Author(s): Mary Roach

Nature

What's to be done about a jaywalking moose? A grizzly bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree?

We've never been good at sharing the planet... In the past, when wild animals 'broke the law', they might be given lawyers and put on trial. But what's the solution now, as we humans increasingly dominate and don't like it when nature gets in our way? In this fresh, funny and thoroughly researched book, Mary Roach delves into weird and wonderful moments when humanity and wildlife bump up against one another.

Follow the author as she explores laser scarecrows, robo-hawks, human-elephant conflict specialists and monkey impersonators. Travel to the bear-busy back alleys of Aspen, the gull-vandalised floral displays at the Vatican and leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Himalayas, and discover hope for compassionate coexistence.

Review:

'A provocative and engaging exploration of our evolving relationship with the rest of nature.'

-- Guardian

'Combining diligently researched scientific reporting with the sniggering wit of a stand-up comic... Animal Vegetable Criminal loves an eyebrow-raising anecdote.'

-- The Times
'Bestseller Roach sheds light on nature's malefactors in this often funny, always provocative survey...Roach's writing is wry, full of heart, and loaded with intriguing facts... This eminently entertaining outing is another winner.' -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

'Reading a Mary Roach book is like spending a luxurious and joyful evening with the perfect dinner guest. Delightful facts become indelibly etched in your brain, and only later do you realise that hours have passed and your face slightly hurts from smiling too hard. In Animal Vegetable Criminal, Roach's peerless storytelling skills are paired with a sense of moral urgency, as she recounts stories of humans and other animals, uneasily and clumsily learning to co-exist in a world that they must now share.'

-- Ed Yong, science journalist and author of I Contain Multitudes
'Hilarious! With Animal Vegetable Criminal, Mary Roach again takes us into an unfamiliar scientific realm, in this case the science of managing the conflicts between humans and the natural world - lethal leopards, rampaging elephants, jet-downing birds, even killer trees. It's an ever-widening conflict zone, but one that Ms. Roach gleefully mines for a multitude of bizarre facts that'll make you snort coffee through your nose.' -- Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile

'An idiosyncratic tour with Roach as the wisecracking, ever-probing guide... My favorite moments, ultimately, weren't the funny ones, but those that reveal a bit of scientific poetry.'

* New York Times Book Review *

'With her characteristic dry wit, [Roach] brings an intense fascination to the seldom discussed details and the at times absurd miscellany in the unexplored corners of unappreciated research... It is impossible not to smirk, chortle and sometimes outright belly laugh as you read her many wry asides and funny but fascinating footnotes... But the real trick Roach pulls off is to keep you laughing while at the same time making sure the earnest points come across.'

* New Scientist *

'A hugely enjoyable exploration of what happens when the nature we've decided to love doesn't love us back. By turns hilarious and horrifying - and often profound - Roach's entertaining journeys are full of delightful curios and I was swept up in her joyful writing.'

-- Gaia Vince, author of Transcendence

'Traveling from a bear seminar in Reno to a bird-infested island in the Pacific that plagued the American military during World War II, among many other venues, Roach joyfully explores how human culture and wildlife, including plant life, have either found ways to coexist or are constantly at odds. Throughout, Roach highlights people who are genuinely passionate about the work, and she also includes suggestions for readers on how to deal ethically (and effectively) with their own wildlife issues, wherever they live.

From the terrifying to the frustrating, a great starting point for understanding the animal world.'

-- Kirkus, starred review

'A witty and thought-provoking look at the darker side of animal behaviour through the ages. Highly entertaining and informative - excellent popular science writing.'

-- Stephen Moss, naturalist and author

'As hilarious as it is thought provoking, Animal Vegetable Criminal is a brilliant read. Only Mary Roach can make such an obscure subject so intriguing. From battles with birds to marauding macaques, Roach reveals what happens when nature breaks human laws, with fascinating results.'

-- Monty Lyman, author of The Remarkable Life of the Skin

'I sometimes wonder what animals have done wrong to deserve humans and what we do to them. But I know that humanity has done something right to deserve Mary Roach, the best guide possible to the fascinating but sometimes fraught interactions between human, animal and nature. She prowls through this intersection of worlds with the sleek grace of a leopard, diving into garbage cans, Indian elephant politics and mass murders of murders of crows, with her usual wit and wisdom. There's only one downside to this delightful and brilliant book, and that's that the animals can't read it too.'

-- Rose George, journalist and author of Nine Pints

'Mary Roach has been writing brilliant, funny and illuminating popular science books for years. Unfortunately - at least for those of us with ambitions to step into her shoes - she has gone and done it again! Animal Vegetable Criminal is as good as anything this wonderful author has ever written, and that is saying something.'

-- Graham Lawton, author of Mustn't Grumble: The surprising science of everyday ailments

'Full of kernels of fascinating information... Her approach is informative and unpretentious, and she's always armed with a dry sense of humor. Roach will change the way you think about the great outdoors. What more could you ask for?'

* BuzzFeed *

'This book is such a rich stew of anecdotes and lore that it's best savored slowly, bit by bit... No matter the situation, Roach approaches it with contagious enthusiasm.'

-- BookPage, starred review

'The book brims with Roach's irreverent humor, which particularly shines when she experiences human-animal conflict firsthand... A blend of modern science and history, with Roach's flair for spotting hidden absurdities... As another entry in Roach's canon of books, Animal Vegetable Criminal stands tall (and hairy), educating as much as it entertains.'

* Science News *

'Animal Vegetable Criminal is as funny as it is immersive. It is littered with colourful details of characters... The book is sympathetic to the complex problem of our coexistence with nature, and maintains that the dilemma of animals disturbing the peacefulness of our existence is only increasing in urgency.'

-- New Statesman

'[A] splendid study of all things alimentary...'

-- Bill Bryson on Gulp

'The most entertaining writer in science.'

* The Times *

Author Biography: Mary Roach is the New York Times-bestselling author of several popular science books including Packing for Mars and Gulp. Her most recent book Grunt was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Science & Technology Book Prize. She has written for the Guardian, Wired, BBC Focus, GQ and Vogue. She lives in California.