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“Those who dare to point out man’s overwhelming role, and overwhelming responsibility, in shaping even the wildest parts of the natural world are usually made to feel about as welcome as an astrophysicist at a fundamentalist Bible study class that has just taken up Genesis,” writes Stephen Budiansky in Nature’s Keepers (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £20, ISBN 0 297 81636 5). As he takes a sideways swipe at romantics, mystics and all who peddle the “nature myth”, Budiansky does indeed run the risk of upsetting a few people. But his arguments for the active management of nature are compelling. And those readers who remain unconvinced will at least be entertained and informed.