the law. This book is really about the means by which humans attempt to curb population growth of animals deemed pests or dangerous. With a few exceptions, each chapter was about the evolution humans killing species of animal en masse in detail. That it was set to the tune of Roach’s witty writing that I so enjoyed in Stiff was all the more disconcerting. It really did not work for me. The actual topic of this book would have been better under the guidance of, perhaps, an investigative journalist; a muckraker of sorts. And I would have avoided the book based on the topic and read whatever article summarized the information, instead.
September 25, 2021
Any reader who stumbles upon the work of Mary Roach may begin by being baffled, but is soon enthralled to learn some of these little-known scientific discoveries or actions being taken around the world. In this latest book, Roach explores the world of animals and their ‘bothersome activities�, as well as how humans have come to react. While it may seem odd at first, once the reader gets into the book, it becomes apparent what has been going on, even if some of the human reactions are unique or downright far-fetched. Peppering the narrative with great editorialising and some humour, Roach pens another winner that will educate while entertaining the curious reader.
Murder is rampant in the animal kingdom, and not just among animals. Roach uses the first few chapters of her book to explore how animals and humans have come to collide and the results when humans straw the short straw. From bears roaming around in forests and mountain ranges in Canada to trampling elephants in rural India, animals have taken their share of victims over the last number of years. It’s such an issue that there are reactionary teams tasked with tracking down the offending animals and, at times relocating them, though capital punishment is not always off the table as well. Human-animal interactions have long occurred outside the traditional hunting mindset and the results, when humans are not properly equipped, can be downright devastating.
Roach also takes readers on an interesting exploration of how smaller animals, fowl and four-legged, have caused havoc in a variety of ways. From flying buzzards who end up in the engines of planes to small rodents who target farmers� fields, Roach documents the ways in which animals have come to become more of a pest than their beauty offsets. While she cannot always surmise a rational reason, she shows that there are many scientists working around the world to study or offer countermeasures, some of which are truly alarming, if you pardon the pun. Part human invasion on animal terrain, part curiosity on the part of creatures, Roach has the reader chuckling as they push through these chapters with glee.
Discussion of humane ways in which humans have come to rid themselves of these pests is at the forefront of the discussion, though Roach saves it for the latter chapters. While the types of reactionary measures humans have when ‘pushing back� against anima,s is almost inexhaustible, there has to be a degree of humanity, so as not to turn culling into torture. Roach takes the time to explore this, from use of glue traps to tasers designed to stun an animal. Technology has allowed a number of new products to flood the market, many of which take humanity into account. However, there are still those who prefer the ways of their ancestors, which may include arcane items sure to kill or mortally maim an animal and send it into agony for the hours it will take to succumb. Another perspective few take into account, but a formidable area for education.
As with many of her other books, Roach presents her findings in a serious manner, while added some frivolity to the experience. This helps offset some of the darker or more troubling sections of the narrative, as well as permitting many readers to visualise that which they have not seen before. Roach writes in such a way that the narrative becomes a well-painted picture of what she is trying to express. Organising her findings in clear chapters helps to keep the reader engaged without drowning in too many details. Still, there’s something to be said about how vast the subject matter proves to be, as Roach is able to fill her book with anecdotes and lived experiences, not simply research she culled from books over the years. With a light-hearted presentation, Roach has made yet another reading experience one that I enjoyed and left me wondering where she will take readers next. Wherever that might be, I am happy to have a front row seat!
Kudos, Madam Roach, for another stellar exploration on some of the lesser-known scientific areas of everyday life. I applaud you for your efforts and cannot recommend you enough to the curious reader.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: /group/show/...
Murder is rampant in the animal kingdom, and not just among animals. Roach uses the first few chapters of her book to explore how animals and humans have come to collide and the results when humans straw the short straw. From bears roaming around in forests and mountain ranges in Canada to trampling elephants in rural India, animals have taken their share of victims over the last number of years. It’s such an issue that there are reactionary teams tasked with tracking down the offending animals and, at times relocating them, though capital punishment is not always off the table as well. Human-animal interactions have long occurred outside the traditional hunting mindset and the results, when humans are not properly equipped, can be downright devastating.
Roach also takes readers on an interesting exploration of how smaller animals, fowl and four-legged, have caused havoc in a variety of ways. From flying buzzards who end up in the engines of planes to small rodents who target farmers� fields, Roach documents the ways in which animals have come to become more of a pest than their beauty offsets. While she cannot always surmise a rational reason, she shows that there are many scientists working around the world to study or offer countermeasures, some of which are truly alarming, if you pardon the pun. Part human invasion on animal terrain, part curiosity on the part of creatures, Roach has the reader chuckling as they push through these chapters with glee.
Discussion of humane ways in which humans have come to rid themselves of these pests is at the forefront of the discussion, though Roach saves it for the latter chapters. While the types of reactionary measures humans have when ‘pushing back� against anima,s is almost inexhaustible, there has to be a degree of humanity, so as not to turn culling into torture. Roach takes the time to explore this, from use of glue traps to tasers designed to stun an animal. Technology has allowed a number of new products to flood the market, many of which take humanity into account. However, there are still those who prefer the ways of their ancestors, which may include arcane items sure to kill or mortally maim an animal and send it into agony for the hours it will take to succumb. Another perspective few take into account, but a formidable area for education.
As with many of her other books, Roach presents her findings in a serious manner, while added some frivolity to the experience. This helps offset some of the darker or more troubling sections of the narrative, as well as permitting many readers to visualise that which they have not seen before. Roach writes in such a way that the narrative becomes a well-painted picture of what she is trying to express. Organising her findings in clear chapters helps to keep the reader engaged without drowning in too many details. Still, there’s something to be said about how vast the subject matter proves to be, as Roach is able to fill her book with anecdotes and lived experiences, not simply research she culled from books over the years. With a light-hearted presentation, Roach has made yet another reading experience one that I enjoyed and left me wondering where she will take readers next. Wherever that might be, I am happy to have a front row seat!
Kudos, Madam Roach, for another stellar exploration on some of the lesser-known scientific areas of everyday life. I applaud you for your efforts and cannot recommend you enough to the curious reader.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: /group/show/...
December 6, 2021
Mary Roach has a sweet job. She picks a topic to study, bops around the world, and writes about fascinating subjects, gaining knowledge primarily through kooky specialists, every single one of them surely someone's favorite aunt or uncle.
This book reads as a collection of long-form essays rather than a cohesive whole. There are no unifying conclusions about humans and animals sharing the Earth. The problems discussed in here and ones that any sensible human has considered before. That is, humans and animals often compete for the same environments, human interventions are often shortsighted with bad consequences, and animals are exploited yet resilient.
Roach is an unpretentious, natural writer. She follows a formula, but it's a formula that largely works. Others have commended her on her humor. Any sort of humor in writing is hard, but I found her jokes pretty damn corny.
This book reads as a collection of long-form essays rather than a cohesive whole. There are no unifying conclusions about humans and animals sharing the Earth. The problems discussed in here and ones that any sensible human has considered before. That is, humans and animals often compete for the same environments, human interventions are often shortsighted with bad consequences, and animals are exploited yet resilient.
Roach is an unpretentious, natural writer. She follows a formula, but it's a formula that largely works. Others have commended her on her humor. Any sort of humor in writing is hard, but I found her jokes pretty damn corny.
December 17, 2022
I went in the morning. I had bananas. I was asking for it. I wanted to know what it was like to be mugged by monkeys. (99)
4 stars. Endearingly dorky, relatably awkward, effervescently curious, Mary Roach is a delight and a treasure. This one is perfect for a travel read, as per usual. Thrill to the author's tales of secondhand jungle-faring! Observe her nitpick the driving habits of her animal control escorts! Snigger as she corrects typos on signage all around the world! All together it's light and fluffy fun but—watch out!—you might just learn something.
4 stars. Endearingly dorky, relatably awkward, effervescently curious, Mary Roach is a delight and a treasure. This one is perfect for a travel read, as per usual. Thrill to the author's tales of secondhand jungle-faring! Observe her nitpick the driving habits of her animal control escorts! Snigger as she corrects typos on signage all around the world! All together it's light and fluffy fun but—watch out!—you might just learn something.
June 22, 2023
The question has defied satisfactory resolution for centuries: What is the proper course when nature breaks laws intended for people? pg. 2
Probably my least favorite Mary Roach book so far. She's the gold standard of non-fiction as far as I'm concerned.
My problem isn't with Roach, it's with the subject matter. Here, Roach is tackling what she calls “human-wildlife conflict.� This is a topic I find deeply depressing. If you are an animal-lover, proceed with caution or perhaps skip this one. Humans murdering animals just for annoying them and wanting to exist in the same space as them is a topic I find pretty depressing, and with Roach, of course, no detail is spared. This can be brutal.
Topics covered: bears.
Because there's a lot of eating to be done. It's early fall, the time of year when black bears eat with purpose and abandon, to construct the fat they will live off in their dens over the winter. You may be wondering: When you live off your own fat, do you need to use the toilet? If you are a bear, you do not. Hibernating bears reabsorb their urine and form a “fecal plug.� Cubs, on the other hand, let it go inside the den. Not a problem, because the mother bear eats it � partly as cleanup, but mostly as food. She is nursing, after all. While hibernating. Black bear hibernation isn't the same as sleep. They're just sort of slowed down and out of it. Surreally, black sows give birth halfway through their hibernation. They deliver a couple of cubs, snack on the placenta, then go back into hibernation, nursing and tending their cubs in a state of semi-alertness until spring. According to a scientist who has taken blood samples from hibernating black bears, they do not have sleep breath and their dens don't stink. They smell like roots and earth and that is all. pg. 31
Elephants in India. Monkeys in India. Leopards in India. Cougars in the United States. There is a chapter about trees and the dangers they pose to humans. There is a chapter about beans.
The threats are kidney beans, red or white, broad beans, and lima beans. Fail to boil these common edibles for at least ten minutes, and you may find yourself in significant gastrointestinal distress. As did a thousand-plus viewers of a Japanese TV show that recommended grinding white kidney beans in a coffee mill, toasting for three minutes, and sprinkling on rice. According to the journal article “The 'White Kidney Bean Incident' in Japan,� a hundred people were hospitalized.
For more on the evil a kidney bean can inflict upon a human, I steer you to “Foreign Body (Kidney Beans) in Urinary Bladder: An Unusual Case Report.� In 2018, in Jaipur, India, a young man pushed four kidney beans up his urethra “for the purposes of sexual gratification.� As often happens in these cases, the items made their way beyond the point of easy recovery, and once discomfort outweighed embarrassment, the man sought medical help. An ultrasound revealed the kidney beans “floating� inside the man's bladder. Because the beans had been soaking overnight, they had, as any dry bean would, expanded and softened, complicating their extraction. Figure 3, “kidney bean removed piecemeal� is a photograph: a helping of broken, slightly mashed beans in a stainless steel surgical basin � more appetizing than most things removed by forceps in a surgery suite, but probably not, owing to the urine presoak, more delicious. pg. 158
There is a chapter about birds, this can get pretty gruesome.
There's a chapter about hitting deer and other animals on the road that cause injuries to humans.
There's a chapter on trying to scare off animals instead of murder them.
There's a chapter about gulls.
There's a chapter about the Vatican and its stance on animal killing in regards to “pests.�
There's a chapter about so-called “Humane� methods of murdering animals. You might want to skip this one if you have a soft heart.
The last chapter, and perhaps the scariest one � is about killing off animals using gene editing. Using gene manipulation to make animals incapable of giving birth to female offspring, releasing this population into the wild. Roach talks about how Jane Goodall is virulently against this and also about how methods like these may have unforeseen long-term consequences that we may deeply regret later.
TL;DR Mary Roach is her usual self: funny, smart.
To relocate the scent, good hounds will run a zigzag, sweeping wide left and right until they pick it up again. I tried this on a street near my office, after a young man passed by in a reek of Axe body spray. I let him turn the corner and disappear from view, then waited a few minutes. By zigzagging hound dog-style, I was able to track him to his destination, a cheesesteak place on the next block. pg. 128
The problem I have with this book is the subject matter � I don't want to read about killing animals and hurting them and them suffering all because humans are annoyed that they come onto their golf courses, or whatever. It's sad. Some of the killing in here is frankly horrific, and the idea that animal lives and animal pain means nothing is very depressing. If you're a pet owner, maybe avoid this book. If you are someone interested in animal welfare, maybe avoid this book.
Roach's motives are good: she is also against cruelty and wrestles with herself a bit in this because she is an omnivore. By the end of the book she has given up on using mousetraps and instead uses non-harmful ways to get mice out of her house. She also tries to just resign herself to some interactions with nature: she realizes that sometimes humans will have to interact with animals and be inconvenienced by them and will just have to accept some level of occasional discomfort... unless they are willing to fuck up the planet permanently, which, let's face it, we are pretty much doing anyway.
I really recommend Roach's books, but this one I feel has to come with a big warning. Proceed at your own risk.
Unless death by diarrhea and dehydration is the intent, castor oil is a useless murder weapon. A technique favored by Mussolini's squadristi thugs. Political foes were force-fed large quantities of castor oil � up to a quart, according to The Straight Dope. WHO DOES THAT? Moreover, why? To kill by dehydration? To humiliate? I could find no satisfying answer, not even from the International Castor Oil Association, which, despite large quantities of emails, had no comment. pg. 155
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
Probably my least favorite Mary Roach book so far. She's the gold standard of non-fiction as far as I'm concerned.
My problem isn't with Roach, it's with the subject matter. Here, Roach is tackling what she calls “human-wildlife conflict.� This is a topic I find deeply depressing. If you are an animal-lover, proceed with caution or perhaps skip this one. Humans murdering animals just for annoying them and wanting to exist in the same space as them is a topic I find pretty depressing, and with Roach, of course, no detail is spared. This can be brutal.
Topics covered: bears.
Because there's a lot of eating to be done. It's early fall, the time of year when black bears eat with purpose and abandon, to construct the fat they will live off in their dens over the winter. You may be wondering: When you live off your own fat, do you need to use the toilet? If you are a bear, you do not. Hibernating bears reabsorb their urine and form a “fecal plug.� Cubs, on the other hand, let it go inside the den. Not a problem, because the mother bear eats it � partly as cleanup, but mostly as food. She is nursing, after all. While hibernating. Black bear hibernation isn't the same as sleep. They're just sort of slowed down and out of it. Surreally, black sows give birth halfway through their hibernation. They deliver a couple of cubs, snack on the placenta, then go back into hibernation, nursing and tending their cubs in a state of semi-alertness until spring. According to a scientist who has taken blood samples from hibernating black bears, they do not have sleep breath and their dens don't stink. They smell like roots and earth and that is all. pg. 31
Elephants in India. Monkeys in India. Leopards in India. Cougars in the United States. There is a chapter about trees and the dangers they pose to humans. There is a chapter about beans.
The threats are kidney beans, red or white, broad beans, and lima beans. Fail to boil these common edibles for at least ten minutes, and you may find yourself in significant gastrointestinal distress. As did a thousand-plus viewers of a Japanese TV show that recommended grinding white kidney beans in a coffee mill, toasting for three minutes, and sprinkling on rice. According to the journal article “The 'White Kidney Bean Incident' in Japan,� a hundred people were hospitalized.
For more on the evil a kidney bean can inflict upon a human, I steer you to “Foreign Body (Kidney Beans) in Urinary Bladder: An Unusual Case Report.� In 2018, in Jaipur, India, a young man pushed four kidney beans up his urethra “for the purposes of sexual gratification.� As often happens in these cases, the items made their way beyond the point of easy recovery, and once discomfort outweighed embarrassment, the man sought medical help. An ultrasound revealed the kidney beans “floating� inside the man's bladder. Because the beans had been soaking overnight, they had, as any dry bean would, expanded and softened, complicating their extraction. Figure 3, “kidney bean removed piecemeal� is a photograph: a helping of broken, slightly mashed beans in a stainless steel surgical basin � more appetizing than most things removed by forceps in a surgery suite, but probably not, owing to the urine presoak, more delicious. pg. 158
There is a chapter about birds, this can get pretty gruesome.
There's a chapter about hitting deer and other animals on the road that cause injuries to humans.
There's a chapter on trying to scare off animals instead of murder them.
There's a chapter about gulls.
There's a chapter about the Vatican and its stance on animal killing in regards to “pests.�
There's a chapter about so-called “Humane� methods of murdering animals. You might want to skip this one if you have a soft heart.
The last chapter, and perhaps the scariest one � is about killing off animals using gene editing. Using gene manipulation to make animals incapable of giving birth to female offspring, releasing this population into the wild. Roach talks about how Jane Goodall is virulently against this and also about how methods like these may have unforeseen long-term consequences that we may deeply regret later.
TL;DR Mary Roach is her usual self: funny, smart.
To relocate the scent, good hounds will run a zigzag, sweeping wide left and right until they pick it up again. I tried this on a street near my office, after a young man passed by in a reek of Axe body spray. I let him turn the corner and disappear from view, then waited a few minutes. By zigzagging hound dog-style, I was able to track him to his destination, a cheesesteak place on the next block. pg. 128
The problem I have with this book is the subject matter � I don't want to read about killing animals and hurting them and them suffering all because humans are annoyed that they come onto their golf courses, or whatever. It's sad. Some of the killing in here is frankly horrific, and the idea that animal lives and animal pain means nothing is very depressing. If you're a pet owner, maybe avoid this book. If you are someone interested in animal welfare, maybe avoid this book.
Roach's motives are good: she is also against cruelty and wrestles with herself a bit in this because she is an omnivore. By the end of the book she has given up on using mousetraps and instead uses non-harmful ways to get mice out of her house. She also tries to just resign herself to some interactions with nature: she realizes that sometimes humans will have to interact with animals and be inconvenienced by them and will just have to accept some level of occasional discomfort... unless they are willing to fuck up the planet permanently, which, let's face it, we are pretty much doing anyway.
I really recommend Roach's books, but this one I feel has to come with a big warning. Proceed at your own risk.
Unless death by diarrhea and dehydration is the intent, castor oil is a useless murder weapon. A technique favored by Mussolini's squadristi thugs. Political foes were force-fed large quantities of castor oil � up to a quart, according to The Straight Dope. WHO DOES THAT? Moreover, why? To kill by dehydration? To humiliate? I could find no satisfying answer, not even from the International Castor Oil Association, which, despite large quantities of emails, had no comment. pg. 155
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
September 27, 2021
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
by Mary Roach
I love Mary Roach's books! I always learn, laugh, get a little grossed out, and am surprised by her tenacity. In this book we find out how different animals and plants are a danger to us but we are the ones to blame. She doesn't say that but when you look at each situation and scenario, man has encroached on, pushed out, or starved out native animals. Encounters are inevitable. Other situations too cause interactions such as garbage.
I found the tree section a bit boring and a lot of other sections have been covered on nature shows but she goes beyond this. She goes to a class to figure out how to tell if a human, bear, or cougar killed a person based on the marks on the body! Like I said, tenacity!
by Mary Roach
I love Mary Roach's books! I always learn, laugh, get a little grossed out, and am surprised by her tenacity. In this book we find out how different animals and plants are a danger to us but we are the ones to blame. She doesn't say that but when you look at each situation and scenario, man has encroached on, pushed out, or starved out native animals. Encounters are inevitable. Other situations too cause interactions such as garbage.
I found the tree section a bit boring and a lot of other sections have been covered on nature shows but she goes beyond this. She goes to a class to figure out how to tell if a human, bear, or cougar killed a person based on the marks on the body! Like I said, tenacity!
May 13, 2021
When I first paged through (The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals), I wondered if it might be an ambitious hoax. Here were bears formally excommunicated from the Church. Slugs given three warnings to stop nettling farmers, under penalty of “smiting.� But the author, a respected historian and linguist, quickly wore me down with a depth of detail gleaned from original documents, nineteen of which are reproduced in their original languages in a series of appendices. We have the itemized expense report of a French bailiff, submitted in 1403 following the murder trial of a pig (“cost of keeping her in jail, six sols parisis�). We have writs of ejectment issued to rats and thrust into their burrows. From a 1545 complaint brought by vintners against a species of greenish weevil, we have not only the names of the lawyers but early examples of that time-honored legal tactic, the stall. As far as I could tell, the proceedings dragged on eight or nine months � in any case, longer than the lifespan of a weevil. I present all this not as evidence of the silliness of bygone legal systems but as evidence of the intractable nature of human-wildlife conflict � as it is known today by those who grapple with it professionally. The question has defied satisfactory resolution for centuries: What is the proper course when nature breaks laws intended for people?
I like Mary Roach: I like the enthusiasm she brings to her research, I like her voice and her compassion, her globe-trotting travel writing and her gentle humour. But I don’t know if I love her books: Whenever I see a new release, I think, “Oh yeah, I like Mary Roach�, but I’ve never given one of her books more than three stars. When I saw that was available on NetGalley, I once again said, “Oh, yes please�, and again, three stars (which, in my reckoning, is a solid read, just not life-altering). I’m sure I will read Roach again � I will always think of her as an author I like � and for other readers who like her, I’ve no doubt they’ll like this book, too. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
Animals don’t follow laws, they follow instincts. Almost without exception, the wildlife in these pages are simply animals doing what animals do: feeding, shitting, setting up a home, defending themselves or their young. They just happen to be doing these things to, or on, a human, or that human’s home or crops. Nonetheless the conflicts exist, creating dilemmas for people and municipalities, hardships for wildlife, and material for someone else’s unusual book.
Between that opening bit about the history of people suing animals and the publisher’s blurb (What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? ), I thought this book was going to be quite a bit weirder than it actually is. What Fuzz actually entails is Mary Roach joining wildlife officers around the world as they try to find the most humane methods of preventing animals from inconveniencing the humans who have decided to build a home in the animals� territory. This can involve hunting, trapping and relocating, poisoning, and at the cutting edge of wildlife control, gene-editing. The stories, and the overall format of Roach learning something and seeing where that leads to next, became a little samey-same, but it was consistently interesting (except for maybe where the chapter about “killer trees� � in which Roach joined some arborists as they lopped the tops off of dead Douglas firs on Vancouver Island � led into a chapter on the killing potential of castor beans and rosary peas; semi-interesting but felt really off topic.)
As always, Roach is an interesting storyteller with an offbeat sense of humour:
� I collect my lunch sack and follow along behind a small group of conservation officers heading to the lawn outside. Their leather hiking boots squeak as they walk. “So she looks in her rearview mirror,� one is saying, “and there’s a bear in the back seat, eating popcorn.� When wildlife officers gather at a conference, the shop talk is outstanding. Last night I stepped onto the elevator as a man was saying, “Ever tase an elk?�
� The tiny bodega isn’t so much ransacked as flattened. A wall of corrugated steel lies crumpled beneath a concrete support beam. On another occasion, an elephant broke into Padma’s home while she slept. This is a place where “the elephant in the room� is not a metaphor, where elephant jokes are no joke. What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence? Probably around 11: 00 p.m.
� “And there is the border with Italy!� I follow Tornini’s gaze to the massive wall that surrounds the Holy See. A gull glides over. There’s your symbol of peace, I think to myself. A bird, any bird, soaring over walls, ignoring borders! Peace, freedom, unity! It’s possible I’ve had too many espressos.
And, of course, I learned plenty: “Gooney bird� comes from the term used by the US military for the albatrosses that live on Guam and would fly into jet engines; birds� innards will not explode if they eat raw rice at weddings (just note the birds that help themselves to rice growing in farmers� fields); “compensatory reproduction� describes the process by which species will increase their litters and broods to make up for numbers lost to mass culling. Roach always introduces interesting vocabulary and some of my favourite new words were: frass (insect excreta), snarge (the remains of a bird after it has collided with an airplane), kronism (the eating of one’s own offspring).
For centuries, people have killed trespassing wildlife � or brought in someone to do it for them � without compunction and with scant thought to whether it’s done humanely. We have detailed protocols for the ethical treatment and humane “euthanizing� of laboratory rats and mice, but no formal standards exist for the rodents or raccoons in our homes and yards. We leave the details to the exterminators and the “wildlife control operators,� the latter a profession that got rolling when the bottom dropped out of the fur market and trappers realized they could make better money getting squirrels out of people’s attics.
It’s probably not surprising that Roach comes down on the side of the animals everywhere they come in conflict with humans; not only are the critters just doing what critters do (and rarely are they doing as much harm to humans as the media likes to portray), but short of driving a species to extinction, we’re not very good at managing animal numbers or behaviours. This really isn’t the book I expected it to be (the subtitle about nature “breaking the law� is kind of misleading) but I enjoyed myself and learned some things; I will read Mary Roach again.
September 1, 2021
review to come!
December 12, 2021
Mary Roach never fails to delight me, both because I appreciate her sense of humour and because I love the somewhat off-kilter way she follows her research program. The conflict between humans and other animals is a topic that I know a little bit about. I grew up on a farm, so I have some awareness of agricultural pests. Mostly insects, but occasionally ground squirrels. I spent some time doing conservation education at our local zoo, so I know all about the people who want to pave the planet at one end of the spectrum and the other extreme who find it outrageous that the owls get fed dead chicks. Apparently in captivity they should eat carrots or something?
I also live in a place where deer, moose, bears, and cougars are resident. There have been reports of all of these species within city limits of our one million plus community. Heck, there are plenty of coyotes and bobcats that live right in my inner city neighborhood. (I once saw a coyote waiting on a street corner until the walk light came on, then trot across six lanes of traffic, being ignored by people crossing the opposite direction). So some of Roach's research was familiar.
I was impressed by the variety of places she visited. India (elephants, monkeys, leopards), New Zealand (penguins plus a poison centre striving for a humane solution), the Vatican (laser bird deterrence) plus numerous parks, cities, landfills, forests, and a mouse breeding facility In North America. Her willingness to follow the next odd step in the pathway truly endears her to me. Who else would hear about gulls ravaging Easter floral displays in Vatican City and say to themselves, “Well, I guess that's where I must go next?�
I will tell you right now that you will never survive the zoo lunchroom if you can't handle talk about poop and animal sex while eating your sandwich (and snickering without spraying crumbs). Mary would fit right in and would probably ask fascinating questions. She'd leave with promises to introduce her to the guy who knows all about that. She must be quite charming, to talk her way into as many offices and conferences as she does, in addition to the persistence to phone and phone and phone until she wears down the recalcitrant.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mary Roach, if you should ever find yourself in Calgary and would be willing to have coffee with one of your fans, message me. I'll be there with bells on!
I also live in a place where deer, moose, bears, and cougars are resident. There have been reports of all of these species within city limits of our one million plus community. Heck, there are plenty of coyotes and bobcats that live right in my inner city neighborhood. (I once saw a coyote waiting on a street corner until the walk light came on, then trot across six lanes of traffic, being ignored by people crossing the opposite direction). So some of Roach's research was familiar.
I was impressed by the variety of places she visited. India (elephants, monkeys, leopards), New Zealand (penguins plus a poison centre striving for a humane solution), the Vatican (laser bird deterrence) plus numerous parks, cities, landfills, forests, and a mouse breeding facility In North America. Her willingness to follow the next odd step in the pathway truly endears her to me. Who else would hear about gulls ravaging Easter floral displays in Vatican City and say to themselves, “Well, I guess that's where I must go next?�
I will tell you right now that you will never survive the zoo lunchroom if you can't handle talk about poop and animal sex while eating your sandwich (and snickering without spraying crumbs). Mary would fit right in and would probably ask fascinating questions. She'd leave with promises to introduce her to the guy who knows all about that. She must be quite charming, to talk her way into as many offices and conferences as she does, in addition to the persistence to phone and phone and phone until she wears down the recalcitrant.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mary Roach, if you should ever find yourself in Calgary and would be willing to have coffee with one of your fans, message me. I'll be there with bells on!
Read
November 17, 2021When I first picked up Fuzz, I thought it was going to be about bear attacks and scary bear encounters. I’m not sure why I had that idea, maybe it was the bear on the cover and the tagline “When Nature Breaks the Law.� Although the first two chapters are indeed about bears, it isn’t about attacks at all, but about the challenges of coexistence. Human laws don’t always agree with the laws of nature, and when they don’t, do we call the fuzz?
Mary Roach put a lot of work into this book and it’s full of fascinating and easy to read wildlife biology. She investigated how people all over the globe react to conflicts with wildlife: from bears in the streets of Aspen, to the elephants and monkeys in India, and even the gulls who disturb the Pope’s flowers in the Vatican. We often respond hastily with lethal measures to a perceived danger or nuisance, but Roach shows us how many people are exploring other ways that don’t involve suffering or death. This book may appeal to you more if you don’t mind a small dose of animal activism, but even if that’s not the case (and most of the people interviewed for Fuzz, including researchers, biologists, and wildlife officers, who all love wildlife but are often more interested in hunting than activism), you will still enjoy the outstanding analysis of how the human-wildlife dynamic plays a role in our everyday lives.
Some of the most interesting sections discuss how humans attempt to manipulate animal populations through poisoning, trapping, and even genetic engineering aimed at eliminating entire populations. She also questions the logic of how we select species to rally behind, and suggests that it’s often based on emotional reasons, what she calls “charismatic megafauna,� where the large and beautiful species, like mountain lions, get the attention of humans for reasons unrelated to conservation or ideas of equity.
Fuzz has a casual and humorous tone, and the jokes keep coming, which makes it easy reading despite all the excellent science. There are many valuable footnotes, too, adding all sorts of tangential facts that will have you hopping on the computer to do more research. If you’re interested in animals, then you’ll love this read. - Andrew S.
Mary Roach put a lot of work into this book and it’s full of fascinating and easy to read wildlife biology. She investigated how people all over the globe react to conflicts with wildlife: from bears in the streets of Aspen, to the elephants and monkeys in India, and even the gulls who disturb the Pope’s flowers in the Vatican. We often respond hastily with lethal measures to a perceived danger or nuisance, but Roach shows us how many people are exploring other ways that don’t involve suffering or death. This book may appeal to you more if you don’t mind a small dose of animal activism, but even if that’s not the case (and most of the people interviewed for Fuzz, including researchers, biologists, and wildlife officers, who all love wildlife but are often more interested in hunting than activism), you will still enjoy the outstanding analysis of how the human-wildlife dynamic plays a role in our everyday lives.
Some of the most interesting sections discuss how humans attempt to manipulate animal populations through poisoning, trapping, and even genetic engineering aimed at eliminating entire populations. She also questions the logic of how we select species to rally behind, and suggests that it’s often based on emotional reasons, what she calls “charismatic megafauna,� where the large and beautiful species, like mountain lions, get the attention of humans for reasons unrelated to conservation or ideas of equity.
Fuzz has a casual and humorous tone, and the jokes keep coming, which makes it easy reading despite all the excellent science. There are many valuable footnotes, too, adding all sorts of tangential facts that will have you hopping on the computer to do more research. If you’re interested in animals, then you’ll love this read. - Andrew S.
March 19, 2025
Just a brief review here. I like Mary Roach. Her investigations are both entertaining and informative. I never know where she is going with something. In this one, she looks into human-Nature conflicts around the globe, traveling from the Himalayas to Vatican City and around the USA as well. Bears, monkeys, penguins, rats, seagulls and many more are covered as well as the killer trees that endanger us all. And don't forget the "terror beans."
My goal is to read all of her books.
My goal is to read all of her books.
December 24, 2021
I am interested in, sometimes fascinated by, science but not to point where I often read science books. though has the ability to make her subjects something I want to read. Entertaining and humor while informing and educational. The subject in this book is about humans and animals coexistencing in our ever smaller world.
This book is actually several long essays taking place in the United States and around the world. Some encounters are with larger animals such as bears, leopards, and elephants. Others are pests, rodents, such as rats and mice. Birds? I am not sure where they fit in but remember the Alfred Hitchcock movie? Anyone living in or visiting a coastal area knows about seagulls. Then there are other surprisng subjects. Trees? Legumes?
Another thing I learned having read this book is the number of different government agencies there are dealing with this. Actually I probably don't know the total number. Lets just say that there are a lot and it is not just the United States. And of course when it comes to the government you have to have acronyms. And those agencies hire employees who have jobs that I never heard of. Just try to keep track of that!
An interesting read on how we deal with living with animals that we share this planet with. What is the answer? Having read this book it appears that there is no single or simple answer.
This book is actually several long essays taking place in the United States and around the world. Some encounters are with larger animals such as bears, leopards, and elephants. Others are pests, rodents, such as rats and mice. Birds? I am not sure where they fit in but remember the Alfred Hitchcock movie? Anyone living in or visiting a coastal area knows about seagulls. Then there are other surprisng subjects. Trees? Legumes?
Another thing I learned having read this book is the number of different government agencies there are dealing with this. Actually I probably don't know the total number. Lets just say that there are a lot and it is not just the United States. And of course when it comes to the government you have to have acronyms. And those agencies hire employees who have jobs that I never heard of. Just try to keep track of that!
An interesting read on how we deal with living with animals that we share this planet with. What is the answer? Having read this book it appears that there is no single or simple answer.
November 30, 2021
When animals and humans clash, it can get funny, annoying or even lethal - for both sides. We've heard of bear attacks, we've seen videos of moose on someone's porch, birds in bird feeders or even dolphins coming up to swimmers. There are a plethora of different ways the encounters can go.
This book focuses both on dangerous events and on the encounters that lead to truly hilarious court cases (such as an Italian province taking legal action against caterpillars). Thus, the author shows the intersection of human and wildlife habitation and is detailing what she learned from animal-attack classes, special animal forensic teams and her extensive travels around the world to sites of often bizarre problems (the MRE-stealing bears or the Pope and the gulls were the least of it *lol*).
Personally, I love animals. In most cases, more than humans. We trespass on their territory and have the brains to make it work so we should do just that instead of being bullies.
One example: areas in my country where there are raccoons. Many say we should kill them all since they aren’t native to Germany anyway. While the latter is true, the raccoons also didn’t ask to be brought here, that was us.
Another example: If a marten bites through some cables of your car, don’t kill the animals, there are excellent (and not overly expensive) fixtures for the underside of any car where they can no longer get through.
One last example from around here: wolves. Yes, we finally have them back in Germany, but instead of being glad, more and more farmers get not just "outspoken" but downright violent about the "menace". And I really don’t get it because in the really rare cases (proven by statistics) where a wolf kills a farmer's animal (sheep for example), the state reimburses the farmer by giving them the money needed for a new lamb (or whatever animal the wolf had killed) so where is the farmer’s loss? They would have butchered the sheep or whatever anyway so it can’t be an emotional thing. This is nature and if you invest in guard dogs and / or fences, the problem is well under control (also proven statistically). But nooo, people have started poisoning wolves along with eagles!!!
A not so personal example: when elephants trample all over your fields either when searching for food or when migrating, don’t shoot them but instead fix balloons with pepper around your fields and the animals� sensitive noses will guide them around. It won’t always work, but it was an excellent start in some African provinces. (It’s still hard to believe that the Bengal elephants are more of a problem in some provinces than any leopard.)
IT'S SCIENCE, PEOPLE. Be frustrated if you have to, but learn to live with animals already!
Which brings me to what I love so much about Mary Roach's books: it’s that they are full of information and scientific discoveries, but all presented not only in a very approachable but downright hilarious way. I mean, enough about life IS funny and it's time someone made us see that. This book was exactly that way as well. She has a wonderful way that makes you feel as if you had a conversation with her somewhere in a pub or whatever, with her making you laugh over and over again while teaching you new stuff.
I also love the conclusion (to which I have come a while ago but it was nice to see it on paper) that the animals are usually not at fault. It's us humans. That plus our ingenuity are also most often the solution to any conflict - if only we resolve to wanting to co-exist with the animals instead of just being "the dominant species". Though the CRISPR is still creepy if you ask me. I guess I’ve seen Jurassic Park too often. ;P
A wonderful book that makes an important case for conservation.
P.S.: House finches qualify as a pest but that priest the author talked to and his arrogant views doesn't?! Sheesh!
P.P.S.: Funny, how the author talked about rats. We have one coming to the garden every now and again to eat bird food (the sparrows often drop stuff onto the ground, the rat basically cleans the grass). Certain people wanted to grab the poison immediately but I stepped in. It's the garden and the rat doesn't even nest there so where is the fucking harm? Rats just get a bad rep.
This book focuses both on dangerous events and on the encounters that lead to truly hilarious court cases (such as an Italian province taking legal action against caterpillars). Thus, the author shows the intersection of human and wildlife habitation and is detailing what she learned from animal-attack classes, special animal forensic teams and her extensive travels around the world to sites of often bizarre problems (the MRE-stealing bears or the Pope and the gulls were the least of it *lol*).
Personally, I love animals. In most cases, more than humans. We trespass on their territory and have the brains to make it work so we should do just that instead of being bullies.
One example: areas in my country where there are raccoons. Many say we should kill them all since they aren’t native to Germany anyway. While the latter is true, the raccoons also didn’t ask to be brought here, that was us.
Another example: If a marten bites through some cables of your car, don’t kill the animals, there are excellent (and not overly expensive) fixtures for the underside of any car where they can no longer get through.
One last example from around here: wolves. Yes, we finally have them back in Germany, but instead of being glad, more and more farmers get not just "outspoken" but downright violent about the "menace". And I really don’t get it because in the really rare cases (proven by statistics) where a wolf kills a farmer's animal (sheep for example), the state reimburses the farmer by giving them the money needed for a new lamb (or whatever animal the wolf had killed) so where is the farmer’s loss? They would have butchered the sheep or whatever anyway so it can’t be an emotional thing. This is nature and if you invest in guard dogs and / or fences, the problem is well under control (also proven statistically). But nooo, people have started poisoning wolves along with eagles!!!
A not so personal example: when elephants trample all over your fields either when searching for food or when migrating, don’t shoot them but instead fix balloons with pepper around your fields and the animals� sensitive noses will guide them around. It won’t always work, but it was an excellent start in some African provinces. (It’s still hard to believe that the Bengal elephants are more of a problem in some provinces than any leopard.)
IT'S SCIENCE, PEOPLE. Be frustrated if you have to, but learn to live with animals already!
Which brings me to what I love so much about Mary Roach's books: it’s that they are full of information and scientific discoveries, but all presented not only in a very approachable but downright hilarious way. I mean, enough about life IS funny and it's time someone made us see that. This book was exactly that way as well. She has a wonderful way that makes you feel as if you had a conversation with her somewhere in a pub or whatever, with her making you laugh over and over again while teaching you new stuff.
I also love the conclusion (to which I have come a while ago but it was nice to see it on paper) that the animals are usually not at fault. It's us humans. That plus our ingenuity are also most often the solution to any conflict - if only we resolve to wanting to co-exist with the animals instead of just being "the dominant species". Though the CRISPR is still creepy if you ask me. I guess I’ve seen Jurassic Park too often. ;P
A wonderful book that makes an important case for conservation.
P.S.: House finches qualify as a pest but that priest the author talked to and his arrogant views doesn't?! Sheesh!
P.P.S.: Funny, how the author talked about rats. We have one coming to the garden every now and again to eat bird food (the sparrows often drop stuff onto the ground, the rat basically cleans the grass). Certain people wanted to grab the poison immediately but I stepped in. It's the garden and the rat doesn't even nest there so where is the fucking harm? Rats just get a bad rep.
November 30, 2021
Mary Roach has been well-known for giving a zinger-twist on non-fiction topics for years, and this book is no different.
Let's frame a whole bunch of nature events in terms of how it pisses off us, Homo Sapiens, and put a spotlight on how to deal with those troublesome pests.
All told, it was fun, sometimes gruesome (bears), annoying and deadly (monkeys in cities), annoying and annoying (gulls), and all the possible solutions we've come up with to deal with these, and more. Birds, in particular, are a real menace -- and trying to figure out ways to scare them off or relocate them can sometimes be a real nightmare. Some, however, require some nightmares in order to scare them off. A particularly interesting example is strewing corpse effigies in a gruesome tableau where crows gather.
I suppose I'd be slightly off-put if I found someone hung upside-down with their organs hanging out, outside of my residence. Funnily enough, appealing to the head-on-spike method seems to work with a lot of different species. Who'd have thunk? ;)
A lot of valuable information, entertainingly presented. Well worth the read.
Let's frame a whole bunch of nature events in terms of how it pisses off us, Homo Sapiens, and put a spotlight on how to deal with those troublesome pests.
All told, it was fun, sometimes gruesome (bears), annoying and deadly (monkeys in cities), annoying and annoying (gulls), and all the possible solutions we've come up with to deal with these, and more. Birds, in particular, are a real menace -- and trying to figure out ways to scare them off or relocate them can sometimes be a real nightmare. Some, however, require some nightmares in order to scare them off. A particularly interesting example is strewing corpse effigies in a gruesome tableau where crows gather.
I suppose I'd be slightly off-put if I found someone hung upside-down with their organs hanging out, outside of my residence. Funnily enough, appealing to the head-on-spike method seems to work with a lot of different species. Who'd have thunk? ;)
A lot of valuable information, entertainingly presented. Well worth the read.
January 22, 2022
It's enough of a recommendation to say a book is written by Mary Roach. If you've read Stiff, Spook, Bonk, Packing for Mars, Gulp, or Grunt (or like me, all of the above), you'll know any topic is worth the price of admission. Roach is at her characteristic best with persistent, probing questions, hilarious descriptions of the people she interacts with, witty wordplay and callbacks, laugh-out-loud footnotes, and a multitude of entertaining answers to questions you never thought to ask.
In Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, Roach explores our fraught relationship with nature, especially when it reasserts itself in places we've tried to keep it at bay. She talks to the people who manage wildlife in mountain communities as well as at camping and hiking sites, and what causes bears or mountain lions (as a Santa Cruz native, I want to say cougars) - but rarely wolves - to attack humans. She travels to India to hear first-hand stories about elephants who kill people (or scarf down 26,000 rupees because they're high in fiber) and macaques who cause endless consternation for a populace that wants them gone, but won't stand for them to be harmed. There's a foray into the science of counting animals you can't see, but can infer from tracks and... scat. There's a LOT about trying to control bird and rodent populations, and the hard-won knowledge that populations tend to bounce back no matter how much you bomb, shoot, poison, club or scare them. There's a hilarious stop at the Vatican to see how God's chosen messenger deals with pestilence. We also look to the future, and the lasers, traps and genetic modification that may try to stave off tomorrow's "pests". It's not all animals, either: there's a look at "danger trees" that can topple many years after they die, as well as various plant-derived toxins (e.g. ricin and abrin).
As I'm writing this, it's occurring to me that one common pest Roach doesn't talk about is... roaches. Huh. Well, what is included is fun and surprising information that will make you the life of every party.
Bonus: The hardcover comes with a sew-on patch to match the emblem on the cover. Pretty cool!
In Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, Roach explores our fraught relationship with nature, especially when it reasserts itself in places we've tried to keep it at bay. She talks to the people who manage wildlife in mountain communities as well as at camping and hiking sites, and what causes bears or mountain lions (as a Santa Cruz native, I want to say cougars) - but rarely wolves - to attack humans. She travels to India to hear first-hand stories about elephants who kill people (or scarf down 26,000 rupees because they're high in fiber) and macaques who cause endless consternation for a populace that wants them gone, but won't stand for them to be harmed. There's a foray into the science of counting animals you can't see, but can infer from tracks and... scat. There's a LOT about trying to control bird and rodent populations, and the hard-won knowledge that populations tend to bounce back no matter how much you bomb, shoot, poison, club or scare them. There's a hilarious stop at the Vatican to see how God's chosen messenger deals with pestilence. We also look to the future, and the lasers, traps and genetic modification that may try to stave off tomorrow's "pests". It's not all animals, either: there's a look at "danger trees" that can topple many years after they die, as well as various plant-derived toxins (e.g. ricin and abrin).
As I'm writing this, it's occurring to me that one common pest Roach doesn't talk about is... roaches. Huh. Well, what is included is fun and surprising information that will make you the life of every party.
Bonus: The hardcover comes with a sew-on patch to match the emblem on the cover. Pretty cool!
October 8, 2021
It's been awhile since I've read a Mary Roach book, and I definitely missed it! Fuzz lived up to the science and the hype in every way. Covering a wealth of animal-human conflicts, the author offers a broad amount of information in fascinating detail, and one mustn't skip the footnotes, which are just as full of humor as they are history and science.
From bears, coyotes, and mountain lions to tigers and macaques to albatross and mice - even trees! -Fuzz covers quite a lofty amount of animal-human conflicts. Roach discusses what the issues are, what's been tried, what happens now, and what the impact is, which is the question at the crux of the book. Who's really at conflict with who? Who's to say our needs are more important? What is a sentient being? Fuzz is a book about ethics, and their evolution as much as ours.
I learned so much from this book and laughed out loud often too. Ultimately, Roach's book is a modern discussion of overpopulation and conservation, examining research and processes from around the world. The simple fact is as humans require more space to live in, we should expect more animals to enter that space. If we make their lives more difficult, or their territory smaller, they will encroach into our spaces more. Quite often, we are the ones teaching them bad habits.
-Jess
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From bears, coyotes, and mountain lions to tigers and macaques to albatross and mice - even trees! -Fuzz covers quite a lofty amount of animal-human conflicts. Roach discusses what the issues are, what's been tried, what happens now, and what the impact is, which is the question at the crux of the book. Who's really at conflict with who? Who's to say our needs are more important? What is a sentient being? Fuzz is a book about ethics, and their evolution as much as ours.
I learned so much from this book and laughed out loud often too. Ultimately, Roach's book is a modern discussion of overpopulation and conservation, examining research and processes from around the world. The simple fact is as humans require more space to live in, we should expect more animals to enter that space. If we make their lives more difficult, or their territory smaller, they will encroach into our spaces more. Quite often, we are the ones teaching them bad habits.
-Jess
Find this book and other titles within .
May 14, 2022
I guess the title is a bit misleading because this book is more about a human-wildlife conflict and there is not much of a law involved. Maybe except this small, hilarious part at the beginning of the book that mentions the cases where animals were literally charged, prosecuted and sentenced.
So what this book is about? Mainly about how humans are dealing with animals that are not behaving the way we would want them to - deers freezing in the headlights of incoming cars, bears breaking into the houses to raid fridges, monkeys stealing everything they can, birds eating crops. There is also a really intriguing chapter about poisonous plants and one about the dead trees falling over and killing people. Everything is sprinkled with authors signature humor which I personally find very amusing. I adore fragments where ms Roach dives into an old and obscure research, goes through the libraries of books or shows me the depths of Internet I didn't even know existed. I don't really care about the parts where she interviews or meets someone as I find them pretty unfocused.
Overall its a great pop-science book that skillfully entertains and provides you with somewhat useless knowledge.
So what this book is about? Mainly about how humans are dealing with animals that are not behaving the way we would want them to - deers freezing in the headlights of incoming cars, bears breaking into the houses to raid fridges, monkeys stealing everything they can, birds eating crops. There is also a really intriguing chapter about poisonous plants and one about the dead trees falling over and killing people. Everything is sprinkled with authors signature humor which I personally find very amusing. I adore fragments where ms Roach dives into an old and obscure research, goes through the libraries of books or shows me the depths of Internet I didn't even know existed. I don't really care about the parts where she interviews or meets someone as I find them pretty unfocused.
Overall its a great pop-science book that skillfully entertains and provides you with somewhat useless knowledge.
May 1, 2022
Was a bit unsure how I would enjoy her writing style in this one as I had had a bit of a mixed bag with her nonfiction so far. But I liked it quite a lot. It was a fun subject to explore and not something I've thought about much before
January 5, 2022
I was so happy when Mary Roach announced this book, because I have been missing her writing. I never read her last book, even though I tried and couldn't get more than ten minutes in before waving the white flag, because reading about warfare and war and its consequences is something that I found actively unpleasant. And this book sounded so silly! And it's about animals. I fucking love animals! Even the ones most people dislike, like rats and spiders and snakes. I anticipated laughter and cuteness and lots of stupid human animal conflict.
Well, there was some of that for sure! I did laugh at various points in this book, because you just can't keep Mary Roach down. But what this mostly ended up being was a tragic tale of what happens to animals when people move into their natural habitats and start fucking shit up. Badness for both the people and the animals, usually. Apparently, for instance, the entire island of New Zealand is currently attempting to eradicate all invasive species from the island so the natural fauna and flora can bounce back from, in some cases, pre-extinction levels (this includes one of the world's dumbest animals, the kakapo), but also the kiwi! And the yellow-eyed penguin. They want to do this by the year 2050. This is good news for the the native animals and plants. This is bad news for the thousands and thousands and thousands of rabbits, stoats, and feral cats who will have to be killed to make it happen.
The book is full of emotionally contradicting stories like that, because this is a surprisingly tough subject. Like, bears breaking into your house (your! locked! house!), unequivocally a bad thing. But, do the bears deserve to die for this? Particularly as more and more people insist on building their house in the bears' territories, impinging on their food supplies? (FYI, there is one city in the US whose name I can't remember right now who has a pair of women employees whose only job is to enforce bear safety measures like locking dumpsters properly or they will fine you. The city calls them "bear bitches.") And what happens when religion and animal conflicts interact, as in India, with the unbelievable pests the macaques, who mug you and ransom your goods back to you for food, or who invade your house and raid your refrigerator. One man shares the story of how he woke up one day with a macaque on his chest.
This whole book was super interesting, and extremely thought provoking in a way that all the previous books I've read from her have not been. They've dealt with some serious subjects, but not had overarching serious points, if that makes sense. Here there is definitely one. Devising humane solutions for human/animal conflicts takes effort, resources, time, and a willingness to think outside the box. Roach seems hopeful in the end that we can get there if we want to.
The subject matter was a little too depressing for five stars, sadly. I didn't anticipate the tragedy of what she was researching here. (You must be able to stomach talk of animals dying and being killed.) It's still amusing (so much talk of animal poo!), but it's also sad and frustrating. If you want a truly funny and sciencey book from Roach, try Packing For Mars.
Well, there was some of that for sure! I did laugh at various points in this book, because you just can't keep Mary Roach down. But what this mostly ended up being was a tragic tale of what happens to animals when people move into their natural habitats and start fucking shit up. Badness for both the people and the animals, usually. Apparently, for instance, the entire island of New Zealand is currently attempting to eradicate all invasive species from the island so the natural fauna and flora can bounce back from, in some cases, pre-extinction levels (this includes one of the world's dumbest animals, the kakapo), but also the kiwi! And the yellow-eyed penguin. They want to do this by the year 2050. This is good news for the the native animals and plants. This is bad news for the thousands and thousands and thousands of rabbits, stoats, and feral cats who will have to be killed to make it happen.
The book is full of emotionally contradicting stories like that, because this is a surprisingly tough subject. Like, bears breaking into your house (your! locked! house!), unequivocally a bad thing. But, do the bears deserve to die for this? Particularly as more and more people insist on building their house in the bears' territories, impinging on their food supplies? (FYI, there is one city in the US whose name I can't remember right now who has a pair of women employees whose only job is to enforce bear safety measures like locking dumpsters properly or they will fine you. The city calls them "bear bitches.") And what happens when religion and animal conflicts interact, as in India, with the unbelievable pests the macaques, who mug you and ransom your goods back to you for food, or who invade your house and raid your refrigerator. One man shares the story of how he woke up one day with a macaque on his chest.
This whole book was super interesting, and extremely thought provoking in a way that all the previous books I've read from her have not been. They've dealt with some serious subjects, but not had overarching serious points, if that makes sense. Here there is definitely one. Devising humane solutions for human/animal conflicts takes effort, resources, time, and a willingness to think outside the box. Roach seems hopeful in the end that we can get there if we want to.
The subject matter was a little too depressing for five stars, sadly. I didn't anticipate the tragedy of what she was researching here. (You must be able to stomach talk of animals dying and being killed.) It's still amusing (so much talk of animal poo!), but it's also sad and frustrating. If you want a truly funny and sciencey book from Roach, try Packing For Mars.
March 29, 2022
Really good, as usual. There was a lot of good information about topics I never would have thought about otherwise & I've dealt with animals all my life. Of course, I haven't lived in India with their monkey or leopards, but I hadn't even considered tracking pests forensically. I know invasive species can be a problem, but the issues New Zealand faces are really difficult. There were a lot of other fun, interesting, & exciting issues all told with her typical good humor.
The holes in our scientific knowledge of animals is incredible & so is science's blindness to some of the best sources. I'm constantly amazed when a study finds out things about animals that I thought everyone knew such as their differences in intelligence & personality, but I grew up with them. They're just different people to me. (In another book I'm reading, says her first teacher was her dog, Rusty.)
Toward the end, she got pretty lopsided toward animal welfare. I'm all for traps that kill quickly & I'm not a fan of poison or glue traps, but there were some numbers about the number of dogs killed by poison put out for coyotes without balancing numbers such as the number of baits, the number of coyotes estimated to be killed, or if it helped. (I'm pretty sure it didn't.)
She really painted a poor half picture when dealing with genetically changing animals & releasing them into the wild to bring down or eradicate populations of animals that are causing problems. Her mention of mosquitoes was really incomplete & misleading, but I really objected to:
“I think the concern is that the technology and the ability of people to experiment with it is moving way too fast, and the only way you’re going to slow it down is to shut it down completely,� is attributed to through another scientist & Roach seems to agree. Regulate, sure. Shut down completely because you lump many methods under one umbrella of ignorance - absolutely not. It can't be done, anyway.
Overall, I liked the book. It was perfect reading while waiting for doctors since the chapters were fairly short & engaging. I definitely recommend reading it as I do all of her books.
The holes in our scientific knowledge of animals is incredible & so is science's blindness to some of the best sources. I'm constantly amazed when a study finds out things about animals that I thought everyone knew such as their differences in intelligence & personality, but I grew up with them. They're just different people to me. (In another book I'm reading, says her first teacher was her dog, Rusty.)
Toward the end, she got pretty lopsided toward animal welfare. I'm all for traps that kill quickly & I'm not a fan of poison or glue traps, but there were some numbers about the number of dogs killed by poison put out for coyotes without balancing numbers such as the number of baits, the number of coyotes estimated to be killed, or if it helped. (I'm pretty sure it didn't.)
She really painted a poor half picture when dealing with genetically changing animals & releasing them into the wild to bring down or eradicate populations of animals that are causing problems. Her mention of mosquitoes was really incomplete & misleading, but I really objected to:
“I think the concern is that the technology and the ability of people to experiment with it is moving way too fast, and the only way you’re going to slow it down is to shut it down completely,� is attributed to through another scientist & Roach seems to agree. Regulate, sure. Shut down completely because you lump many methods under one umbrella of ignorance - absolutely not. It can't be done, anyway.
Overall, I liked the book. It was perfect reading while waiting for doctors since the chapters were fairly short & engaging. I definitely recommend reading it as I do all of her books.
September 14, 2021
Weird and wonderful stories about nature!
Review to follow.
Review to follow.
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