3.5 rounded up

I can walk about ten minutes from my home to a subway station, and yet I am surrounded by wildlife. Deer, tree squirrels, chipmunks, birds, foxes, rabbits, mice, rats, and even an occasional coyote or black bear make their homes nearby. These animals eat many of the vegetables and flowers we grow; however, we don’t have to depend on what we grow in order to eat. It must be heartbreaking for the Indian villagers whose hard-won crops are ruined by an elephant herd and for all the farmers who must cope with encroaching wildlife.

Mary Roach explores the conflict between humans and wildlife including bears, elephants, leopards, monkeys, cougars, Douglas Firs and falling trees, beans, plants and biological terrorism, birds, deer, and turkey vultures. She describes what she learned about techniques to scare them away, effigies, euthanasia, relocation, humane traps and gene modification.

The subject is thought-provoking, but Roach’s tone doesn’t come across as judgmental or overly moralizing. Some readers may find some of the writing too much for them; there are definitely triggers here. Sometimes it’s a little gritty; sometimes Roach is humorous and self-deprecating. It took me several weeks to read Fuzz as it is a leisurely-paced book with distinct chapters and good stopping points. This is the first Mary Roach book that I’ve read, and I recommend it for readers who like science, society and history nonfiction narratives. You’ll definitely learn something and may reconsider how you interact with nature.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

If you've ever read a Mary Roach book, you probably have high expectations going into this book. You won't be disappointed. Once again, she delivers an in-depth, scientific analysis of something you probably haven't thought a great deal about and provides continual amusement along with the learning. Whether it's a history of war between albatross and fighter jets, the best location to explode a killer tree, or the bad rap of blackbirds, Roach entertains and educates with equal skill. Here's another great addition to your Mary Roach collection!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an egalley for review. Fuzz is Mary Roach’s look at nature when forced to live by humanity’s rules and we should all know by now, that nature lives by it’s own rules. Humans are the experiment that went wrong and we should just give it back to the insects, birds, animals, and trees. My favorite chapters are about the birds who are unflappable against all the scare tactics the farmers and military try against them and the one farmer who just decides to live with it. There needs to be more like him....and Mary Roach needs to keep writing!!

Mary Roach is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is always phenomenal, and I feel like anyone can read these books, not only those with a science background. How she can create an entire book based on human-wildlife conflict and make it so funny and interesting is beyond me. This was a real fast read for me because I became so enthralled in every adventure she went on that I couldn't put it down.

Mary Roach is again finding the answers to questions we didn't know we had and have no idea who to ask. From attending training to learn to identify animal inflicted wounds on corpses to traveling the countryside of India learning about elephant attacks, Roach takes us along on a witty and fact-filled journey. Fuzz felt a bit less involved and substantial than some of her other titles, but that could be in part due to limits placed on her normal investigative techniques by pandemic restrictions.

Mary Roach never fails to entertain. She takes topics that most know a little something about and plunges deep into the science and reasoning behind some of our most common "why?" questions. In Fuzz, she wages war with the animals and humans that continuously butt heads over territory, food, and resources. How do you punish an animal for breaking the law when the law is made by humans who don't follow the laws of nature? From moose to monkeys, rats and stouts, this book makes you realize your place in the world and just how much we can (and can't) influence the world around us! Highly recommend for a good laugh and a thoughtful read!

Amusing and well presented discussion on wildlife interactions and how they are handled in various cultures: bears in the U.S.; monkeys in India; elephants in Asia and Africa, etc. Roach presents the cultural diffences well and discusses the affect of humans on the environment, and how we react to wildlife in "our" spaces.

I'd like to thank Netgalley at the publisher for an ARC of this book. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

I've read all of Mary Roach's books, and I've gotten relatively the same enjoyment out of each one. Mary Roach has a knack for finding topics that could be quite dry and writing about them in an engaging manner. I know when I pick up one of her books, I am guaranteed an interesting read and to learn something new. On the same token, they are never anything that I am particularly engrossed in. This book has moments (the section about deer and cars as well as birds and how to keep them from eating crops) that move particularly slowly and brought down my interest in the book overall. I think some tighter editing in these sections could have benefit their pacing.

I did enjoy the beginning sections with the bears, and I plan to use some sections in the classroom when discussing forest safety.

Foxes under boardwalks and beavers chewing through internet cables: more and more, people and animals are getting into each other's space. Roach's entertaining book examines the friction that arises when humans and wildlife cross paths, sometimes with dire consquences, and how both sides are adapting and coping (or not).

I've enjoyed Mary Road books before, but I couldn't finish this one. It was presented as, "Animals 'break the law' and interfere with human lives. Isn't it amusing and interesting to learn about the different ways that happens, and how people deal with it?"

The further I read, the more clear it was that every chapter was going to be, "Humans living their lives inevitably cause animal deaths... I guess that's amusing? Or interesting?"

I actually made it about 80% of the way through, getting increasingly uncomfortable with the lighthearted discussion of the harsh reality of how human-animal conflicts cause animals to be harmed and killed, but at 80%, when she started discussing rat-traps, I gave up.

I can imagine the kind of person who would find this book amusing, but I can't imagine wanting to share a meal with them.

Mary Roach's "Fuzz" is as fantastically funny and compulsively readable as her previous books! She is the queen of taking an obscure subject and investigating the science behind it in great detail. Yet her books are lighthearted in nature as well as relaxing to read.

In this book, Mary Roach investigates the science behind many negative interactions between humans and wildlife all over the world. There are discussion of the obvious and much publicized wildlife dangers like bears, elephants, wolves, jaguars, and cougars. Then there are chapters about nuisance animals that you may not have considered: rabbits, starlings, squirrels, monkeys, opossums, raccoons, macaques, and seagulls. At what point are these animals enough of a nuisance to be put to death? What is the most painless way to put them to death? Are cute animals more worthy of life than ugly animals? Will reducing the number of one type of animal in an ecosystem have unforeseen effects on other species in that area? There are a lot of subjects covered in these pages, including not only science, but also politics, ethics, philosophy, and religion. It is an informative book that will have you reading funny passages out loud to your family!

A new Mary Roach book is always cause for celebration, and this is no exception! Having read a great deal recently about the ways in which humans' and animals' lives intersect, for better and worse, I found Roach's journeys and conclusions fascinating. If you read Roach for the humor, you won't be disappointed, but there's a lot more here. I'm thinking about that roof rat infestation in a long-ago Seattle rental house in a whole new light. I look forward to recommending and discussing this book with patrons, and eventually listening to the audiobook with my husband -- Roach's books are the ultimate road trip listen!

NB: I hope the final version of the book will not contain the inappropriate use of the term "powwow," which currently appears in the chapter "The Gulls of St. Peter's."

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Mary Roach is incapable of writing a bad book! As always, this should be a first purchase for all general nonfiction collections.

I like Mary Roach: I like the enthusiasm she brings to her research, I like her voice and her compassion, her globe-trotting travel writing and her gentle humour. But I don’t know if I love her books: Whenever I see a new release, I think, “Oh yeah, I like Mary Roach”, but I’ve never given one of her books more than three stars. When I saw that Fuzz was available on NetGalley, I once again said, “Oh, yes please”, and again, three stars (which, in my reckoning, is a solid read, just not life-altering). I’m sure I will read Roach again — I will always think of her as an author I like — and for other readers who like her, I’ve no doubt they’ll like this book, too.