.M.

'Feral Futures' is all about the biological invasion of Australia, presented in stark and quite alarming terms. 'The New Nature' challenges the premise that nature is where we are not. Using case studies from around Sydney, Low describes how surburbia is becoming a haven for exotic species and surrounding bushland increasingly deserted.

There is controversial material in both books, such as the observation that, for some species, politics will always come before conservation (e.g. cuddly koalas). I was sold on the argument that human development enables certain species to usurp others in an ever-changing balance of power. It was obvious enough looking out the window of my parents' place. In the two year since I'd been in Sydney, new species of birds had taken pride of place in bushy Fox Valley. Ring-tailed possums were more plentiful then ever. Never having been one for weeding, 'The New Nature' also left me feeling like I'll never be able to plant anything ever for fear of the consequences. The "riddle of nature" Low describes is an absolute minefield of issues, even for a cityslicker like me.