Turtle Planet: Compassion, Conservation, and the Fate of the Natural World, Paperback

Explore the Bond Between Humans and Animals​

Be a part of it ─ 2020 is Designated "Year of the Turtle" by Zoological and Conservation Organizations.

Turtle Planet is a work of philosophical fact and fiction by ordained Daoist Monk Yun Rou. This beautifully written work of thought deeply explores the bond between humans and animals―the wisdom they teach us, the wounds they can heal, and the role we play in their destruction.

A Daoist focus on personal cultivation, environmental conservation, and political and social justice. Daoist Monk Yun Rou received his academic education at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California and was ordained a Daoist monk at the Chun Yang (Pure Yang) Taoist Temple in Guangzhou, China. Drawing from his eclectic experience; Monk Yun Rou blends literature, biology, and medicine with his orthodox Daoist education. In Turtle Planet he mixes science, fantasy, magical realism, fables, and truth to create a joyful, irrepressibly creative, and utterly unique literary experience.

See the world through the eyes of turtles. Drawing on 50 years of loving and husbanding turtles, from the car-sized giant Leatherback turtle to the Central Asian tortoise, Monk Yun Rou renders the wonders and suffering of the natural world through the eyes of 18 exotic turtles, whom he visits while meditating. Finding them in deserts, jungles, rivers, streams, savannahs, and even an airport restroom; he listens as they share the triumphs and tragedies of their lives―sounding the alarm of what climate change, global extinction, human intervention, and environmental devastation really mean to their worlds and to ours. An informational glossary and description of each turtle at the end of the book is provided as a bonus gift to readers.

If you have read and learned from books such as H is for Hawk, The Soul of an Octopus, or Ishmael; you will be moved by Turtle Planet, a must for any reader who loves nature, cherishes animals, and celebrates ideas.