Islands of Abandonment
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- Create Date：2021-04-04 12:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Cal Flyn
- ISBN：0008329761
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Summary
Investigative journalist Cal Flyn's ISLANDS OF ABANDONMENT， an exploration of the world's most desolate， abandoned places that have now been reclaimed by nature， from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to the "urban prairie" of Detroit to the irradiated grounds of Chernobyl， in an ultimately redemptive story about the power and promise of the natural world。
Reviews
Chris Aylott
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More of a guided tour than a scientific study， but Flyn does explore the ecology of abandoned places， showing how quickly wild plants and animals recolonize and thrive in places that humans have left behind。 While this lesson in no way downplays the serious challenges of overharvesting， pollution， and climate change， it does provide a hopeful message: life on this planet can do a lot to rebalance itself if we can adjust our own species' behavior and leave well enough alone。 More of a guided tour than a scientific study， but Flyn does explore the ecology of abandoned places， showing how quickly wild plants and animals recolonize and thrive in places that humans have left behind。 While this lesson in no way downplays the serious challenges of overharvesting， pollution， and climate change， it does provide a hopeful message: life on this planet can do a lot to rebalance itself if we can adjust our own species' behavior and leave well enough alone。 。。。more
Jennifer
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The abandoned places which appear in Cal Flyn's book are diverse。 There's the very much expected Pripyat decades since the Chernobyl disaster， the natural disaster of the volcano in Montserrat， the depopulation and bankruptcy of Detroit and many in between many of which I'd never heard。 It's not all comforting 'nature is healing' （I was shocked by Verdun）， it's sobering and she shows that recovery or new nature is far from guaranteed but it is uplifting enough and does not ignore the human。 Her The abandoned places which appear in Cal Flyn's book are diverse。 There's the very much expected Pripyat decades since the Chernobyl disaster， the natural disaster of the volcano in Montserrat， the depopulation and bankruptcy of Detroit and many in between many of which I'd never heard。 It's not all comforting 'nature is healing' （I was shocked by Verdun）， it's sobering and she shows that recovery or new nature is far from guaranteed but it is uplifting enough and does not ignore the human。 Her description of her night in an abandoned house on a small island between Orkney and the tip of mainland Scotland is one of the creepiest things I have ever read， but fortunately it is the rest of the book that leaves you thinking。 。。。more
Ian
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Before starting this book I noticed there were a bunch of 5-star ratings from other readers， which I was a bit sceptical about given this was an author I hadn’t previously heard of。 My scepticism turned out to be misplaced。 I thought this was excellent and a book that provided new understanding for a layman like me。 The author lives in Scotland and begins with a study of five huge spoil tips in West Lothian， made up of blaes。 In the Scotland， “blaes” is a word for reddish-coloured stone flakes t Before starting this book I noticed there were a bunch of 5-star ratings from other readers， which I was a bit sceptical about given this was an author I hadn’t previously heard of。 My scepticism turned out to be misplaced。 I thought this was excellent and a book that provided new understanding for a layman like me。 The author lives in Scotland and begins with a study of five huge spoil tips in West Lothian， made up of blaes。 In the Scotland， “blaes” is a word for reddish-coloured stone flakes that this book tells me are the residue of past shale oil extraction。 At the author notes， in past decades blaes was spread over outdoor sports pitches in Scotland， including the one at my own primary school， and I could tell many stories about the （un）suitability of blaes for that purpose。 Tempting though this is， it would be a digression。 What’s remarkable about the spoil heaps in West Lothian is that they have become havens for wildlife in an area where the land is otherwise urbanised or subject to intensive agriculture。 This sets the tone for the rest of the book， which is about the resilience of nature even in locations where humans have comprehensively trashed it。There are visits to the Cyprus “Green Line” and a brief mention of the Korean DMZ， and of course a visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone， which now teems with wildlife。 The irradiated Chernobyl zone and the heavily mined Korean DMZ are hardly ideal environments for wildlife of course， but it’s evident that the costs to wildlife of living in these areas is less than the cost of them living close to humans， which leads to a rather depressing conclusion about our impact。There’s a fascinating chapter on large-scale reforestation in the northern hemisphere。 Another section of the book looks at urban decline， mainly focused on Detroit which has seen a huge fall in population since its heyday and where entire areas of the city have been demolished。 I daresay Americans might be more familiar with this than I was。I kept thinking that the next chapter of the book couldn’t be as interesting as the last， but the author kept proving me wrong。 She moves onto to discuss contaminated land， visiting the mouth of the Passaic River in New Jersey， and the sinister “Place à Gaz” in France， where in the 1920s the French government destroyed 200，000 poison gas shells left over after WW1。 Yet more new information for me arrived in a discussion on “metallophyte” plants， which have an evolved tolerance for heavy metals。 Some of these plants are classed as “hyperaccumulators” of toxic metals and may have a role in reducing contaminants in former industrial land。 Another chapter looks at invasive species in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania， that escaped from an abandoned botanical research station。 The author is clearly sensitive to criticism that， by focusing on “silver linings” to environmental disasters， she is giving a “free pass” to those who damage the environment。 She is therefore careful to reassert her green credentials by looking at the potential for disaster from climate change。 This is fair enough although the climate change warnings didn’t include anything I hadn’t read many times before。 What was more interesting were her visits to places that suggest what the world might look like after a civilisational collapse。 She spends a night on the island of Swoma， in the Orkney Isles， whose last inhabitants， an elderly brother and sister， left in 1974 and before doing so turned their cattle loose。 There’s a captivating description of how natural selection is reasserting itself over this domesticated species。 Montserrat in the Caribbean is visited as the site of a natural disaster， whilst the Salton Sea in California is the location of another environmental disaster I hadn’t previously heard of。 The nearby “Slab City” is suggested as the sort of society that might develop if the worst were to happen to humanity。 How did the author even find all these places？A great read。 One of the most original and informative books I’ve read in a long time。 。。。more
Doug Young
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Heart-breaking but hopeful。 Brilliant research makes for great factoids to bore the wife with too。Loved it。
Karen Rubins-Lawrie
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This is up there with one of the best books I've ever read。 Fascinating， thought provoking， eye opening and yet terrifying。 Beautifully written， incredibly educational and something I know I'll pick up for years to come。 It took me a long time to read as every other page left me needing to know more，and research these mostly unheard of abandoned places。 This is up there with one of the best books I've ever read。 Fascinating， thought provoking， eye opening and yet terrifying。 Beautifully written， incredibly educational and something I know I'll pick up for years to come。 It took me a long time to read as every other page left me needing to know more，and research these mostly unheard of abandoned places。 。。。more
Paul
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In the thousands of years since we stopped becoming hunter-gatherers and we have changed almost everything on the planet in one way or another。 We have drained and flooded places， destroyed mountains， built brand new hills， changed the course of rivers， dug deep into the earth and obliterated whole cities。 When we move on to the next places what then for the places we have trashed and ruined？Rather than travelling to all the beauty spots in the world， In Islands of Abandonment Cal Flyn decides t In the thousands of years since we stopped becoming hunter-gatherers and we have changed almost everything on the planet in one way or another。 We have drained and flooded places， destroyed mountains， built brand new hills， changed the course of rivers， dug deep into the earth and obliterated whole cities。 When we move on to the next places what then for the places we have trashed and ruined？Rather than travelling to all the beauty spots in the world， In Islands of Abandonment Cal Flyn decides to head to all those places that most people wouldn’t be adding to their list of places to go after lockdown。 As well as finding ruin and devastation， she also finds strange beauty， rare plants and nature starting to take back what is once owned。Starting very close to home， she heads to a place called Five Sisters。 This place in West Lothian is a series of hills that are the waste from shattering rocks to extract the shale oil from。 When they were created they were a grim， dark site， but now they are now a soft green as life has found a foothold on their steep slopes。 The vegetation is similar to what you would find on a tundra but after the site was surveyed in 2004 a biologist was startled to find that in amongst the willow herb there were some incredibly rare plants indeed， including the Young’s Helleborine and other orchids。Borders that have been created following disputes in Korea and Cyprus are two places that are on her destination list。 In Cyprus， she meets with a man who had to flee his home in 1974 and though that he would be back in a few days。 He still hasn’t returned and he can see his former home through the fence。 The DMZ between North and South Korea has almost become a wildlife sanctuary in its own right with various large mammals now being spotted。In Spain there are now around 3000 villages that the populations have abandoned for the cities are slowly crumbling into dust and being reclaimed by nature。 The same thing is happening in Detroit。 They call it blight; gone are the industries of the region and the employment that it brought。 Entire streets have been left as the people have moved elsewhere and Flyn has included some photo from Google Streetview as they are reclaimed by scrub and trees。Landscapes have been irrevocably changed by disasters both natural and man-made。 At the time of writing this both Mount Etna and another unpronounceable one in Iceland are very active at the moment。 Being shown round the remains of a town that was covered after a volcano blew its top off is an eye-opening experience。 For man-made disasters， there is little to touch Chernobyl for its impact in Ukraine and across the continent。 I distinctly remember it happening way back in the 1980s and I am not sure what was the most disturbing， the disinformation and propaganda from the Soviets or the vast cloud of radiation drifting across the UK。 The exclusion zone around the plant is slowly being reclaimed by nature and the scientists are still learning how the massive dose of radiation is still affecting the region。In nearby Estonia， there are vast swathes of farmland that has been abandoned and Flyn sees how the landscapes are slowly re-foresting themselves。 It is becoming a massive carbon sink and in some ways replacing the trees being lost from the Amazon。 A completely different place is Slab City， this desert community is a place that those in our society who don’t really fit， or in certain cases are trying to evade the authorities end up。 It is a bit of a lawless place and feels a bit， Mad Max。Some of the places that she travels to are pretty grim， a reminder of the worst that we can do to this only planet that we have。 Thankfully Flyn is a sensitive and perceptive writer， she engages with the people that she meets at the places mentioned and visited in the book and her detailed background research adds depth to the prose making this a fascinating study of the places around the planet。 。。。more
John Hillcoat
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This is a really interesting read。 It is well written and the stories about various abandoned places through accident， pollution and the like are engaging。 The structure of the book is clever as it slowly builds up to exploring how abandoned land offers a glimpse into how climate change may well come to reshape the world and how we live in it。My favourite chapters were 'Alien Invasion' where she discusses a tangle of issues concerning invasive species in the landscape， and 'The Trip to Rose Cott This is a really interesting read。 It is well written and the stories about various abandoned places through accident， pollution and the like are engaging。 The structure of the book is clever as it slowly builds up to exploring how abandoned land offers a glimpse into how climate change may well come to reshape the world and how we live in it。My favourite chapters were 'Alien Invasion' where she discusses a tangle of issues concerning invasive species in the landscape， and 'The Trip to Rose Cottage' which focuses on the rewilding of some cattle on a remote island。 Chapter 12， 'The Deluge and the Desert' was also fascinating for its depiction of people living in a Mad Max type landscape。The book is both a testament to hope and a warning。 It illustrates again and again nature's resilience to recover from trauma （albiet in a different form to previously）。 But there is also laced through these hopeful stories cautionary tales concerning our modern way of living and the polluting of natural areas。 。。。more
Duncan M Simpson
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Brilliant book， sublime writing， entirely thought provoking。
Cliff。Hanger。Books
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This book is a different take on Climate Change。 The author explores landscapes and spaces that were profoundly disrupted by humans' presence and later by their absence。 Abandoned houses， fields， islands or parts of towns illustrate what happens when natures are left to run its course。As you will read in any other review， this book is about the natural world's resilience。 At times， it comforted me how everything heals after humans are gone， but I couldn’t get my mind what post-human landscapes e This book is a different take on Climate Change。 The author explores landscapes and spaces that were profoundly disrupted by humans' presence and later by their absence。 Abandoned houses， fields， islands or parts of towns illustrate what happens when natures are left to run its course。As you will read in any other review， this book is about the natural world's resilience。 At times， it comforted me how everything heals after humans are gone， but I couldn’t get my mind what post-human landscapes entail…Whether you are deep into your Climate Change reading or not， this book is very accessible and original。 The scale of Climate Change is hard to comprehend for many。 Flyn skilfully uses particular spaces as metaphors for the healing our planet needs to do on a global scale allowing the reader to grasp these stories that are easy to conceptualise。What book has helped you better understand Climate Change？ 。。。more
Andy Weston
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This is a very informative piece of writing。 The places Flyn visits， while possessed of an eerie attractiveness， are hardly beauty spots， in her series of visits she investigates the ecological impact of human activity on each location and to what extent nature can bounce back in a truly engaging manner。There is exceptional research also， and a wealth of knowledge on our planet from a 28 year old journalist from the Highlands。 Inevitably， some of the places are of more interest to some people th This is a very informative piece of writing。 The places Flyn visits， while possessed of an eerie attractiveness， are hardly beauty spots， in her series of visits she investigates the ecological impact of human activity on each location and to what extent nature can bounce back in a truly engaging manner。There is exceptional research also， and a wealth of knowledge on our planet from a 28 year old journalist from the Highlands。 Inevitably， some of the places are of more interest to some people than others。 My personal highlights were Swona island （near Orkney） and its cattle， Plymouth in Montserrat follwing the volcano， Zone Rouge in Verdun （the only place I have visited） and Detroit。 I was far less enthusiastic about the Five Sisters in Lothian， and indeed the whole of the first part of the book。 It actually gave me the wrong impression from the outset， but having completed the book， I can see the reason they were included， and can now appreciate them。 If I am allowed one criticism， it is not that they were included， its just about the order。 。。。more
Cath Higgins
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This was never going to be a ‘pleasant’ read - how could the stories of human’s collective destruction of habitats of the world around them ever be？ But faced with the constant barrage of climate disaster， biodiversity loss and the suffering of so many societies around the world in the news that reaches us daily I was seeking some cause for hope in Cal Flyn’s travels into the desolate places left behind by us， and she doesn’t disappoint。 Amidst the rubble of anthropogenic landscapes， filled with This was never going to be a ‘pleasant’ read - how could the stories of human’s collective destruction of habitats of the world around them ever be？ But faced with the constant barrage of climate disaster， biodiversity loss and the suffering of so many societies around the world in the news that reaches us daily I was seeking some cause for hope in Cal Flyn’s travels into the desolate places left behind by us， and she doesn’t disappoint。 Amidst the rubble of anthropogenic landscapes， filled with toxins， pollutants and aliens， the resilience of ecosystems shines bright， brilliantly described in Flyn’s poetic prose。 Never promising us a happy ending to this destructive journey we’ve been on for generations， this is very much a read for the hopeful realists amongst us - to remind us we can still make a difference， and that just perhaps， if enough of us do， nature will work with us to bolster our efforts。 。。。more
Rihards Buss
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My recent interest in the concept of remoteness， isolation， separation is reflected in my choice of books。 This is a fascinating read about extreme places on the Earth and what we can learn from the processes there in the context of a current global crises。
K。J。 Charles
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Fascinating and beautifully written account of abandoned places。 We see all sorts here--places where nature has returned and flourished， places where people are clinging on for good or ill， places which have been so horrifically ruined that nothing grows and plants are evolving that can eat dioxins。 There's a lot to hope for here in the ways nature can eat human activity and restore itself， and also a lot to be really depressed about。 Vivid and haunting。 Fascinating and beautifully written account of abandoned places。 We see all sorts here--places where nature has returned and flourished， places where people are clinging on for good or ill， places which have been so horrifically ruined that nothing grows and plants are evolving that can eat dioxins。 There's a lot to hope for here in the ways nature can eat human activity and restore itself， and also a lot to be really depressed about。 Vivid and haunting。 。。。more
Rowena Andrews
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This wasn't quite what I had expected， but it was a beautiful book。 And while it didn't shy away from the damage that has been done to nature， there is also a hopefulness to this book。 Flyn has done a wonderful job of balancing the viewpoints， and while this is a book about nature， it is much farther reaching， and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about the state of nature in these places。 This wasn't quite what I had expected， but it was a beautiful book。 And while it didn't shy away from the damage that has been done to nature， there is also a hopefulness to this book。 Flyn has done a wonderful job of balancing the viewpoints， and while this is a book about nature， it is much farther reaching， and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about the state of nature in these places。 。。。more
Sarah
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3。5 rounded upIslands of Abandonment sees Cal Flyn travel to different locations around the world which have been altered by humans and then abandoned for various reasons - including natural disaster （Plymouth， Montserrat） and events which have occurred at the hands of people （Chernobyl and the Cyprus Buffer Zone - to see how these places have adapted in the aftermath of human intervention and as they "re-wild" again。 The adaptation Flyn focuses on is primarily that of plants and animals， howeve 3。5 rounded upIslands of Abandonment sees Cal Flyn travel to different locations around the world which have been altered by humans and then abandoned for various reasons - including natural disaster （Plymouth， Montserrat） and events which have occurred at the hands of people （Chernobyl and the Cyprus Buffer Zone - to see how these places have adapted in the aftermath of human intervention and as they "re-wild" again。 The adaptation Flyn focuses on is primarily that of plants and animals， however some chapters focus more on the people who live in these areas。The book is made up of a mixture of a travelogue of sorts， telling the story of the places and the people the authors meets， as well as research Flyn does into the history of these locations。 The chapters on places in Scotland （Swoma and Five Sisters shale bings） were the ones I found to be the most enjoyable， and I found that this made for a different and enjoyable non-fiction read。 Thank you Netgalley and 4th Estate for the advance copy， which was provided in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Katy Wheatley
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I was sent this by mistake from the publisher through Netgalley and I'm so glad they did。 It's a fantastic book and an absolute delight to read。 I enjoyed every moment。 Flyn is a wonderful writer with a strong poetic sense which makes her prose beautiful to read。 The subject matter， looking at rewilding and how nature takes back areas abandoned by man is fascinating。 The range of places Flyn visits is wonderful and I learned so much。 I was sent this by mistake from the publisher through Netgalley and I'm so glad they did。 It's a fantastic book and an absolute delight to read。 I enjoyed every moment。 Flyn is a wonderful writer with a strong poetic sense which makes her prose beautiful to read。 The subject matter， looking at rewilding and how nature takes back areas abandoned by man is fascinating。 The range of places Flyn visits is wonderful and I learned so much。 。。。more
Chantal Lyons
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Cal Flyn: the next Robert Macfarlane？I'm always delighted when a woman gets to write a book like this， but I haven't given five stars for that reason。 It's quite similar in format to Gaia Vince's 'Adventures in the Anthropocene'， but where Vince's book attempted to raise the reader's optimism about individual efforts to combat climate change， and failed at this in my opinion， Flyn makes few promises of hope and yet， I was left uplifted。Flyn blends environmental and human history as she takes us Cal Flyn: the next Robert Macfarlane？I'm always delighted when a woman gets to write a book like this， but I haven't given five stars for that reason。 It's quite similar in format to Gaia Vince's 'Adventures in the Anthropocene'， but where Vince's book attempted to raise the reader's optimism about individual efforts to combat climate change， and failed at this in my opinion， Flyn makes few promises of hope and yet， I was left uplifted。Flyn blends environmental and human history as she takes us to places all around the world， from Chernobyl， to a WW1 battlefield in France， to a desert in the USA。 There is a lack of "representation" of the Global South， but I wonder if that's because time hasn't yet worked its strange magic to return life - or new versions of it - to places there that have been ecologically devastated more recently than counterparts in the Global North。Chernobyl has been written about exhaustively， though Flyn still finds fresh material （she visits all the places that are focused on in the book， with the exception of a few additional examples such as reef recovery in the Bikini Atoll）。 Where Flyn truly excels is in finding and writing about places that many readers are likely to have never heard of。 Slab City in the US desert; the arsenic-ash pool in France; or the West Lothian 'bings'， mining waste heaps now flourishing with rare plantlife。 Another quality of the book that stands out is its balance of focus on the human and the non-human。 While much nature-writing these days is criticised for an almost egotistical use of animals purely as a means to examine people， Flyn gives attention to both。 Slab City is more of a human study， for example， while Harris Island off Scotland is a fascinating vignette of species self-rewilding （I am keenly interested in rewilding and have read many books on the subject， and I hadn't come across the cattle of Harris before）。Flyn describes her explorations in assured and beautiful prose。 Very occasionally， there were too many similes and metaphors in short succession， but that's a bit of a nit-pick。 What matters is that the author captures the chiaroscuro that her "islands of abandonment" have created - the terrible cost of their destruction， but also the unanticipated joy of life that has managed to find a way。 That is where Flyn's message of hope comes in。 She is under no pretence that the coming consequences of climate change will bring untold suffering to humans and non-humans alike， but examples like the ones in her book provide tangible hope that some kinds of life will again rise from the ashes - and more quickly and more successfully than we might imagine。（With thanks to NetGalley and William Collins for this ebook， in exchange for an honest review） 。。。more
Roxani
，
Cal Flyn turns an attentive， curious eye to places abandoned by humans， often due to （human-caused） catastrophe。 This is a thoughtful reflection on the politics of nature， climate change， and place， and Flyn keeps excellent company。
Reference
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