ABOUT THE EVENT:

Wild Quests provides an unprecedented inside perspective for avid travellers, ecotourists, environmentalists or readers interested in our natural world. It combines travelogue, history and science to provide a significant and timely perspective into the relationships between animals, humans and the future of our planet.

‘Full of terrific insights, vivaciously written and gorgeously illustrated, Wild Quests combines enormous passion for wild animals with some telling truths about humanity’s wilful failure as guardians of our natural world.’ - Phillip Adams AO (Late Night Live ABC)

On Thursday 27th June at The Royal Oak, Balmain, join Satyajit Das in conversation with Cassie McCullagh.

Copies of Wild Quest will be available for purchase at the venue through Roaring Stories, with Das signing copies after the discussion.

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ABOUT THE VENUE

Attendees are asked to arrive at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Seating is unallocated – another reason to arrive early to secure an optimal spot. Why not make a full evening of it, too, by ordering a meal at the Royal Oak before or after the event? One of Balmain's oldest and most loved pubs, it serves a delicious range of food and beverages.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Thirty years ago, trips to Africa and Antarctica, two popular bucket-list destinations, profoundly changed Satyajit Das’s life. Ecotourism – searching for wildlife in its natural setting – became the gravitational centre of his life. Wild Quests is a literal and metaphorical record of these travels and the many lessons he learnt along the way.

From exotic birds to polar bears, his many encounters with remarkable wild animals, over time, focused his thoughts on the provocation coined by a friend – Nikita Ovsyanikov ‘The animals do not want to see you’.

This simple, factual statement interrogates humans’ underlying preoccupations and tensions in our complex relationship with the natural world. It questions what lies at the heart of our fascination with wild animals and the lengths we would go to pursue an ‘experience’. It asks, during a time of ecological emergency and habitat destruction, what responsibility does the ecotourist have to the natural world?

Written from the perspective of an ordinary traveller, this book invites readers into extraordinary places and real-life encounters with the animals who inhabit them. Das weaves his decades-long fascination with wild animals, with the staggering consequences of ecotourism, human consumption and ethics – Wild Quests brims with information.
As ecotourism and travel increases in its popularity, Das outlines what ethicist, Peter Singer describes as ‘tyranny of human over non-human’. Humanity has the capacity to destroy the earth as we know it, but we also have the ability to protect it. This choice begins with the understanding that we are part of a complex system which requires coexistence with living things; that there is no boundary between us and nature.

Wild Quests provides an unprecedented inside perspective for avid travellers, ecotourists, environmentalists or readers interested in our natural world. It combines travelogue, history and science to provide a significant and timely perspective into the relationships between animals, humans and the future of our planet

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ABOUT SATYAJIT DAS

Satyajit Das is a former banker, recognised as one of the world’s leading financial thinkers. He is the author of numerous books, including Traders, Guns & Money, Extreme Money, Banquet of Consequences and Fortune’s Fool, which examine the intersection between money and society, and the co-author, with his partner Jade Novakovic, of In Search of the Pangolin. Together they have seen many of the planet’s emblematic mammals, nearly 5,000 species of birds and more. Das is a regular festival guest and media commentator, and he appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Cassie McCullagh grew up in Sydney and is a presenter, journalist and writer. Since joining the ABC in 2007 she has presented and produced a wide range of programs for Radio National, Local Radio and ABC Classic.

Most recently Cassie presented RN’s flagship social affairs program Life Matters, and the popular culture programs TV Club and The List, as well as presenting Best of the Festivals and reporting for Books and Arts. In 2017 Cassie has also filled in for Philip Clark and Sarah Macdonald on Nightlife, and for Simon Marnie on Weekend Mornings for ABC Radio Sydney.

In television in recent years Cassie has been a regular commentator on ABC TV’s arts program The Mix, and in 2015 co-hosted Foxtel’s arts and culture program, Event, with Deborah Hutton.

Prior to joining the ABC, Cassie worked in print journalism as senior feature writer, columnist and news reporter for The Illawarra Mercury, and as a staff writer for Good Weekend.

With Kate Evans she co-hosts RN’s The Bookshelf, an hour-long program discussing latest literary fiction releases with writers, critics and publishing industry insiders.

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TERMS & CONDITIONS

Refunds

Please note that tickets are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled or postponed due to extenuating circumstances. Refunds are not issued within 48 hours notice of event date. Humanitix fee is nonrefundable.

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This event is presented by Roaring Stories Bookshop Balmain.

With thanks to our venue partner The Royal Oak.

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