“In this masterpiece of environmental philosophy, Emma Marris cross- examines every claim and subverts every shibboleth of modern conservation. Wild Souls brings razor-sharp reasoning and unflinching moral clarity to a field that occasionally suffers from fuzzy logic. This is a book meant to be argued with, in the best possible sense.”

“Eloquently, skillfully, Emma Marris wrestles with the dilemmas that define our relationships with animals and the environment, emerging with provocative but necessary answers. I  dare any nature- lover to read this book and not come away profoundly changed.”

“Thoughtful, insightful, and wise, Wild Souls is a landmark work. With thorough reporting and piercing moral clarity, Emma Marris forces us to think deeply about every aspect of our relationship with wild animals, and what the concept of wild-ness even means. It should be a guidepost for our thoughts and actions for decades to come.”

“Where do wild animals fit in a human- dominated world? The answer, for better or worse, will be determined by humans. Emma Marris’s exploration of this question is at once thoughtful, thought- provoking, and thoroughly absorbing.”

“What is wildness? How do we resolve conflicts between the needs of individual animals and the work of preserving species? Wild Souls asks readers to think deeply about these and other important questions around our relationship with wildlife. Everybody who cares about animals should read this fascinating book.”

“In this profound and philosophical book, Emma Marris examines the fiction of a primeval world untouched by human intervention. We have messed with the world in such complex ways that the notion of wildness is at best speculative and at worst entirely artificial: wildness is permitted to exist in designated areas; animals are bred in captivity to repopulate what were once their natural habitats; endangered species are tagged and followed, prioritized over others. In luminous, captivating prose, Marris plumbs the contradictions of our often foolish attach-ment to the world not as it is, but as we would like to imagine it into being. This is a deeply felt and deeply thought book, brimming with compassion and rue, that throws out revelations like a stream of arrows, each one aimed at the very heart of the matter.”

“In Wild Souls, Marris asks the thorny, necessary questions for our time: What exactly is our responsibility to the wild(- ish) animals in the world, and why is it so uncomfortable to figure it out? She challenges us not only to do the ‘right’ things, but to be our most humane selves in the process. This is the best thinking- and- feeling person’s guide to sharing the planet that I know.”

“Like many others, Emma Marris loves wild nature. But unlike most of us, she thinks hard about what words like ‘wild’ and ‘nature’ mean. As Marris journeys from Northwest wolves to rats in New Zealand, she finds answers that are as fascinating as they are unexpected.”

“Through stories that marry adventure and philosophy, Emma Marris works to reconcile the jarring truth that sacrificing individual animals is sometimes the only way to save entire species. Ultimately, Wild Souls proposes a new framework for resolving the moral dilemmas that arise as we try to be good stewards of a thoroughly humanized world.”

“Wild Souls challenges us to be better citizens of the planet. How do we think about our relationship to other living things on Earth? With an epic sweep worthy of the subject, Emma Marris links cutting- edge science with deep compassion to provide us tools for approaching the decades ahead.”