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Urban Jungle

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

An eye-opening and urgent re-examination of nature in our cities, from the Sunday Times bestselling author.
Our modern-day cities might seem to represent our separation from the vitality of the natural world. Yet, as Ben Wilson reveals in this invigorating re-examination of urban landscapes across the globe, nature has always been at the heart of the city.
Moving from Los Angeles and Delhi to Singapore and Amsterdam, Wilson explores how the bond between humans and nature has oscillated throughout history, and shows that – in a time of climate crisis – a new approach to rewilding may prove to be the city’s saviour.

‘Awe-inspiring… full of wonder, warning and hope’
ISABELLA TREE, author of Wilding

‘Wilson soars like a falcon over global cities on five continents’
WASHINGTON POST
‘Novel and provocative’
THE TIMES

© Ben Wilson 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Critics Review

Teems with ideas, stories and proposals, presented with charm, eloquence and wit. It is novel and provocative… I was often left wanting more.

The Times

Awe-inspiring in its scope, Wilson’s thrilling immersion in the age-old interconnectedness of city and nature is full of wonder, warning and hope – a rallying cry for urban rewilding.

Isabella Tree, author of Wilding

Illuminating… Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking along a city’s streets.

Daily Mail

Wilson provides an array of fascinating examples of urban ecology through the ages… Written in an authoritative yet accessible style, Urban Jungle contains a range of intriguing insights.

Literary Review

Urban Jungle is a beguiling and beautifully written tapestry of history and ecology examining how cities and the natural world of plants, trees, birds, animals, and insects have co-existed, beneficially and otherwise, since time immemorial.

Country & Town House

Delightful, insightful, and easy to read. Wilson shows us that, however distant we feel from nature, we have and will always be part of it.

Arthur Kay, founder and CEO of Skyroom

Imagine if we could see our urban streets with new eyes, start to use every spare space to grow food, carbon-sequestering green, shady areas to cool and make our cities more liveable. This richly researched book shows us this is more possible than we imagine, because Nature is irrepressible and will appear in every crevice at every opportunity to remind us that we cannot live without her.

Sian Sutherland, founder of A Plastic Planet

A compelling case for bringing more nature into the city.

Tablet

Wilson soars like a falcon over global cities on five continents while leading the reader through centuries of history. Full of statistics and eye-catching examples.

Washington Post
Author Ben Wilson
Narrator John Sackville
Duration 9 hours and 30 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529901122
Format Audiobook
Publisher Random House
Genre Applied ecology, Climate change, Conservation of wildlife and habitats, History, History: specific events and topics, Settlement, urban and rural geography, Society and Social Sciences, The Earth: natural history: general interest, The environment, Urban communities
Availability AU, GB, IE

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