A really outstanding book about the various theories of ecosystem restoration and maintenance, as of the time it was written in 2011. Starting with a short history of the concepts of 'nature' and 'wilderness', the author then shows examples of conservation or restoration efforts all over the globe. The author proposes that our limited conservation budgets be put towards efforts at creating sustainable ecosystems - not towards restoring them to some ancient baseline. At the time her ideas were contrary to contemporary conservation theory that attempts to conserve 'wilderness' or restore wilderness areas to some older, usually pre-human baseline was the only goal. Instead, she proposes that we focus on creating successful ecosystems as they are, with minimal interference from conservationists and taking into account that 'nature' must interact with humans and the various 'invasive' or non-native species that have become part of the ecosystem.

i found this an engaging read and with many good insights on conservation, restoration and human interaction with nature. The 'Rambunctious Garden' part of the title is a tiny bit misleading, this book is not about gardening. ( )

It's difficult not to see this book as an attempt to feel better about what we've done. Occasionally interesting, frequently ideological and simplifying.

A thought-provoking overview of modern restoration ecology. How do we move beyond the simple dichotomy of native/introduced in a world where the restoration baseline is an impossible one (because all the megafauna are extinct)? Expands on Steve Budiansky's 1996 Nature's Keepers, which undermined the notion of a “balance of nature”; Budiansky doesn't appear in the otherwise excellent bibliography. ( )

Awful. ( )

A well-written, thought-provoking book about the value of nature, what we mean by pristine wilderness, and human intervention.

"If we fight to preserve only things that look like pristine wilderness, such as those places currently enclosed in national parks and similar refuges, our best efforts can only retard their destruction and delay the day we lose. If we fight to preserve and enhance nature as we have newly defined it, as the living background to human lives, we may be able to win. We may be able to grow nature larger than it currently is. This will not only require a change in our values but a change in our very aesthetics, as we learn to accept both nature that looks a little more lived-in than we are used to and working spaces that look a little more wild than we are used to.