A "soulful tribute" ( New York Times ) that shows how rethinking our relationships with other
species can help us reimagine the future of humankind A New York Times Notable Book of the
Year In the woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa sometime deep in our species’ past something
strange happened: a bird called out not to warn others of human presence but to call
attention to herself. Having found a beehive that bird—a honeyguide—sought human aid to break
in. The behavior can seem almost miraculous: How would a bird come to think that people could
help her? Isn’t life simply bloodier than that? As Rob Dunn argues in The Call of the
Honeyguide it isn’t. Nature is red in tooth and claw but in equal measure life works
together. Cells host even smaller life wrapped in a web of mutual interdependence. Ants might
go to war but they also tend fungi aphids and even trees. And we humans work not just with
honeyguides but with yeast crops and pets. Ecologists call these beneficial relationships
mutualisms. And they might be the most important forces in the evolution of life. We humans
often act as though we are all alone independent from the rest of life. As The Call of the
Honeyguide shows we are not. It is a call to action for a more beneficent less lonely future.
