As she shares her rinsed clean, meticulously ordered thoughts and concerns, Moats handles every word with exquisite care and respect, as though each is a precious stone, a seed, a candle flame. This radiant “note in a bottle” for future generations is the third title in her uniquely gentle yet powerfully discerning set of ethical inquires into the human condition, following The Letter from Death (2009) and Hope: A Myth Reawakened (2015). Here Moats wonders if, decades from now, humankind will still be much like we are or profoundly altered, given the exponential advance of technology and the threatened breakdown of the biosphere. This existentially poignant missive crystallized during the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the climate crisis as both ongoing disasters harshly expose intrinsic social inequality and injustice. Moats begins with fresh and provocative definitions for hunting and gathering, reimagining them as two central human impulses. To gather is “to draw close to something, to bring together in a body.” To hunt is “to target for killing, wounding, or capture.” To gather is “inclusive”; to hunt is “exclusive.” Moats considers the consequences of each approach as she elucidates how racism and “othering” spur police violence and the unjust and cruel treatment of refugees and immigrants. She also parses the potentially harmful impacts of genetic engineering. Ultimately, Moats expresses the hope that more of us in the here and now will try harder to understand each other and embrace “truth and empathy.”
Donna Seaman
Editor, Booklist Magazine and Booklist Online
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