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The monk seal conspiracy
Wild landscapes and political intrigue
among the scattered islands of the Aegean
The Mediterranean monk seal has been classified as one of the twelve most endangered animals in the world. Much loved by the ancient Greeks, in more recent years its habitat has experienced steadily increasing destruction. Urban growth, industrial poisons, mass tourism and overfishing have all taken their toll on this shy and reclusive creature. It has found its last refuge in the Eastern Aegean, a region where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a few kilometres of sea.
For three years in the 1980s, the author headed an international project to save the critically-endangered Mediterranean monk seal by creating a network of sanctuaries in the Eastern Aegean. But after increasing harassment by the Greek security forces, he was expelled from the country, branded as a 'spy'. The focus of his story, however, is not just a personal battle with a kafkaesque bureaucracy: it is why the Greek government and international conservation organisations are allowing the monk seal to slip silently into extinction…
In recounting his story, the author takes us to the lush Eastern Aegean island of Samos, into the headquarters of the Greek intelligence services, into confidential meetings of the world’s most influential conservation organisations… Vividly-described episodes, both comical and poignant, describe the fight to save Europe’s most endangered marine mammal and its polluted, tourist-jammed habitat.
"This is a sad and poignant account of the insanity of a world which allows such a delightful animal to become extinct, for ‘with every dying animal and plant, every dying forest, river and lake, a part of our humanity is also dying.’" — The Sunday Times
"A passionately written and entertaining book… we need books like this to remind us how easy it is to believe that complacency is really pragmatism." — New Scientist
Further information: http://www.iridescent-publishing.com
among the scattered islands of the Aegean
The Mediterranean monk seal has been classified as one of the twelve most endangered animals in the world. Much loved by the ancient Greeks, in more recent years its habitat has experienced steadily increasing destruction. Urban growth, industrial poisons, mass tourism and overfishing have all taken their toll on this shy and reclusive creature. It has found its last refuge in the Eastern Aegean, a region where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a few kilometres of sea.
For three years in the 1980s, the author headed an international project to save the critically-endangered Mediterranean monk seal by creating a network of sanctuaries in the Eastern Aegean. But after increasing harassment by the Greek security forces, he was expelled from the country, branded as a 'spy'. The focus of his story, however, is not just a personal battle with a kafkaesque bureaucracy: it is why the Greek government and international conservation organisations are allowing the monk seal to slip silently into extinction…
In recounting his story, the author takes us to the lush Eastern Aegean island of Samos, into the headquarters of the Greek intelligence services, into confidential meetings of the world’s most influential conservation organisations… Vividly-described episodes, both comical and poignant, describe the fight to save Europe’s most endangered marine mammal and its polluted, tourist-jammed habitat.
"This is a sad and poignant account of the insanity of a world which allows such a delightful animal to become extinct, for ‘with every dying animal and plant, every dying forest, river and lake, a part of our humanity is also dying.’" — The Sunday Times
"A passionately written and entertaining book… we need books like this to remind us how easy it is to believe that complacency is really pragmatism." — New Scientist
Further information: http://www.iridescent-publishing.com
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
William Johnson
5 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This entry is for William ^7 Johnson.
William Miles Johnson (1954-2016; aka William Azuski) spent his formative years in the UK, studying ancient history and literature before dropping out of college to pursue a path on the open road. He travelled widely through the Mediterranean until a chance encounter threw him headlong into an unexpected calling — ecology and conservation.
Johnson went on to head an international conservation project to establish marine protected areas in the militarily tense Eastern Aegean, where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a narrow stretch of sea, and where shadowy areas of the state apparatus appeared to have forgotten that the Colonels had fallen five years earlier.
Those experiences formed the basis for his first book, THE MONK SEAL CONSPIRACY, published by Heretic Books, London.
Hailed by critics as “A ground-breaking work of great importance” Johnson’s second book, THE ROSE-TINTED MENAGERIE — a history of animals in entertainment, from the circus amphitheatres of ancient Rome to the oceanaria of the 20th century — was published by Heretic Books in 1990, and was chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
With introductions by Desmond Morris, Richard Adams, Virginia McKenna and Sadruddin Aga Khan, the book also features in-depth investigations into the international trade in dolphins, and animals used for military purposes.
With the title still in demand, Iridescent Publishing republished the illustrated English edition of THE ROSE-TINTED MENAGERIE in 2012 in ebook form: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008GE01X8
An outspoken critic of the failings of international conservation NGOs, a subject featuring prominently in his articles, as well as The Monk Seal Conspiracy, Johnson’s “End of the World” satire / black comedy MAKING A KILLING was published in 1996, its story centred around a life-and-death Earth Summit, held in the troubled Caribbean paradise of San Pimente.
To mark the 2012 Earth Summit II in Rio, MAKING A KILLING was republished in 2012 by Iridescent Publishing in ebook form: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088CGHRM
Johnson subsequently turned his attention to more academic titles, with two Leiden-published titles focusing on Europe’s most endangered marine mammal, the Mediterranean monk seal, and its role in the history, culture and ecological decline of the Mediterranean Sea. MONK SEALS IN ANTIQUITY and MONK SEALS IN POST-CLASSICAL HISTORY were published by Backhuys Publishers in 1999 and 2004 respectively.
Of British and Yugoslav parentage, Johnson also writes under the name William Azuski.
Drawing on his years in Greece, 2013 sees the publication of TRAVELS IN ELYSIUM, a metaphysical mystery set on the Aegean island of Santorini (Thera).
“This extraordinary novel, part murder mystery, part metaphysical thriller, kept me guessing until the very last page. The intellectual duel between the troubled hero and his ruthless mentor is mesmerising. William Azuski’s treatment of the Atlantis legend is completely original and I have rarely read a novel with such a strong sense of place. The bizarre landscapes of Santorini and the daily lives of its people, both ancient and modern, are vividly evoked. Anyone who enjoys the work of Umberto Eco, Orhan Pamuk or Carlos Ruiz Zafón should try this book.” — Geraldine Harris, author, Egyptologist, and a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford.
Further information available at http://www.iridescent-publishing.com
William Miles Johnson (1954-2016; aka William Azuski) spent his formative years in the UK, studying ancient history and literature before dropping out of college to pursue a path on the open road. He travelled widely through the Mediterranean until a chance encounter threw him headlong into an unexpected calling — ecology and conservation.
Johnson went on to head an international conservation project to establish marine protected areas in the militarily tense Eastern Aegean, where the hostile powers of Greece and Turkey confront each other across a narrow stretch of sea, and where shadowy areas of the state apparatus appeared to have forgotten that the Colonels had fallen five years earlier.
Those experiences formed the basis for his first book, THE MONK SEAL CONSPIRACY, published by Heretic Books, London.
Hailed by critics as “A ground-breaking work of great importance” Johnson’s second book, THE ROSE-TINTED MENAGERIE — a history of animals in entertainment, from the circus amphitheatres of ancient Rome to the oceanaria of the 20th century — was published by Heretic Books in 1990, and was chosen as an Observer Book of the Year.
With introductions by Desmond Morris, Richard Adams, Virginia McKenna and Sadruddin Aga Khan, the book also features in-depth investigations into the international trade in dolphins, and animals used for military purposes.
With the title still in demand, Iridescent Publishing republished the illustrated English edition of THE ROSE-TINTED MENAGERIE in 2012 in ebook form: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008GE01X8
An outspoken critic of the failings of international conservation NGOs, a subject featuring prominently in his articles, as well as The Monk Seal Conspiracy, Johnson’s “End of the World” satire / black comedy MAKING A KILLING was published in 1996, its story centred around a life-and-death Earth Summit, held in the troubled Caribbean paradise of San Pimente.
To mark the 2012 Earth Summit II in Rio, MAKING A KILLING was republished in 2012 by Iridescent Publishing in ebook form: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088CGHRM
Johnson subsequently turned his attention to more academic titles, with two Leiden-published titles focusing on Europe’s most endangered marine mammal, the Mediterranean monk seal, and its role in the history, culture and ecological decline of the Mediterranean Sea. MONK SEALS IN ANTIQUITY and MONK SEALS IN POST-CLASSICAL HISTORY were published by Backhuys Publishers in 1999 and 2004 respectively.
Of British and Yugoslav parentage, Johnson also writes under the name William Azuski.
Drawing on his years in Greece, 2013 sees the publication of TRAVELS IN ELYSIUM, a metaphysical mystery set on the Aegean island of Santorini (Thera).
“This extraordinary novel, part murder mystery, part metaphysical thriller, kept me guessing until the very last page. The intellectual duel between the troubled hero and his ruthless mentor is mesmerising. William Azuski’s treatment of the Atlantis legend is completely original and I have rarely read a novel with such a strong sense of place. The bizarre landscapes of Santorini and the daily lives of its people, both ancient and modern, are vividly evoked. Anyone who enjoys the work of Umberto Eco, Orhan Pamuk or Carlos Ruiz Zafón should try this book.” — Geraldine Harris, author, Egyptologist, and a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford.
Further information available at http://www.iridescent-publishing.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 13, 2021
I am biased with giving the rating as I am professionally involved in nature conservation. So, let's start. The book, non-fiction, set in the 1970s and 1980s, is a cross-over between a travel journal focussed on eastern Aegean islands and Greece in general, spy-thriller involving military intelligence and local police, personal memoirs, philosophical essays, in-depth view into politics and economics of international nature conservation organisations (most notably WWF, IUCN and Greenpeace) and historical overview of monk-seal conservation attempts.
Johnson makes fun of Samos police officers, scares you with threats he receives, shares dirty laundry of the wider conservation community, teaches you the history of Greece and life life-history of monk seal, etc.
It is a good read, although with a condensed and demanding writing style from time to time. If you are interested in the modern history of nature-conservation in Mediterranen, or monk seal, or international nature conservation organisations this book is for you.
Johnson makes fun of Samos police officers, scares you with threats he receives, shares dirty laundry of the wider conservation community, teaches you the history of Greece and life life-history of monk seal, etc.
It is a good read, although with a condensed and demanding writing style from time to time. If you are interested in the modern history of nature-conservation in Mediterranen, or monk seal, or international nature conservation organisations this book is for you.
June 16, 2021
Ok, it's years since I read it and I loaned it to a friend and can't remember who!
What I can tell you is that this was brilliantly entertaining and informative. Who would have thought that endangered Monk seals would become involved in international political intrigue. It was brilliantly written too, beautiful and quite moving. I'd love to read more by William Johnson, or, better still, to hear some narrated as audiobooks!
What I can tell you is that this was brilliantly entertaining and informative. Who would have thought that endangered Monk seals would become involved in international political intrigue. It was brilliantly written too, beautiful and quite moving. I'd love to read more by William Johnson, or, better still, to hear some narrated as audiobooks!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews