Some of the names in this book will be familiar to just about everyone, while others are lesser known. All of them played a integral role in the conservation movement from it's early days to more recent developments. Each portrait showed the individual as a three dimensional person, not just a name in a history book. I liked how the progression of stories showed not just the individuals that were so vital to conservation, but also helped show the birth and growth of the environmental movement itself.

This is a great book that chronicles the environmental fights taken up by eight conservationists. Most of these names were well known to me, but I three of them (Aldo Leopold, Billy Frank, Jr., and Gro Harlem Brundtland) were completely unknown to me. Nonetheless, I found this a great book to learn more about all of these giants and their work.

Nature's Allies opened my eyes up to conservationists whom I've known, but quite a few whom I didn't. Each chapter gives a biography of each of the featured eight conservationists that could, easily, be pared down a bit further. I found it difficult to stay engaged, as the narrative is fairly dry, but was appreciative to learn about the achievements of each person.

Take your time with Nielsen's Nature's Allies. A well-written volume of bios about those who have dedicated their lives to conservation, and what made them standout enough to be noticed by the world. And hell, it may even make you rethink how you treat nature.

The book presents us with 8 concise but well written biographies of ‘great conservationists‘.
The precise 8 chosen to be included in the book may be rather subjective; myself personally I felt it perhaps to be a little too dominated by Americans, but nonetheless all those chosen are indeed persons who have earned the titles of ‘great conservationists‘.
As we follow the story of each conservationist in turn, we see that for the most part they were roles that came about almost by accident, whilst the subjects were seeking justice in related areas. However for many it soon became clear that the wider natural environment, and indeed wider political situations in many instances were intrinsically linked to the more localised situations they were dealing with.
I think this book would be a great read for anyone interested in the protection of the environment, and it would be a great read for students of conservation/sustainable development.

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Whether saving duck wetlands or planting trees,
these people are heroes

This book is a thrilling motivational read. Nielsen showcases the fact that these eight people were passionate about the quality of human and environmental conditions. So much so, they endured and perservered through hardships to deliver their message of land and wildlife protection.

Interesting, if slightly romanticized biographies of eight conservationists, some you'll recognize and some you may not. The author says it was a "career in the making", which would explain, and excuse, the shadow of gushing.

Though this was a fairly dry read, I did enjoy some of the chapters in the beginning, such as the ones about John Muir and Aldo Leopold, which also explored nature. Once the conservationists profiled turned to politicians and "activists" in the more traditional sense, my interest waned.

It's interesting to see how many of the people who have done so much for the earth do so because they worship creation instead of the Creator. Christians can certainly learn from these people - what God created is worthy of wise stewardship - but reading about all of the broken relationships, pride, etc. that seemed to rule these conservationists' lives made me ever the more grateful that I serve a God who is powerful enough to care for the earth as well as the people on it.

There was some minor language (when people were being quoted), including taking the name of God in vain.

All in all, it was interesting to learn a bit more about the history of conservation, but this was a read that I labored through and wouldn't recommend.

The extent of environmental challenge that our world faces today is unprecedented—but as the publishers of this book point out, it is at times like this that we need inspiration more than ever. With political leaders who deny climate change, species that are fighting for their very survival, and the planet’s last places of wilderness growing smaller and smaller, it is all to easy to succumb to despair and to give up because, after all, what can a single person do? Well, one person can do a surprising amount. In Nature’s Allies, Larry A. Nielsen uses the stories of eight people to show that through passion and perseverance, we can each be a positive force for change.

The eight men and women whose biographies are contained here could not have been more different from each other but the one thing they have in common is that they are all conservation pioneers. Some are well known, some less so. Yet, all of them have made a significant and lasting mark on our world, each in his or her unique way.

The eccentric John Muir who taught us all to value wilderness, lives again in these pages as we read of his devotion to Nature and to certain special places, such as Yosemite. We see how well Ding Darling's cartoons brought the politics of environment home to people in ways that mere words could never have done and we read here of the experiences and influences that led Aldo Leopold to develop the land ethic that has guided the thinking of a whole generation of environmentalists. We feel gratitude, once more, to Rachel Carson, whose painstaking research and eloquent writing finally convinced the world of the danger of pesticides and learn how Chico Mendes devoted his entire life—and eventually, tragically lost it—in passionate defence of the Amazon, its ecosystems and its indigenous peoples. We meet Billy Frank Jr. whose single-minded determination eventually restored to the Indians of the Pacific Northwest their ancestral right to fish sustainably for salmon, helping to restore balance to the entire ecosystem in the process. We are inspired anew by the example of Norwegian cabinet minister Gro Harlem Brundtland whom the book describes as the Godmother of Sustainable Development and hear again of how the indomitable Wangari Maathai oversaw the planting of several million trees in Africa—a life's work that earned her the Nobel prize she so richly deserved.

The stated aim of Nature’s Allies is: "to inspire students, conservationists, and Nature lovers to speak up for Nature and show the power of one person to make a difference." And I am sure it will help to do just that. I found it an interesting, heart-warming book.