Archive for September, 2011

The PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Runner-up—Now in Paperback

September 30th, 2011

Ecologist, anthropologist, and philosopher David Abram’s latest book, Becoming Animal, is available now in paperback. When Abram’s first book, The Spell of the Sensuous, debuted, it was hailed as “revolutionary” by the Los Angeles Times, as “daring” and “truly original” by Science. It has since become a classic of environmental literature. Now, Abram returns with a startling exploration of our human entanglement with the rest of nature. Praise for Becoming Animal has been incredible, with Orion calling it “an intricately textured, deep breath of a book that blurs the boundaries between human and animal, mind and earth” and Greenpeace co-founder Rex Weyler declaring it, “One of the most compelling and important ecology books in decades.”

As the climate veers toward catastrophe, the innumerable losses cascading through the biosphere make vividly evident the need for a metamorphosis in our relation to the living land. For too long we’ve ignored the wild intelligence of our bodies, taking our primary truths from technologies that hold the living world at a distance. Abram’s writing subverts this distance, drawing readers ever closer to their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the elemental kinship between the human body and the breathing Earth.

Becoming Animal was recently a runner-up for the inaugural PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, intended to celebrate writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of physical and biological sciences. The book was also a finalist for the 2011 Orion Book Award.

Further Praise for Becoming Animal:

“A wild book in every sense of the word, full of stories that will leave you trembling, but even fuller of ideas that will send you out into the world with new eyes.” —Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth

“I cannot imagine another book that so gently and so persuasively alters how we look at ourselves.” —Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle

“A truly alchemical book. . . . Those of us who still hope for a revolutionary change in our thinking toward animals, the living land and the climate will welcome this book. Abram is an audacious thinker, a true visionary, and, really, just a damn good nature writer.” —San Francisco Book Review

“A stunning, compelling journey into embodied, earthly intelligence, Becoming Animal is philosophy at its engaging best. Prepare for a wild, profound ride into the essence of the human animal—an essence embedded in communion with the Earth. A must read for anyone concerned about the future of the planet and ourselves.” —Kierán Suckling, co-founder and Executive Director, Center for Biological Diversity

“In Becoming Animal, David Abram has crafted the rarest of literary gems: a sublime effort combining transcendent prose, lucid insight, and lasting consequence.” —Shambhala Sun

“If we are to survive—indeed, if we are to stop the dominant culture from killing the planet—it will be in great measure because of brave and brilliant beings like David Abram. This is a beautifully written, deeply moving, and important book.” —Derrick Jensen, author of A Language Older Than Words and Endgame

Click here to read more praise for Becoming Animal, and click here to read an excerpt.