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Islands of Abandonment
- Life in the Post-Human Landscape
- Narrated by: Cal Flyn
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
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Islands of Abandonment
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Summary
The Sunday Times' Science and Environment Book of the Year 2021
Winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Award 2021
Shortlisted for the British Academy Book Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2021
This is a book about abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man’s lands and fortress islands—and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place.
In Chernobyl, following the nuclear disaster, only a handful of people returned to their dangerously irradiated homes. On an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild. In Detroit, once America’s fourth-largest city, entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves, looters slipping through otherwise silent neighbourhoods.
This book explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live—or survive in tiny, precarious numbers—to give us a possible glimpse of what happens when mankind’s impact on nature is forced to stop. From Tanzanian mountains to the volcanic Caribbean, the forbidden areas of France to the mining regions of Scotland, Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world—and shows how, against all odds, they offer our best opportunities for environmental recovery.
By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written world study is pinned together with profound insight and new ecological discoveries that together map an answer to the big questions: what happens after we’re gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone?
Critic reviews
"The most precious hymn to resilience...written with a beautiful attention to detail.... Wonderful." (Adam Nicolson, winner of the 2018 Wainwright Prize)
"A redemptive, celebratory pageant of a book, rich in reflection and revelation...beautifully written.... I've no doubt torrents of accolades await." (Gavin Francis, author of Island Dreams)
"Meticulous research, lyrical writing.... Ultimately it shows how nature can heal a landscape broken by human.... At a time when writing about nature can be depressing, a book that goes to the most depressing places on Earth and finds hope is a revelation." (Louise Gray, author of The Ethical Carnivore)
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What listeners say about Islands of Abandonment
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-06-23
Incredible performance!
Such an interesting listen, loved every second of it. Amazing narration, very calm and reflective.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Christina
- 11-07-23
A perfect audiobook.
I enjoyed everything about this book; the various subjects, the history, the ecological data, the social context, the illustrative descriptions. Read calmly and enjoyably.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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- Oliver De Cet
- 25-03-22
Great book, not so great narration
If you can get over the very flat performance, the book is extremely interesting and covers a lot of different ground. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 26-03-24
objective discussion
very well written and balanced view of where we are, no sensationalism a pragmatic review of the planet, the parasite and the potential for cure
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- Priya from Scotland
- 20-07-22
an intriguing and thought provoking work t
this doesn't disappoint and performed v well by the author. I learned a lot about specifics that will lead to further investigation 🔎
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- Mr
- 24-09-21
Fabulous read
Wonderful mix of taking us to far off places, thought provoking science, ethics and plenty of rays of hope
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- P. J. Morey
- 14-02-23
Compelling and eerie
This book draws you into the abandoned spaces that surround us with great detail and a haunting sense of travelling with the author on her journeys. A fascinating exploration by Cal Flyn who reads her book beautifully. This book will appeal to fans of “Underland”by Robert MacFarlane.
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- JL Levin
- 09-02-22
essential reading/listening
a raft of factual information presented as stories that are difficult to put down and are fascinating. What we are doing to our planet and how nature fights back.
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- S. Anderton
- 16-04-22
A beautiful, poetic and uplifting book
I absolutely love this book and have listened to it several times over and will continue to listen to it over & over. It is an ode to the brilliance of the natural world that provides a positive perspective on the power of the nature to recover from the atrocities of man made climate change. The writing is wonderfully descriptive and read in such a soothing & comforting tone that I want to listen to again & again. What a superb and unique gem of a book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andy
- 19-01-22
beautiful 😍
Wonderfully written, well researched and I love her voice. One of the best audiobooks I've ever heard.
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