Jonathan C. Slaght
Jonathan C. Slaght
Jonathan Slaght is the author of Owls of the Eastern Ice, which won the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the Minnesota Book Award for General Nonfiction, and was long-listed for the National Book Award. He is an expert on endangered species of northeast Asia, and works as the regional director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Temperate Asia Program, overseeing programs in China, Mongolia, and Afghanistan, and projects in Russia and Central Asia. His writings and work have been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, BBC World Service, NPR, and Scientific American, among others.
He is a well-respected speaker, delivering talks to a wide range of audiences across all ages. Examples of past speaking venues include Town Hall (Seattle), Pushkin House (London), Smithsonian (Washington DC), LA Times Festival of Books, Shanghai International Book Festival, North House Folk School, International Owl Center, Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival, multiple birdwatching clubs (Audubon, etc), public libraries, universities (including keynote speaker at a University of Minnesota commencement), high schools, and more.
You can learn more about Jonathan Slaght on his website. He lives in Minneapolis.
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Hardcover
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The thrilling saga of the great Amur tiger and the scientists who came together, across the world, to save it.
The forests of Northeast Asia are home to a marvelous range of animals—fish owls and brown bears, musk deer and moose, wolves and raccoon dogs, and leopards and tigers. But in the final years of the Cold War, only a few hundred...Read More
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Trade Paperback
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A New York Times Notable Book of 2020
Longlisted for the National Book Award
Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the Minnesota Book Award for General Nonfiction
A Finalist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award
Winner of the Peace Corps Worldwide Special Book Award
I saw my firs...Read More
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Trade Paperback
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In Russia's Far East sits the wild Ussuri Kray, a region known for its remote highlands and rugged mountain passes where tigers and bears roam the cliffs, and salmon and lenok navigate the rivers. In this collection of travel writing by famed Russian explorer and naturalist Vladimir K. Arsenyev (1872-1930), readers are shuttled back to the turn of ...Read More
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Tigers Between Empires
Slaght weaves together the true story of field-savvy researchers and the elusive tigers they study along the Sino-Russian frontier, detailing how both respond to the evolving threats that faced Amur (or Siberian) tigers in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through robust science, innovation, and tenacity, this small, international coalition laid the foundations of new tiger research across Asia, and transformed public opinion around tigers from something to be feared and hunted, to creatures we must protect.
Owls of the Eastern Ice
The true story of efforts by Slaght and his devoted team to find and protect the largest owl species in the world, the salmon-eating Blakiston’s fish owl, in the remote forests of Russia. Hear about all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs, and how unsustainable harvest of trees and fish threatens an ecosystem. Owls of the Eastern Ice was nominated for a National Book Award in 2020 and won the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2021, among other accolades.
Across the Ussuri Kray
Vladimir Arsenyev, an early 20th century figure, is a giant among Russian explorers but poorly known in the West. He made his name a hundred years ago in the Russian Far East, where he led survey teams thousands of kilometers across mountains and swamps, and through blizzards and floods—all on foot. Some of Arsenyev’s expeditions across the Ussuri Kray region were depicted in Akira Kurosawa’s film, “Dersu Uzala,” recipient of an Academy Award in 1976. Using Arsenyev’s photographs from then and his own from today, Slaght paints a picture of how human culture and the natural world shape landscapes.
Read Articles by the Author at Scientific American
“How One Animal Divided Europe”
“The Overlooked Danger That’s Massacring Wildlife”
“Owls Of The Eastern Ice By Jonathan C. Slaght — Review”
“Through the Russian Wilderness in Search of the World’s Largest Owl”
“‘Owls of the Eastern Ice’ Review: The Salmon Eaters”
“Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C Slaght review – an extraordinary quest”
“‘Why I spent my life saving the Blakiston’s fish owl’”
“WCS’s Jonathan Slaght Wins PEN America/E.O. Wilson Science Writing Award”
“Saving the world’s largest owl”
“A Fuller Vision of Russia’s Far East”
“How Loggers Can Help Save the Endangered Fish Owl”
“The Deadly and Devious Golden Eagle”
“The World’s Largest Owls Need Huge Trees”
“Golden Eagle Attacks Deer, A Photo Of An Epic Confrontation”
“Jonathan clearly touched everyone very personally with his open, confessional and unaffected style. That his wildlife experiences come fully baked with a sense of physical hardship and danger added to audience engagement, as did his very human story of a battle against the odds, always salted with charming and self-deprecating humour.” – Nick Ritblat, Madibaland World Literary Festival, Richmond, South Africa
“One of the most engaging speakers we’ve had both for students and faculty members. An excellent example of a speaker who could engagingly connect with diverse audiences, both specialist and general, to inspire them to connect with the subject at hand.”
– Marc Robinson, Professor Emeritus, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
“Jonathan’s keynote presentation at the Central Valley Bird Club’s annual meeting in California was an instant hit with our diverse audience. Both a travelogue and a story of a difficult conservation success in the Russian Far East, his presentation is a compelling story told by an excellent speaker. We are looking forward to inviting him back.”
– Patricia Bacchetti, President, Central Valley Bird Club
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