James Barilla
Yale University Press
When it comes to wildlife and urban wildlife in particular many of us have good intentions. Those of us raised on episodes of Jacques Cousteau and Wild Kingdom or who had regular family visits to the zoo, look for ways to live in harmony with our wild furry friends and sometimes foes.
James Barilla, a Creative Writing Professor, Naturalist and author of My Backyard Jungle puts his ideals to the test when he turns his backyard into a wildlife sanctuary, complete with a yard sign certifying his endeavors. But along the way, Barilla acknowledges his fears of acquiring diseases or parasites from infected animals and he worries about the safety of his family, especially after discovering a creature (a rat, a squirrel, a possum?) tumbling around his bathtub drain pipes. The author supplements his urban wildlife quest with visits to communities around the world who practice cohabitation with black bears (Massachusetts), monkeys (Brazil and New Delhi), bees (Brooklyn) and rodents (South Carolina).
Barilla also lives in a neighborhood where people regularly spray lawns with herbicides and hire exterminators to deal with urban wildlife. Blending humor with contemporary pathos, Barilla faces his own fears of infected insects in the tropics, to animals carrying rabies and worst communicable diseases, to the extinction of species around the world. In his every man narrative writing style, the author shares his sleepless nights with readers as he rode the philosophical seesaw between his ethics (create a habitat for urban wildlife) and his primal urges (kill the rat in the crawl space). Most of us relate to this man's delightful and informative tale. Be prepared to learn about the habits of your favorite and least favorite critters.
http://www.yalebooks.com and http://www.yalebooks.co.uk