Once There Were Giants: The Past, Present and Future of Megafauna

Once There Were Giants makes you ache for the absence of creatures you've never seen. Chantal Lyons reveals how profoundly ecosystems have been diminished by the loss of megafauna, and why restoring the survivors wherever we can is vital for any serious effort to restore nature. This is a magnificent book, I loved it! -- Ben Goldsmith, author of GOD IS AN OCTOPUS Nature demands giants. They dig, wallow, scour, feed, and disrupt - creating more habitats, more life. Chantal Lyons's fascinating new book-in praise of megafauna past, present, and future - demands a gigantic audience -- Joe Roman, author of WHALE A timely reminder, from one of our very best popular science writers, why we need big animals in our landscapes and ecosystems, packed with fascinating detail and with a genuinely original perspective -- Stephen Moss, author of TEN BIRDS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD A wonderful book about a massively overlooked subject. Passionate, informative, wide-ranging, funny and always elegantly written, it ultimately asks each of us the existential question about whether we are prepared to share our planet for the benefit of all creatures -- Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of LIQUID GOLD Praise for Groundbreakers * : * Rich with scientific and social understanding, sharp evocations of natural places and a great deal of self-knowledge. In its focus, depth, clarity and range of enquiry, it is one of the most notable works of recent nature writing -- Helen Macdonald * New Statesman * Deeply researched and beautifully written * The Times * Magnificent. An elegant, enlivening and profoundly on-point portrait of a forgotten icon, and our struggle to reconcile ourselves to its return. Read cover to cover with absolute relish -- Amy-Jane Beer A real page-turner, as Chantal Lyons delves back in time and forward into the future to tell the fascinating story of Britain's only truly big, fierce mammal -- Stephen Moss A charming and impressively balanced account that's as important for our society as rootings are to the forest floor -- Leif Bersweden