Natures Ghosts: The world we lost and how to bring it back

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What history can teach us about how to avoid ecological catastrophe
For thousands of years, humans have been the architects of the natural world. Our activities have permanently altered the environment for good and for bad.

Natures Ghosts examines how the planet would have looked before humans scrubbed away its diversity: from landscapes carved out by megafauna to the primeval forests that emerged following the last ice age, and from the eagle-haunted skies of the Dark Ages to the flower-decked farms of more recent centuries.

It uncovers the stories of the people who have helped to shape the landscape, seeking out their footprints even where it seems there are none to be found. And it explores the timeworn knowledge that can help to fix our broken relationship with the earth.

Along the way it recounts the environmental detective work archaeological, cultural and ecological that has allowed us to reconstruct, in stunning detail, the landscapes we have lost.

Today, the natural world is more vulnerable than ever; the footprints of humanity heavier than they have ever been. There is no returning to a Golden Age of nature. But, as this urgent book argues, from the ghosts of the past, we may learn how to build a more wild and ancient future.

Reviews

Sophie writes fantastically about the natural world in Britain. Through her work, she chronicles the most important issues facing nature conservationists today. I always enjoy reading her work. Chris Packham

Sophie Yeo's work is essential, intelligent reading for anyone interested in British wildlife. Sophie is one of the brightest, best-informed and balanced contributors in this country to big debates over climate change, biodiversity loss and the future of nature. Patrick Barkham, author of Wild Green Wonders: A Life in Nature

Sophie Yeo has already galvanised the nature conservation movement in Britain with her phenomenally well-informed magazine. Sophie's writing blends the crisp prose of investigative journalism with the poetry born of her obvious passion for the natural world. Guy Shrubsole, author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain

Sophie Yeo's work is rapidly becoming an indispensable source of environmental information. Her crystal clear writing style and ability to describe often complex issues with such precision, balance and humour is extraordinary. I have no doubt that her writing in longer form will be every bit as enthralling. Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell: Fighting for Nature on a Lake District Hill Farm

Author Bio

Sophie Yeo is a freelance environmental journalist based in Newcastle. She has written for a variety of publications including the Washington Post, the Guardian and BBC Future. In May 2020 she launched Inkcap Journal, focusing on nature and conservation in Britain, which won the Press Gazette newsletter of the year award in 2022.