This is a pretty good book. I expected it to be more about his home base and how he learned to live with the animals there, but much of the book was spent in far-flung provinces discussing how cities are dealing with wildlife in their midst (monkeys in India and South America, black bears in Massachusetts, etc.). There was some good information, but I wish there were more about local wildlife. ( )

My Backyard Jungle is a personal exploration of man's love/hate relationship with the wild animals who live around him. Barilla purchased his first house after years of renting, when he moved to Columbia, SC, to teach creative non-fiction at the University of South Carolina. He enthusiastically set to work making the house his own and even had yard certified as habitat by the National Wildlife Foundation (you can too, here).

However, the more time he spends in his yard, the more time Barilla is forced to confront the fact that he may not be the one in charge. The local wildlife (squirrels eating his fruit, rats in the walls, possums in the crawlspace, etc.) interferes with his lifestyle much more than he'd like. As the world grows more crowded and urban, this kind of thing is becoming much more common. To investigate, Barilla leaves the Palmetto State and looks at monkeys in Florida and India, black bears in Massachusetts, and marmosets in Brazil. No matter where he goes, the question is are always the same: How can man and animal co-exist in an increasingly crowded world.

An interesting take on an important topic for today's world. Barilla's prose is excellent, as you might expect for a professor of creative writing. Recommended for anyone who has ever had a run-in with urban wildlife or enjoys books about man and nature. ( )

Library Journal August 2013