I am kicking off 2024 with a rather hefty reading list. My shelf is full of new and unread books and my Amazon list may require another income to fund. So let's dive right in with my 2024 reading list!
The Lion’s Historian by Sandra Swart: Prof Swart of Stellenbosch University has woven a fascinating historical account in which the perspectives of animals are finally given due consideration. She asserts that history cannot be accurately and wholly understood from a human-centred approach and that animals have played a major role in shaping history. From the police dogs of the apartheid era, hunting wildlife as a colonial sport, identifying with insects and baboons, to the extinction of the quagga, Swart retells history in a way that is insightful, enlightening, and vital to rethinking how we perceive animals, animal cultures and our relationships with them. I cannot recommend this book enough for historians, social scientists, and natural scientists, but even more so for South Africans at large to see another side of our collective history and the intertwined nature of humans, animals, and politics. In Swart’s own words, this book provides a vital shift “in this time of apocalyptic biodiversity loss, (so) we can begin to see the other living creatures around us and understand the depth and length of our shared past.”
The Hidden Universe by Alexandre Antonelli: Antonelli provides a fascinating account of all the beautiful intricacies of biodiversity on our planet. This is by no means a book for scientists, but for anyone intrigued by the natural world and wanting to dive into the adventures of a scientist privileged enough to explore this world in depth. Antonelli's writing is engaging and deeply beautiful and readers can't help but fall in love with all aspects of the natural world - minute and grand.
