Wildly Different
How Five Women Reclaimed Nature in a Man’s World
An inspiring historical treatise, Sarah Lonsdale’s Wildly Different explores the unconventional lives of five women who defied limiting cultural norms to impact environmental causes.
Mina Hubbard went on expedition in northern Labrador, Canada, to map the region’s Naskaupi and George Rivers. Evelyn Cheesman conducted entomological research in the South Pacific Islands. Dorothy Pilley was a pioneer in global mountaineering. Ethel Haythornthwaite advocated for public outdoor spaces, helping establish England’s first park system. And Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist, founded the Green Belt Movement to save her country’s forests.
The women’s personal journals, published works, and expansive research are referenced to extol their influence, as with Hubbard’s map denoting personalized locations, identification of new insect species bearing Cheesman’s name, and Pilley’s memoir, Climbing Days. Black-and-white photographs are included, depicting, for instance, bold Haythornthwaite speaking to encourage the Peak District’s safekeeping, and down-to-earth Wangari smiling into the camera.
The prose is rich and potent, helping to capture standout scenes, as of the terror of Pilley scaling a ridge on Dent Blanche in the Alps. And though the women lacked firsthand knowledge of each other, their connections herein are drawn via their shared values of courage, determination, and persistence to save local habitats. Further, the text unpacks how the outdoors remain a “contested space” for women in contemporary times and calls for a defense of natural spaces in the face of social and governmental restrictions. Optimism is also expressed for the possible rehabilitation of ecological landscapes.
Lauding five ecology-minded women leaders, the enlightening biographical compilation Wildly Different shows how its subjects turned their passion for the environment and science into grand legacies.
Reviewed by
Katy Keffer
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
