Helen Pilcher writes with wit and clarity about life on Earth. This is a very good book, as was her previous book Bring Back the King (reviewed here). I think this one slightly has the edge but I’m glad to have both on my bookshelves and embedded in my thoughts.
When I say that she writes with wit, I mean that in both senses of the word as Pilcher has keen intelligence but also the ability to make one smile while getting the point across; the factually true and interesting point across. And the clarity of the writing is admirable when dealing with genetics and complicated bits of genetics. It is only those who truly understand who can help others to understand truly and Pilcher does this very well.
All a bit gushing of me? No, I don’t think so. This book is full of good stories, but stories that have a point in explaining genetic changes in life on Earth that are the result of deliberate or accidental human interventions. And some of these changes are good and some not so good, but all are important and all are interesting.
Domestication, selective breeding and genetic manipulation are all in here but addressed in very enlightening ways. Brine shrimps, wolves, Knepp, factory farms, pizzlies and coral reefs all are woven into the book.
I recommend this book as a good read, a thought-provoking read and a read that will now and again bring a smile to your lips.
This book is short-listed for the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation and would be a worthy winner.
Life Changing: how humans are altering life on Earth by Helen Pilcher is published by Bloomsbury.
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