{"product_id":"pests-how-humans-create-animal-villains","title":"Pests : How Humans Create Animal Villains","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals 'pests' and not others, from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons, and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A pigeon on the street.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHumans have spent so much of our history drawing a hard line between human spaces and wild places. When animals pop up where we don't expect or want them, we respond with fear, rage, or simple annoyance. It's no longer an animal. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt's a pest. At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, \u003cem\u003ePests\u003c\/em\u003e is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt's not a natural history of the animals we hate. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eInstead, this book is about us. It's about what calling an animal a pest says about people, how we live, and what we want. It's a story about human nature, and how we categorize the animals in our midst, including bears and coyotes, sparrows and snakes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePet or pest? In many cases, it's entirely a question of perspective. Bethany Brookshire's deeply researched and entirely entertaining book will show readers what there is to venerate in vermin, and help them appreciate how these animals have clawed their way to success as we did everything we could to ensure their failure. In the process, we will learn how the pests that annoy us tell us far more about humanity than they do about the animals themselves.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bethany Brookshire","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44440162140417,"sku":"9780063097261","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/8600\/8738\/files\/websitecovertemplate-637.png?v=1707306378","url":"https:\/\/rarebirdsbooks.live\/products\/pests-how-humans-create-animal-villains","provider":"Rare Birds Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}