{"product_id":"gods-wasps-and-stranglers-the-secret-history-and-redemptive-future-of-fig-trees-9781603587976","title":"Gods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"If you're looking for a dose of wonder in your reading life, I recommend this beautiful book about the magic of fig trees.\"--\u003cem\u003eBook Riot\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOver millions of years, fig trees have shaped our world, influenced our evolution, nourished our bodies and fed our imaginations. And as author and ecologist Mike Shanahan proclaims, \"The best could be yet to come.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGods, Wasps and Stranglers\u003c\/em\u003e weaves together the mythology, history and ecology of one of the world's most fascinating--and diverse--groups of plants, from their starring role in every major religion to their potential to restore rainforests, halt the loss of rare and endangered species and even limit climate change.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this lively and joyous book, Shanahan recounts the epic journeys of tiny fig wasps, whose eighty-million-year-old relationship with fig trees has helped them sustain more species of birds and mammals than any other trees; the curious habits of fig-dependent rhinoceros hornbills; figs' connection to Krishna and Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad; and even their importance to Kenya's struggle for independence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUltimately, \u003cem\u003eGods, Wasps and Stranglers\u003c\/em\u003e is a story about humanity's relationship with nature, one that is as relevant to our future as it is to our past. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShanahan, Mike:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eMike 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 \u003cem\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Ecologist\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEnsia\u003c\/em\u003e, and chapters of \u003cem\u003eDry: Life without Water\u003c\/em\u003e (Harvard University Press); \u003cem\u003eClimate Change and the Media\u003c\/em\u003e (Peter Lang Publishing) and \u003cem\u003eCulture and Climate Change: Narratives\u003c\/em\u003e (Shed). He is the illustrator of \u003cem\u003eExtraordinary Animals\u003c\/em\u003e (Greenwood Publishing Group) and maintains a blog called \u003cem\u003eUnder the Banyan\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chelsea Green Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50619308835090,"sku":"9781603587976","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ca35224a-2e3e-41a7-9161-e61b01d581df.jpg?v=1732547893","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/gods-wasps-and-stranglers-the-secret-history-and-redemptive-future-of-fig-trees-9781603587976","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}