Cover Image: A World in a Shell

A World in a Shell

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I skimmed mostly through this book, but found the information interesting. Who knew so much about snails.

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Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I didn't know about snail extinction in Hawaii before reading this. I enjoyed reading this book; the writing style is nice and it was fun learning about snails. If you like learning about nature you should pick this up.

"Van Dooren recounts the fascinating history of snail decline in the Hawaiian Islands: from deforestation for agriculture, timber, and more, through the nineteenth century shell collecting mania of missionary settlers, and on to the contemporary impacts of introduced predators. Along the way he asks how both snail loss and conservation efforts have been tangled up with larger processes of colonization, militarization, and globalization. These snail stories provide a potent window into ongoing global process of environmental and cultural change, including the largely unnoticed disappearance of countless snails, insects, and other less charismatic species."

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At first I was excited, and everything was interesting, but after a while it felt repetitive and dry. If you're not ready to memorize all the Latin names for various snail-species, it's going to be a hard read, as these will be mentioned constantly, and only rarely by their common names. The writing in itself is also slightly dry and not very smooth.
Although the topic is both interesting and important, and we generally could use more awareness on such things, this was sadly not for me.

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A World in a Shell Snail Stories for a Time of Extinctions is a layman accessible examination of the impact of invasive species, loss of habitat, and climate change told through the lens of the snails of Hawaii, written and presented by Dr. Thom van Dooren. Released 13th Sept 2022 by MIT Press, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

Although written in language that an average reader can easily access and understand, this is a meticulously researched and annotated book. The chapter notes and bibliography alone are quite honestly worth the price of admission. Additionally, the book itself is very well written and interesting (and quite sobering). The ecosystem is changing and is poised on a knife edge. Habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species have all contributed to a bleak present-day. Much of the book describes academic discussions not about *what* is happening, so much as *why* species are failing to thrive or disappearing altogether. Scientists universally acknowledge what is going on but research is still out as to what can potentially be done to counteract or mitigate some of the effects.

It's a sobering, but ultimately very interesting book. Highly recommended for fans of nature writing. There are so few new books on terrestrial gastropods that any new addition to the malacological literature is an event.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Thom van Dooren is a philosopher who goes way beyond his calling in tackling the writing of this book. "A World in a Shell" is the fascinating tale of life, death, and the extinction of snails in Hawaii. The author goes into depth outlining the history and settlement of the islands, the fight to maintain native culture during colonization, and the extensive role that the military has played in it all. The desperate attempts to save the last of the snails from invasive species such as the large Wolf Snail and the rats, both of which gobble up ground snails and tree snails, entail trial-and-error protected outdoor enclosures as well as time-intensive indoor tubs in museums for those that are the last of their species. Tens of thousands of snail shells are held in museums around the world including in Hawaii, and these often lose their lustrous colors in storage. They must be held in temperature-and-humidity-controlled environments, but even so, the information about these species may never be recovered. With the advent of new technology, scientists are now recording the DNA of living snails through non-invasive means and learning much about relationships among seemingly unrelated species. They are studying the slime trails for information about habitat and behavior. Snails go home at the end of their "day" and cluster together. Why? Having no discernible brain, we don't know if they experience fear or safety, but just like all the other creatures on this planet, they have created a role to play in our connected ecology. Snails are precious. Their loss may affect us all in ways that we have yet to determine.

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It's always great when scientific data like this is presented in an easy-to-access way. The story of the Hawaiin snails and their struggles for survival in an ever changing ecosystem due to invasive species is eye opening - as I never could have imagined the severity of it without this kind of background "story telling". The prose is simple but flows well and the author's voice comes off as genuine and compelling.

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Did you know snails can’t move backward?

As a big fan of “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, I’m now always on the lookout for snail related materials. While I am not always happy to see them gorging in my pepper patch, I do find the little Gastropoda fascinating and enjoy the limited snail science available.

I grabbed this title with exuberant non-snail speed and was thrilled to see it set in Hawaii, already plotting to send a copy to my family there, some “snail mail” if you will.

In a brief bit accurate consolidation: Hawaii has many beautiful unique snails, they used to have a 100 times more. Snails are going extinct for a myriad of human impacted reasons, not just a few but upwards of 1000 beautiful fungus munching species are gone forever or endangered just in the Hawaiian chain alone. Snail conservation is a good idea.

Invertebrates overall are not considered cuddly or “cute” in the general mammal sense, so their own mini mass extinction event is flying largely under the radar and with fractional support compared to their fuzzier compatriots in the kingdom of life.

Some passages get bogged down in excessive detail, for example the history of and brainstorming behind the exclosure could have been shorn up. Just about everyone has seen a dog run or understands the principals of a chicken hutch keeping predators out but this is a scientific book out of MIT Press, so buckle up for deep details ahead!

This book addresses the need for biodiversity in a time where it faces mounting opposition and countless species both known and unknown are facing grave irreversible peril; many of which are pushed over the brink before they’ve even been discovered and classified.

A collection of snail stories immerses us in their quiet peaceful worlds, often overshadowed by the wanton destruction of man; showing us the beauty in these slimy little forest dwellers and the planetary need for their survival.

How could anyone not want to preserve something with the nickname “snot in a hat”. Definitely left me looking for ways to do and learn more.

If you’re in the mood for some non-fiction that touches on many of the world issues facing us now, without going down any fraught political paths then brew yourself something strong and caffeinated, have your internet device handy to google the myriad of beautiful snails mentioned.

A big old “Thank You” to Netgalley, the Publisher and of course the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Your efforts are in good hands and I appreciate the trust.

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I love to find a book that answers questions that I have never even thought to ask. I knew nothing about snail extinction in Hawaii, for a matter of fact I knew very little about snails in general. So I was intrigued when I found a whole book about this topic. And my curiosity was amply satisfied. Snails turned out to be fascinating creatures, moreover, they serve as a pretext for wider reflection on evolution, colonialism, and our place in the natural world.

The author, an environmental philosopher, or a field philosopher, as he prefers to think of himself, is a wonderful guide to this disappearing world. His style is poetic, his openness and empathy boundless.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes modern nature writing and/or is interested in evolutionary biology.

Thanks to the publisher, MIT Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

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4 Stars -- This was a short non-fiction read, but I really enjoyed learning about snails in HI! The author certainly knows what they are talking about and their enthusiasm shines through the book. Like another reviewer said, this science writing was pretty accessible, and made it a more enjoyable read for me. As a scientist (geologist) I think the book could have benefitted from more images, but I am not sure if the final version will have these included? I really loved the cover of this book and I appreciated the Hawaiian and scientific terms glossary in the back, and once I knew it was there, I referred to it a bunch. The book ends on a hopeful note, and I think we can benefit from writing like this!

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A World in a Shell was an illuminating read. As a biologist myself, I truly appreciated the insight this book provided. Oftentimes, the land reflects the history of the people who live on it, and this is no exception. Using the slugs to track changes through time is a nice way to intertwine the histories of people and places.

Though I enjoyed this, I often felt as though it dragged at times. Even as someone who enjoys nature and learning about it, there's only so much you can read about snails.

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Snails are said to be “sentinel species” — those sensitive canary-in-a-coal-mine critters that can give warnings about how the earth is changing if we would only pay attention — and despite the fact that snails worldwide are experiencing a mass extinction event, being “non-charismatic” animals makes it hard to get people to care about their fates. As a self-described “field philosopher”, author Thom van Dooren brings us along as he explores the Hawaiian Islands (once home to upwards of 1000 endemic snail species, today only 300 of those species exist, with just 11 listed as “stable”), and as he shares the science, history, and modern day conservation efforts related to Hawaiian snails, van Dooren makes the case for why we should care about their extinction. A World in a Shell ticks a lot of boxes for me — I loved the accessible science and vivid travel writing; the historical perspective; the focus on animals and indigenous peoples — and while I have little to complain about what van Dooren has included here, I do wish there had been more philosophy from this field philosopher: I ended this book with an even greater appreciation for snails and their ways of being but would still be hard-pressed to explain why they have a right to exist beyond acknowledging that every living thing on earth has a right to exist. Still, I enjoyed what is here very much and join the author in his mournful hope for the snails’ future.

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