A popular science title about conservation. What should we conserve and why in this age of extinctions? Who should get tickets for the ark?

A NEW SCIENTIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 'A fascinating read for anyone interested in the future of the planet' Adam Hart, author and BBC science presenter Our planet hasn't seen the current rate of extinction since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and global conservation efforts are failing to halt this. As a society, we face choices which will determine the fate of Earth's estimated 8.7 million species, including humans. As wildlife declines, conservation needs to make trade-offs. But what should we conserve and why? Are we wrong to love bees and hate wasps? Are native species more valuable than newcomers (aka invasives)? Should some animals be culled to protect others, and what do we want the 'natural world' to look like? There are many surprising answers in Rebecca Nesbit's lively, stimulating book, which sows the seeds of a debate we urgently need to have.

"Thought-provoking and topical ... an illuminating analysis of where human efforts may best be directed" - Observer

"Amazing ... important" - Birdwatching

"Thought-provoking ... Nesbit challenges some widely held assumptions, many I held myself, and is skillful in doing so ... a welcome antidote to the simplistic and divisive thinking that can sometimes taint the well-meaning world of conservation." - Geographical

"Tickets for the Ark expertly navigates us through innumerable conservation dilemmas, trilemmas and quadrillemas, and forces us to contemplate our own underlying assumptions about the natural world. Why do we want to protect wildlife, for whom, and how can we reach agreement when entirely reasonable people take differing perspectives?" - Inheritors of the Earth

"Tickets for the Ark answers crucial questions that it hadn't occurred to most of us even to ask" - Where Do Camels Belong?

"Makes you question why you care about the things you care about - and why you don't care about things you should ... a fantastic way to explore a range of really difficult questions faced by those who want to conserve the natural world" - Biologist