Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere Near as Good as "The Song of the Dodo"
Review: If you've read "The Song of the Dodo", you'll most likely be disappointed by David Quammen's most recent book. "Monster of God" is a fair effort but it fails to blend as many interesting elements into its narrative as his former award-winning book and, considering the subject matter, is surprisingly dull. Perhaps Quammen played down the topic to keep his book from being another piece of "predator porn." If that was his intent, he was too successful. The book's very flatness runs counter to one of Quammen's themes: that these flesh-eating beasts send a primordial chill through the blood of men."Monster of God" is primarily about four predators: the Asian lion of Gir, the saltwater crocodile of Australia and India, the Romanian brown bear, and the Amur tiger. Quammen travels to each place to see first-hand the interaction between man and these fierce beasts and to try and understand if there is any future for these mega-predators. He gives almost equal time to the men and women who live alongside these animals, and presents a sympathetic view of the threat some of these people must live with. But, too often, the book works at cross-purposes. Despite the fear-inspiring title, the occasional tales of woe from villagers who knew relatives of friends killed or attacked by the beasts, and the search through classical literature and cave art for man's impulse to fear these creatures, when the predators finally make their entrance in the book, they don't seem the slightest bit fearsome. The Asian lion, apparently, is only a serious threat to kill men after a drought has killed his usual prey. The Amur tiger is far more likely to kill dogs than men, and is rarely seen even by very experienced guides. The brown bear of Romania is an occasional threat to livestock, but there are almost no incidents of it attacking men. Only the saltwater crocodile seems a constant threat to those living in its territory. Even Quammen's tales of the men and women who must live in close proximity with these creatures seem mostly ambivalent toward the danger. In short, where is the so-called *monster* of God? The book also fails to provide a coherent framework for what is obviously a pressing question: what can be done to save these fascinating creatures? Quammen looks at the commercialization of saltwater crocodiles in Australia (and the lack thereof in India), the preservation of the brown bear in Romania and the Asian lion in India, and the faltering efforts to save the Amur tiger, but he never attempts to put it together in a way that the reader might glean some solution to the problem. He grudgingly admits that the kind of commercialization Australia practices with the saltwater crocodile might work in some situations, but seems against it for aesthetic reasons. He sees that Communism worked for the preservation of both Romanian brown bear and the Amur tiger, but obviously bringing back Communism is no answer. And he appreciates the role luck played for the Asian lion by providing a final sanctuary for it at Gir that humans found unsuitable for agriculture. But where does it all lead? Quammen obviously can't provide answers he doesn't know, but he appears unable to seriously engage the question in a fruitful search. Instead, he seems resigned to what he believes is the animals' final fate: extinction. It may also be that Quammen simply chose too few case studies to come up with anything worthwhile. Whereas in "The Song of the Dodo", he traveled to numerous islands and seemed to work harder to present a wide variety of lessons from them, here he limits himself to four cases that don't seem to provide much beyond the fact that man has a hard time living with large predators. Consequently, I finished the book knowing a few more interesting details about rare lions, tigers, bears, and crocs, but little else.
Rating: 
Summary: Conservation of Animals that can Kill and Eat You
Review: One of the major deficiencies in planning for the conservation of animals is that often the difficulties of local humans are not recognized. It is quite easy to sit in a comfortable office and decree that this organism or that organism be protected, without examining the consequences to the often-poor inhabitants of the land where the said organism lives. This is especially true when the organism is at least an occasional predator of Homo sapiens. In "Monster of God" David Quammen has examined the consequences of the conservation policy for both the target predators and the humans inhabiting the same territory. It is not a totally pretty story, with both animal and local human often on the short end of the stick. Quammen does not romanticize the predators, but he does make us aware of their importance in the ecosystem as well as the difficulties of the local peoples who have to live with them. Sometimes an accommodation can be worked out and sometimes it is on very shaky ground. It is always a complex interplay between predator and human. Indeed, predators cannot be either over romanticized or demonized if we are to save and stabilize the populations of these magnificent, yet dangerous, animals. Their loss would be regrettable, but their conservation must include adequate respect for the difficulties of people living with a dangerous predator nearby. Yes, despite some nonsense written in the last century, crocodiles will eat people if given the chance. Lions, tigers and bears can and will also eat humans under the right circumstances. The recent death of two grizzly bear activists by the claws of their "gentle" subjects should provide a cautionary tale. These are not totally benign life forms- some sort of living stuffed toy- but neither are they evil. Quammen's discussion of mythic monsters adds some historical background to the uneasy relationship between man and predator. That humans have a history of fearing the beast beyond the fire and of interpreting fossil skulls wrongly in this light is not surprising. However, Quammen does doubt the existence of a primordial ancestral fear gained from our precursors on the African veldt. Certainly one should avoid man-eating and ultimately frightening creatures. But does that then give us leave to utterly destroy them? Unless we are able to develop a compromise between the needs of people and the animals involved we may very well see the end of large predators. The complexities of this problem has been well stated by David Quammen. He has written an eye-opening book that should be read by everybody interested in the conservation of these remarkable and frightening animals.
Rating:
Summary: Conservation of Animals that can Kill and Eat You
Review: One of the major deficiencies in planning for the conservation of animals is that often the difficulties of local humans are not recognized. It is quite easy to sit in a comfortable office and decree that this organism or that organism be protected, without examining the consequences to the often-poor inhabitants of the land where the said organism lives. This is especially true when the organism is at least an occasional predator of Homo sapiens. In "Monster of God" David Quammen has examined the consequences of the conservation policy for both the target predators and the humans inhabiting the same territory. It is not a totally pretty story, with both animal and local human often on the short end of the stick. Quammen does not romanticize the predators, but he does make us aware of their importance in the ecosystem as well as the difficulties of the local peoples who have to live with them. Sometimes an accommodation can be worked out and sometimes it is on very shaky ground. It is always a complex interplay between predator and human. Indeed, predators cannot be either over romanticized or demonized if we are to save and stabilize the populations of these magnificent, yet dangerous, animals. Their loss would be regrettable, but their conservation must include adequate respect for the difficulties of people living with a dangerous predator nearby. Yes, despite some nonsense written in the last century, crocodiles will eat people if given the chance. Lions, tigers and bears can and will also eat humans under the right circumstances. The recent death of two grizzly bear activists by the claws of their "gentle" subjects should provide a cautionary tale. These are not totally benign life forms- some sort of living stuffed toy- but neither are they evil. Quammen's discussion of mythic monsters adds some historical background to the uneasy relationship between man and predator. That humans have a history of fearing the beast beyond the fire and of interpreting fossil skulls wrongly in this light is not surprising. However, Quammen does doubt the existence of a primordial ancestral fear gained from our precursors on the African veldt. Certainly one should avoid man-eating and ultimately frightening creatures. But does that then give us leave to utterly destroy them? Unless we are able to develop a compromise between the needs of people and the animals involved we may very well see the end of large predators. The complexities of this problem has been well stated by David Quammen. He has written an eye-opening book that should be read by everybody interested in the conservation of these remarkable and frightening animals.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Scary Animals
Review: Read this book if 1) You are interested in animals; 2) You are interested in exotic locales and different cultures; and 3) You have a tough stomach.
"Monster of God" is a fascinating look at dangerous "man-eating" animals throughout the world and how they interact with man. It is also a travelogue written by a man obviously interested in detail, history, culture, and the inner-workings of the human mind.
Lions in India, crocoldiles in Australia, brown bears in Romania, and Siberian Tigers in Siberia are the main animals discussed in the book. I thought, however, the most interesting part was the biography of the Romanian dictator, who killed so many bears for sport. The bears are also the least scary of the predators described (you feel more sorry for them than threatened by them).
This book is loaded with information (sometimes it can get overwelming), and the overall read is fascinating -- including every little gory detail. Probably the most intriguing moment of the entire book is the description of a crocodile attack, as related by a survivor. It gave me chills. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
The main message of "Monster of God" is that even though we fear them and they can kill us, these animals -- all animals, actually -- are important to this world we share. If we are not careful, they will disappear -- and we will have lost so much because of it.
Rating:
Summary: Without these monsters, what will happen to life?
Review: Taking the reader on a voyage across the globe, David Quammen tries to distill the essence of man-eating predators down to something that people across the world can appreciate before it is too late. Quammen focuses on four distinct predators: the asiatic lions of the Gir forest in India, the crocodiles of the Arnhem Land Reserve in Northen Australia, the brown bears of the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, and the tigers of the Sikhote-Alin range in the Russian Far East. It is the predators, people and their interactions that make up most of the book. Sort of a travel narrative that focuses on the people and wildlife. The rest of the book contains Quammen's ruminations on the predator in human culture and literature (Beowulf, Gilgamesh, the Bible, the Alien movies, etc...). Throughout the book, the reader gets the feeling that things are not going well for the predators and Quammen focuses on that at the end of the book. Predators are slowing going extinct, and due to their nature as "keystone species" (species whose small populations control the populations of other animals and fauna in their respective regions) could have an adverse effect on life across the world if they do disappear. All around, this is a great book. Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Living with Lions
Review: This book is amazing. As in it's predecessor, The Song of the Dodo, David Quammen acheives an amazing feat by combining science, travel stories, literature, history, and philosophy (and a sprinkling of pop culture) into a compelling discussion of the fate of what he calls "alpha predators" in this modern world. Quammen traveled to India to visit people living among lions (yes, lions), Australia to visit people living among crocodiles, Romania to visit people living with brown bears (who knew?), and the Russian Far East to visit people living with tigers. Each of these pieces is a distinct story by itself, with its own set of characters, yet Quammen sews them all together with common concerns about predators, prey, and who pays the price of having these alpha predators around. Sensitive to traditional cultures as he is to natural ecosystems, Quammen is a great writer producing unique literature that is important for our time.
Rating:
Summary: Living with Lions
Review: This book is amazing. As in it's predecessor, The Song of the Dodo, David Quammen acheives an amazing feat by combining science, travel stories, literature, history, and philosophy (and a sprinkling of pop culture) into a compelling discussion of the fate of what he calls "alpha predators" in this modern world. Quammen traveled to India to visit people living among lions (yes, lions), Australia to visit people living among crocodiles, Romania to visit people living with brown bears (who knew?), and the Russian Far East to visit people living with tigers. Each of these pieces is a distinct story by itself, with its own set of characters, yet Quammen sews them all together with common concerns about predators, prey, and who pays the price of having these alpha predators around. Sensitive to traditional cultures as he is to natural ecosystems, Quammen is a great writer producing unique literature that is important for our time.
Rating:
Summary: Visit People in Remote Places ; Learn about Keystone Species
Review: This was a difficult book to get into but it does prove to be very interesting. The food chain and where we fit into it and why is difficult reading at times.
The book has lot of material about places and people where man-eating predators live. The value of all species, even the man-eater, is examined. The explanation of the role of Keystone species is thorough and backed with scientific evidence. There is excellent technical material with interesting background history throughout the book.
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