Join us for a very special author talk from writer Kristin Ohlson! Books available for purchase from Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry.

Is Nature More Cooperative Than We Think?

Most people believe that nature is characterized by competition and conflict—red in tooth and claw, as the poet Tennyson said. But recent science suggests that cooperative relationships among living things have both shaped the world around us and continue to knit ecosystems together. How can we both uphold these cooperative relationships and become a cooperative partner with the rest of life?

Kristin Ohlson is a writer from Portland, Oregon (and before that, Cleveland Heights!). Her new book, Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World – which the Wall Street Journal calls “excellent and illuminating” and Sierra calls “elegant”–probes the mutually beneficial relationships among living things that undergird the natural world. Her last book was The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet, which the Los Angeles Times calls “a hopeful book and a necessary one…. a fast-paced and entertaining shot across the bow of mainstream thinking about land use.” She appeared in the award-winning documentary film, Kiss the Ground, to speak about the connection between soil health and climate health.

Ohlson’s articles have been published in the New York Times, Orion, Discover, Gourmet, Oprah, and many other print and online publications. Her magazine work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and Best American Food Writing. While she has written about many things over her long career— from proton decay to the pleasures of getting lost in Afghanistan—she is now focused on the work to regenerate landscapes and cities. She has a special interest in writing about science, particularly in turning complex subjects into narratives that ordinary people read with relish.

Kristin Ohlson (kristinohlson.com) photo by Kristin Beadle (beadledesign.com)

Is Nature More Cooperative Than We Think? A Talk with Kristin Ohlson