{"product_id":"what-we-leave-behind-stanislaw-lubienski-9781529418866","title":"What We Leave Behind: A Birdwatcher's Dispatches from the Waste Catastrophe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Everything looked perfect. Sand - unique Baltic sand, the best in the world - and the calm sea. But wait. Something was amiss. Something was wrong\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt starts with a day at the beach. A single white sock that somehow spoils everything. It's enough to send writer and ornithologist Stanislaw Lubienski on a quest to understand what we throw away, where it goes and whether it will be our legacy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy analysing items he unearths on his trips into nature - a plastic bottle, a tube of Russian penis-enlargement cream, a cigarette butt, an empty aerosol can - tracing their origins and explaining the harm they can do, he shows how consumer society has developed out of control, to the point of environmental catastrophe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe also looks with a birdwatcher's eye at how various animals have come to adapt to and even rely on our rubbish, and interrogates the cultural significance of waste and the origins of our throw-away lifestyles. Finally, he adds a personal touch by examining his own \"environmental neurosis\" and by going out with refuse crews to watch them work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile Lubienski never hectors his readers, nor shames them, his clear-eyed, persuasive and humble polemic reminds us what we, as individuals, can and cannot do to address an apocalyptic issue while there's still something worth saving. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTranslated from the Polish by Zosia Krasodomska-Jones\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanislaw Lubienski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1529418860\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781529418866\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Quercus Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Stanislaw Lubienski","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44449971699967,"sku":"9781529418866","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fcaf8428-ba21-48e0-8b46-799f8a6e04eb.jpg?v=1698502041","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/what-we-leave-behind-stanislaw-lubienski-9781529418866","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}