Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America is a non-fiction book written by Leila Philip published on December 6, 2022 by Twelve Books.

Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America
AuthorLeila Philip
LanguageEnglish
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherTwelve Books
Publication date
December 6, 2022
ISBN9781538755198

Overview edit

Beaverland is a non-fiction book describing the behavior, history, and cultural significance of the North American beaver. Philip discusses the relationship between beavers and humans throughout history with a focus on Indigenous cultures and the American westward expansion. The title, Beaverland, is an allusion to Philip's argument that "Before 1600, all of the continent from west to east, save a few desert sections, had stretched out as one great Beaverland".[1]

Reception edit

Beaverland received positive reviews from critics. Kate Bellody reviewed the book for Library Journal and positively described the level of detail it gave to beaver activity, along with praising Philip for weaving discussion of "Indigenous wisdom" throughout the book.[2] Richard Adams Carey, writing in The Wall Street Journal, described Beaverland as being "in parts a memoir, a local and national history, and a sort of quest narrative."[3] Kirkus Reviews noted the large amount of field research conducted by Philip while writing the book, while Publishers Weekly praised Philip's prose and described the book as a "triumph of popular nature writing."[4][5] Beaverland also received positive reviews in The Washington Post, Scientific American, and Sierra.[6][1][7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Brady, Amy (December 1, 2022). "How Beavers Shaped America, from Capitalism to Climate Change". Scientific American. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  2. ^ Bellody, Kate (December 1, 2022). "Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America". Library Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Carey, Richard Adams (December 2, 2022). "'Beaverland' Review: America's Original Engineers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America". Kirkus Reviews. September 28, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Gulliver, Katrina (December 13, 2022). "A fascinating history of beavers shows how the species shaped the U.S.". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Mark, Jason; Hahn, Jonathan; Smith, Heather; McConnell, Tatum (November 24, 2022). "Sierra". Sierra. Retrieved December 19, 2022.

External links edit