Wild Nights: Nature Returns to the City (Hardcover)

by Anne Matthews (Author) "By two in the morning, New York is as quiet as it gets..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Central Park, New Jersey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
To the untrained eye, New York City is a concrete jungle inhabited by humans and pests. Matthews (Where the Buffalo Roam) applies a naturalist's scope to the cityscape and brings an array of newcomer urban species into focus. Coyotes hunting in abandoned lots, deer browsing the parks, herons in secluded estuaries, porpoises and sea turtles in the rivers, exotic songbirds and other previously rare animals make for fascinating city wildlife anecdotes. In recent decades, the five boroughs of New York have become a nurturing environment for beasts of every description, as they have adapted to their new surroundings. Into this evolving, unplanned zoo, the author wanders with amateur and professional ethologists. Her brisk, informative narrative brings to life both the animals under study and the humans who study them. Here we meet, among others, the banker-cum-bird specialist who spends her early mornings saving migratory birds that have become confused in the financial district's canyons. We encounter a Harvard professor, a specialist in urban open space studies, critiquing the quality of various mini-environments supposedly dedicated to leisure and reconnection. When concentrating on the animal and human city dwellers, the book soars. Unfortunately, it concludes with a thudding, apocalyptic vision. Using dire but unproven computer-generated prophecies, Matthews belies the life-affirming bulk of her book by offering a world-to-be of global warming, overpopulation and disease-ridden slums. Except for this dismal ending, the book is a fine, lively read.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
"Wild doesn't always mean natural, and urban is rarely the same as tame" is one of the toughest lessons for humans to learn, according to Matthews (Where the Buffalo Roam, LJ 6/1/92), a contributing editor at Preservation magazine. This volume explores the resurgence of nature in cities, dealing mainly with the Greater New York City area. During the late night and early morning hours, nature is making a noticeable comeback in this urban sprawl. Before sunrise, coyotes prowl the Bronx, peregrine falcons haunt the canyons of Wall Street, and wild turkeys roam Central Park. What does the future hold for these displaced species, the plants and animals that have been propelled beyond their natural ranges into habitats where they were never meant to be? Despite continual human intervention, nature makes a constant effort to reclaim what was once hers. The author ponders the future of New York and similar megacities in the year 2050 and suggests that residents may need gondolas instead of cars. This is an interesting mix of ecological, natural, and environmental history as well as social commentary. Recommended where interest warrants. Deborah Emerson, Rochester Regional Lib. Council, Fairport, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press; First Edition/First Printing edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865475601
• ISBN-13: 978-0865475601
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,527,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of walk on the wild side!, August 17, 2001

By	Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Anne Matthews has a keen wit & eye for the absurd & a strange rollicking turn of phrase that keeps you loping along, even as you gasp for a second wind.

Consider the horseshoe crab in the sandy coastal waters off New York, Delaware Bay & the Yucatan. their mad annihilation will grip your heart.

An unusual book with a unique perspective of our roaring cities with much to think about, much to chortle over & much, much about which to be regretful. The author writes much of history, urban & rural, architecture & locations, plagues & sewage, city limits & elastic boundaries. She quotes Darwin & Whitman, mayors & statisticians & the quiet, unassuming rescuers of the lost, beaten & bruised city wildlife.

Consider the billions of migrating birds that rush over North America twice a year, seeking breeding grounds & winter homes ... you can stand on Wall Street in the wee hours & listen to the migrants calling, faint & high, as they stream above the sleeping city.

Very, very well done - you should give yourself a treat & buy this one for your city nights will never be the same after you've spent a few hours with Anne Matthews on her walkabouts during her Wild Nights.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read, July 3, 2001

By A Customer

This is very rewarding nonfiction...it makes you laugh AND think. The writing is excellent: fact made poetry. Having sources at the end seems OK...especially since this is a book that gets better and better (though considerably darker) as it proceeds. The stories about animals in the city are charming, but what stays with you are the long-term implications of nature's return to our overconfident world.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you care about the world your children inherit..., June 10, 2001

By A Customer

People who may dislike this book, but should read it anyway:

Real-estate developers. Self-satisfied urbanites, suburbanites, and exurbanites. Anyone who doesn't believe in global warming. Anyone who thinks nature is boring--or predictable.

People who will truly enjoy "Wild Nights":

Anyone who appreciates literate, deft nonfiction. Anyone who loves nature--yet knows that nature may not necessarily love us. Anyone interested in seeing the world's greatest city through a new lens. Anyone fascinated by how the past and the present intertwine. Anyone who worries about what kind of world we may be leaving our children and grandchildren.