Real People/Real Stories – A Nonfiction Book Group: “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law” by Mary Roach
January 16, 2025 @ 2:00 pm
Free
Real People/Real Stories meets the third Thursday of each month to explore the best in nonfiction history, biography, science, nature, and the arts.
This month’s title is Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach.
Science writer Mary Roach brings her trademark humor and quirky style to an examination of the interactions between people and wildlife. What do you do with a jaywalking moose or a leopard threatening small towns in India? What are the rights of a dangerous tree? The phenomenon of animals behaving badly is examined through the lens of science, law, and conservation.
“Hilarious! With Fuzz, Mary Roach again takes us into an unfamiliar scientific realm, in this case the science of managing the conflicts between humans and the natural world―lethal leopards, rampaging elephants, jet-downing birds, even killer trees. It’s an ever-widening conflict zone, but one that Ms. Roach gleefully mines for a multitude of bizarre facts that’ll make you snort coffee through your nose.” ― Erik Larson, bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile
“The book brims with Roach’s irreverent humor, which particularly shines when she experiences human-animal conflict firsthand… A blend of modern science and history, with Roach’s flair for spotting hidden absurdities… As another entry in Roach’s canon of books, Fuzz stands tall (and hairy), educating as much as it entertains.” ― Bethany Brookshire, Science News
“Full of kernels of fascinating information… Her approach is informative and unpretentious, and she’s always armed with a dry sense of humor. Roach will change the way you think about the great outdoors. What more could you ask for?” ― Emerson Malone, Buzzfeed