Mike Shanahan is a freelance writer with a doctorate in rainforest ecology. He has lived in a national park in Borneo, bred endangered penguins, investigated illegal bear farms, produced award-winning journalism and spent several weeks of his life at the annual United Nations climate change negotiations. He is interested in what people think about nature and our place in it. His writing includes work published by The Economist, Nature, The Ecologist and Ensia, and chapters of Dry: Life without Water (Harvard University Press); Climate Change and the Media (Peter Lang Publishing) and Culture and Climate Change: Narratives (Shed). He is the illustrator of Extraordinary Animals (Greenwood Publishing Group) and maintains a blog called Under the Banyan.
Choice Reviews- "Fig trees are found throughout the tropical world
with over 800 species in the genus Ficus. Many figs have an
elaborate pollination system in which tiny wasps mate inside of the
fruit. This book considers the biology, ecology, natural
history, and the historical/cultural importance of this interesting
plant. An especially fascinating aspect of fig trees is that
they are utilized in forest restoration efforts. For example, in
Central America and Africa, scientists have planted mature fig tree
branches to use as 'instant trees' in deforested areas. The fig
trees attract animals and promote biodiversity in the immediate
area. The author highlights how edible figs have been discovered in
archaeological sites that date back to 13,000 years ago. The
author also devotes several chapters to specific historical eras
and notes that in the Bible, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to serve
as clothing. The book contains many fine-quality line drawings to
illustrate principles, such as how a wasp enters a fig and the
natural variation in the morphology of figs. Summing Up:
Recommended. All readers."
Shelf Awareness, Starred Review- "Mike Shanahan's Gods, Wasps
and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig
Trees is a deceptively brief account of
the Ficus genus of trees in history, emphasizing but not
limited to their relationship with humans. Shanahan brings the
expertise of decades of ecological fieldwork and a bubbling
enthusiasm to a topic clearly close to his heart. He makes a strong
argument that his readers should be attuned to and excited about
fig trees, too. The plant figures into the origin stories of
cultures all over the world. Fig trees have provided food, shelter,
medicine and materials to humans for as long as humans have
existed: figs predate us by nearly 80 million years. Because of
their contributions as keystone species in ecosystems around the
world, figs offer distinctive services in reforestation efforts and
the mitigation of climate change. They have contributed to the
theory of evolution, the birth of agriculture and possibly humans'
development of opposable thumbs. The story of the fig is
inseparable from that of fig wasps, numerous tiny insect species
that have evolved to pair respectively in symbiosis with individual
species of fig. Shanahan relates all this and more in a joyous
voice with occasional lyricism, as when 'the Buddhist monk's robe
sang out loud saffron over the rainforest's muffled tones of brown
and green and grey.’ Mythology, biology and hope for the future
combine in this highly accessible story of the family of fig trees,
with its profound ecological relevance. A joyful, celebratory
world history of the fig tree and its ecological impact.”
Booklist- "Fig trees, with their 'sinuous aerial roots,' hidden
flowers, wondrous pollinators, and nourishing fruits, have
sustained diverse ecosystems and civilizations for millennia. In
this lively and mind-expanding mix of personal adventures, myth,
religious history, and science, rain-forest ecologist and
award-winning journalist Shanahan traces the intricate connection
between humans and Ficus species. He cogently illuminates how fig
trees were held sacred by various spiritual traditions around the
world, including those of ancient Egypt and Greece, along with the
fig tree’s place in the Buddha’s story and the Garden of Eden. He
profiles intrepid fig-tree experts and vividly explains how tiny
fig-wasps burrow into figs, lay eggs, and reemerge to distribute
pollen, allowing the planet’s 750 Ficus species to thrive and feed
1,274 species of birds and mammals, including humans. Scientists
now recognize that fig trees are “keystone resources” essential to
sustaining life and foresee their playing a central role in forest
restoration as we struggle with the consequences of environmental
decimation and global warming. Shanahan’s spirited celebration of
the fig tree as symbol and life force is richly entertaining and
truly enlightening.”
“In his insightful book, Gods, Wasps and Stranglers, Mike
Shanahan combines poetry and science, history and humanity, to tell
a story not only of the fig tree but of life on Earth in all its
beautiful and astonishing complexity. In doing so, he reminds us of
what a remarkable place we inhabit—and how much we should all want
to protect and preserve it.”--Deborah Blum, director, Knight
Science Journalism Program, MIT; author of The Poisoner’s
Handbook
“Surprising, engrossing, disturbing and promising, Gods, Wasps
and Stranglers combines masterful storytelling and
spellbinding science. This is a beautifully written and important
book about trees that have shaped human destiny.”--Sy Montgomery,
author of The Soul of an Octopus
“The complex web of ecological connections between fig trees,
tropical forest animals and plants, as well as people and
human culture is nothing short of a marvel. Gods, Wasps and
Stranglers is a page-turner and a revelation: You will
never again think of a fig as just something to eat. There is no
better way to introduce the complexity and wonder of nature—and our
intricate relationship with it. A must read.”--Thomas E. Lovejoy,
University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George
Mason University; fellow, National Geographic Society
“This book concerns the stunningly versatile and ancient family of
fig trees now being used as a framework species to restore damaged
tropical forests. Figs are not only considered the keystone species
in forests but are perhaps the world’s most perfect tree—they
provide highly nutritious fruits with health-giving and medicinal
qualities. They attract birds and animals. They grow very rapidly
and produce abundant fruits in a few years. They make shade and
shelter, their deep powerful roots can break up compacted soils,
they draw up water, they prevent erosion, and they have important
spiritual qualities. The tree in the Garden of Eden was very likely
not an apple but a fig.”--Annie Proulx
“In Gods, Wasps and Stranglers, rainforest ecologist Mike
Shanahan charts a lifelong love affair with figs, one that has
taken him from India to Kenya, through temples and rainforests, all
in search of a deeper understanding of what he describes as
‘humanity’s relationship with nature.’ The fig becomes a tasty lens
that reveals not only the fruit’s cultural and biological
significance but our relationship to that which most deeply
nourishes us.”--Simran Sethi, author of Bread, Wine,
Chocolate
“A real labour of love, concisely and elegantly told.”--Fred
Pearce, author; environmental consultant for New Scientist
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