Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Ballantine Books (1992), Edition: NO-VALUE, 240 pages
Description
An author and a zoologist travel around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures.
User reviews
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This book is a compelling read and journey that combines humor and fact to draw any reader in if they're at all interested in animals or conservation. Even the non-nature lover could be drawn in by the style of Douglas Adams' writing, but the facts never come in second. On a side note, I found this
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book long ago and became especially interested in the River Dolphin that Adams describes. This past year, the same Yangtze River Dolphin finally became extinct, as predicted, and is the first of the animals in the book to disappear. If you're looking for documentation of environmental harm or the world's most endangered species in the nineties, this is the book to pick up. Still, it's not as depressing as it sounds. There are cases of success in the book, and the writers do a strong job of appreciating success as well as documenting our failures along the way. This book is highly recommended, whether you're a fan of Adams or not. Show Less
LibraryThing member Veeralpadhiar
This is a non-fiction book written by Douglas Adams who went around the globe along with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of various species of animals and birds which were on a verge of extinction in 1985 (when this book was written). This piqued my interest on the thought that if these species
Well, we will soon see the current status of those species, but first some food for thought.
I cannot understand why normal citizens consider the extinction of various species a natural phenomenon! Just say these words in front of a well educated crowd and you almost know what answer you are going to get. Global warming? Pah. Government conspiracy. Extinction of various species? It is not a new thing. It’s just a cycle. But what if someone told you that the rate of extinction has increased exponentially in the last 50 years or so? And just because Al Gore supports the campaign against global warming doesn’t make it a conspiracy.
But whatever we say, ignorant person is going to stay ignorant, isn’t it true? So, without any further ado, let’s just look at the comparison of the species population which Adams saw in 1985 compared to the current year 2012.
Aye Aye(Madagascar) - unknown pop. (1985) – Fortunately they are more widespread than previously thought (2012)
Northern White Rhino (Zaire- Africa) – 22 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012) (Only 7 remain in captivity)
Mountain Gorrillas (Zaire- Africa) – 280 nos. (1985) – 790 nos. (2012) (But endangered due to activities like deforestation and poaching)
Kakapo (New Zealand)– 40 nos. (1985) – 126 nos. (2012)
Yangtze River Dolphin aka Baiji (China) – 200 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012)
The Komodo dragon (Indonesia)– 5000 nos. (350 females) (1985) – 4000-5000 nos. (2012)
Finless porpoise (Yangtze River, China)– 400 nos. (1985) – less than 400 nos. (2012)
The Rodrigues fruitbat (Mauritius) – 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)
Mauritius kestrel (Mauritius) - 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)
Echo Parakeet (Mauritius) – 15 nos. (1985) – 130 nos. (2012)
Pink pigeons (Mauritius) – 200 nos. (1985) – 350 nos. (2012)
The above description shows that not all of the species made it. And those who are faring better comparatively are still considered endangered if not critically endangered. And these are among the lucky few who were saved because of the much required publicity received from various sources including, I think, this book by Douglas Adams.
Apart from these species, Adams also saw some of the rarest species of flora. Let us read about them in his own words:
I knew that the palm tree was called Beverly because Wendy told me that was what she had christened it. It was a bottle palm, so called because it is shaped like a Chianti bottle, and it was one of the eight that remain on Round Island, the only eight wild ones in the world.
Or that the Hyophorbe amarfcaulis (a palm tree so rare that it doesn't have any name other than its scientific one) standing in the Curepipe Botanic Gardens in Mauritius is the only one of its kind in existence? (The tree was only discovered by chance while the ground on which it stands was being cleared in order to construct the Botanic Gardens. It was about to be cut down.)
But a skeptic would still ask that why it is only and only our (humanity’s) fault that earth’s ecology is crumbling? Let me leave this review with the perfect quote from this book itself to mull over if that question might arise in someone’s mind:
The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.
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were considered endangered in 1985, what is their current status as of 2012? Well I did some research on it (I mean I Googled it. But not in an amateurish way, I tried hard enough until I got bored, i.e. after 15 minutes!)Well, we will soon see the current status of those species, but first some food for thought.
I cannot understand why normal citizens consider the extinction of various species a natural phenomenon! Just say these words in front of a well educated crowd and you almost know what answer you are going to get. Global warming? Pah. Government conspiracy. Extinction of various species? It is not a new thing. It’s just a cycle. But what if someone told you that the rate of extinction has increased exponentially in the last 50 years or so? And just because Al Gore supports the campaign against global warming doesn’t make it a conspiracy.
But whatever we say, ignorant person is going to stay ignorant, isn’t it true? So, without any further ado, let’s just look at the comparison of the species population which Adams saw in 1985 compared to the current year 2012.
Aye Aye(Madagascar) - unknown pop. (1985) – Fortunately they are more widespread than previously thought (2012)
Northern White Rhino (Zaire- Africa) – 22 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012) (Only 7 remain in captivity)
Mountain Gorrillas (Zaire- Africa) – 280 nos. (1985) – 790 nos. (2012) (But endangered due to activities like deforestation and poaching)
Kakapo (New Zealand)– 40 nos. (1985) – 126 nos. (2012)
Yangtze River Dolphin aka Baiji (China) – 200 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012)
The Komodo dragon (Indonesia)– 5000 nos. (350 females) (1985) – 4000-5000 nos. (2012)
Finless porpoise (Yangtze River, China)– 400 nos. (1985) – less than 400 nos. (2012)
The Rodrigues fruitbat (Mauritius) – 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)
Mauritius kestrel (Mauritius) - 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)
Echo Parakeet (Mauritius) – 15 nos. (1985) – 130 nos. (2012)
Pink pigeons (Mauritius) – 200 nos. (1985) – 350 nos. (2012)
The above description shows that not all of the species made it. And those who are faring better comparatively are still considered endangered if not critically endangered. And these are among the lucky few who were saved because of the much required publicity received from various sources including, I think, this book by Douglas Adams.
Apart from these species, Adams also saw some of the rarest species of flora. Let us read about them in his own words:
I knew that the palm tree was called Beverly because Wendy told me that was what she had christened it. It was a bottle palm, so called because it is shaped like a Chianti bottle, and it was one of the eight that remain on Round Island, the only eight wild ones in the world.
Or that the Hyophorbe amarfcaulis (a palm tree so rare that it doesn't have any name other than its scientific one) standing in the Curepipe Botanic Gardens in Mauritius is the only one of its kind in existence? (The tree was only discovered by chance while the ground on which it stands was being cleared in order to construct the Botanic Gardens. It was about to be cut down.)
But a skeptic would still ask that why it is only and only our (humanity’s) fault that earth’s ecology is crumbling? Let me leave this review with the perfect quote from this book itself to mull over if that question might arise in someone’s mind:
The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LMLiem
This is an absolutely amazing book and my favorite of all books written by the great Douglas Adams. The stories about his travels with zoologist Mark Carwadine in search of endangered species are both extremely funny and incredibly sad. Even if you're not an active environmentalist, this book makes
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you think about the impact we humans have on our environment and how difficult it is to change attitudes and superstition. Show Less
LibraryThing member iayork
A Favorite For Many: The publishers of this book were brilliant to get Douglas Adams (RIP) to accompany zoologist, Mark Carwardine, to "document" their journey and experiences visiting animals in danger of extinction. He gives you a good laugh and lots of fascinating information. This is a great
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book for young and old alike. I can't recommend it enough. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
Feels dated but still good as a travel memoir. Listened to the audiobook narrated by Adams himself, but two chapters cut. Included in the audio are the following, unsure if they are unabridged:
The Aye-aye in Madagascar;
The Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo in Indonesia;
The Kakapo in New
The Mountain Gorilla in Zaire;
The Northern White Rhinoceros in Zaire;
The Yangtze River Dolphin in China;
The Rodrigues fruit bat on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius;
As others have mentioned this is better as a travel memoir with the theme of endangered species for the completely uninformed. I look forward to seeing the 2009 BBC documentary which revisits the animals to see how they have done the past 20 years.
The Aye-aye in Madagascar;
The Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo in Indonesia;
The Kakapo in New
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Zealand;The Mountain Gorilla in Zaire;
The Northern White Rhinoceros in Zaire;
The Yangtze River Dolphin in China;
The Rodrigues fruit bat on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius;
As others have mentioned this is better as a travel memoir with the theme of endangered species for the completely uninformed. I look forward to seeing the 2009 BBC documentary which revisits the animals to see how they have done the past 20 years.
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LibraryThing member elenchus
A fun and insightful read, and I suspect for all that not a book to win new readers. Either you pick it up as a Douglas Adams fan, or as someone interested in getting a boots-on-the-ground peek into specific efforts involving endangered species. Or both. For either sort, Adams provides not merely a
Adams's tone and narrative voice are key to this achievement. His first couple chapters suggest something recognisably conversational as if from Hitchhiker, though with fewer tangents and less bizarre flights of fancy. A sound decision as there is plenty of the bizarre embedded in the environmental stories he tells. Adams avoids veering into the overly comic, something I'd expect of Dave Barry. Adams, on the contrary, modulates his tone to capture the pathos of his story, a dimension only tangentially evident in Hitchhikers'.
The stories here aren't terribly complex, their challenge is becoming better known. Adams helps address this simply by agreeing to make the trip and write it up: his celebrity, presumably, will help spread the word.
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journeyman's account but an enjoyable tutorial. It reads as though he wrote it that way, too: Don't let the book get in the way of the task, as it were, focus on getting the story right more than publishing his next bestseller. Adams's tone and narrative voice are key to this achievement. His first couple chapters suggest something recognisably conversational as if from Hitchhiker, though with fewer tangents and less bizarre flights of fancy. A sound decision as there is plenty of the bizarre embedded in the environmental stories he tells. Adams avoids veering into the overly comic, something I'd expect of Dave Barry. Adams, on the contrary, modulates his tone to capture the pathos of his story, a dimension only tangentially evident in Hitchhikers'.
The stories here aren't terribly complex, their challenge is becoming better known. Adams helps address this simply by agreeing to make the trip and write it up: his celebrity, presumably, will help spread the word.
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LibraryThing member franhigg
In this book Douglas Adams, a writer of humorous science-fiction novels, and Mark Carwardine, a zoologist, recount the events of 1988 when they visited some of the world's most endangered species to make programmes for BBC Radio. It was not clear at the outset quite what Adams's qualifications were
Adams writes most entertainingly, but there can be little doubt that, like all humorists, he milks any given situation for all it's worth, and this sits uneasily with the much more serious purpose of the book (and presumably the BBC series) of drawing attention to the plight of endangered species. When part of the book is clearly written for effect, it makes you wonder about the veracity of the rest of it, although fortunately Carwardine is there to provide a more scientific viewpoint.
The book therefore requires little intellectual involvement on the part of the reader (I read it in one day), and so would make an excellent choice for the beach or a long plane journey. It is a pleasure to read provided that one does not expect very much, but nevertheless has just sufficient content to make the time expended worthwhile. On the other hand, you may feel faintly annoyed (as I did) at the implicit assumption that you are only interested in the subject because it is being presented by a 'celebrity' author.
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for such an enterprise, and unfortunately it is not clear by the end, although the book has been mainly written by him, with Carwardine's contributions, inasmuch as one can identifying them, appearing as passages of reported speech in which he expatiates on the species of the moment. The five substantive chapters each deal with a particular species, and there are excellent colour photographs to accompany the text.Adams writes most entertainingly, but there can be little doubt that, like all humorists, he milks any given situation for all it's worth, and this sits uneasily with the much more serious purpose of the book (and presumably the BBC series) of drawing attention to the plight of endangered species. When part of the book is clearly written for effect, it makes you wonder about the veracity of the rest of it, although fortunately Carwardine is there to provide a more scientific viewpoint.
The book therefore requires little intellectual involvement on the part of the reader (I read it in one day), and so would make an excellent choice for the beach or a long plane journey. It is a pleasure to read provided that one does not expect very much, but nevertheless has just sufficient content to make the time expended worthwhile. On the other hand, you may feel faintly annoyed (as I did) at the implicit assumption that you are only interested in the subject because it is being presented by a 'celebrity' author.
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LibraryThing member lamotamant
In 1985 Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set off in the hope of spotting the Madagascar aye-aye, a nocturnal lemur nearing extinction. The trip was a success and so the duo came back together a couple years later to seek out more animals that were verging on the brink with the idea that their
Like the Madagascar aye aye, my encounter with Adams' Last Chance to See adventuring was a nocturnal one. In simplicity, I couldn't put it down. The spotlight shone in Adams' humor and intellect, both fleshing out the weight of their experience. That it mattered to him, moved him.
I could go on about Douglas-Adams-as-a-synonym-for-brilliancy but it's been done. What I will say is that I love reading Adams because he seems to have been gifted with the rare ability to see the world from a slightly removed angle than the rest and the even rarer ability to translate such a view to those of us unaware.
This is an important book; a swollen, dog-eared, in peril of a broken spine book. A pass-it-on book.
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travels and Adams' writing would shine a much needed spotlight on said brink. Like the Madagascar aye aye, my encounter with Adams' Last Chance to See adventuring was a nocturnal one. In simplicity, I couldn't put it down. The spotlight shone in Adams' humor and intellect, both fleshing out the weight of their experience. That it mattered to him, moved him.
I could go on about Douglas-Adams-as-a-synonym-for-brilliancy but it's been done. What I will say is that I love reading Adams because he seems to have been gifted with the rare ability to see the world from a slightly removed angle than the rest and the even rarer ability to translate such a view to those of us unaware.
This is an important book; a swollen, dog-eared, in peril of a broken spine book. A pass-it-on book.
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LibraryThing member UberButter
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine
★ ★ ★ ★ ½ ♥
It amazes me how many people think that Douglas Adams only wrote one thing – The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy series. But that is not true and here is one example of another gem he wrote. Last Chance to See is the
This was an absolutely wonderful book. I enjoyed reading about the animals and the cultures. I loved Adam's humor (about his own mishaps during the trip). But even with his wit, it is a book about a very serious problem. Definitely a favorite for me for the year. And I definitely recommend it for it's subject matter alone.
★ ★ ★ ★ ½ ♥
It amazes me how many people think that Douglas Adams only wrote one thing – The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy series. But that is not true and here is one example of another gem he wrote. Last Chance to See is the
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true-life trip of Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (a zoologist) as they travel the world in the hope of encountering species on the brink of extinction. Not only was it quite educational, but Adam's humor is at it's best. It is a well written book on conservation (or lack there of). In 2009 Stephen Fry would do a televised follow-up on the animals that were features in the original book.This was an absolutely wonderful book. I enjoyed reading about the animals and the cultures. I loved Adam's humor (about his own mishaps during the trip). But even with his wit, it is a book about a very serious problem. Definitely a favorite for me for the year. And I definitely recommend it for it's subject matter alone.
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LibraryThing member verenka
Douglas Adams is simply the best. It doesn't matter if it's science fiction or great white rhinoceroses (is that really the plural?) I can't help but laugh out loudly when I read him. Sadly the day I sent this book to a BookMoocher I read on Wikipedia that the Chinese River Dolphin has become
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extinct :-( Show Less
LibraryThing member kristen_nicoson
This is a great book and a rare non-fiction offering from the late and very great Douglas Adams. It's a look through Adams' eyes at some animal species that are rapidly becoming extinct. In the book we actually get to join Adams on his adventures around the world to see animal biomes and learn just
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a little more about the science of extinction. This is Adams' call to arms to the readers to save the planet. Show Less
LibraryThing member Daumari
Read this upon recommendation of Syl, I'd only read the Dirk Gently and Hitchhikers books previously. What a pleasure to read a more autobiographical account from Douglas Adams as he and zoologist Mark Carwardine trek the globe in 1988 to find some of the world's rarest species or, the last chance
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to see them. Really bummed out to read the section about the baiji in China, though, because it was declared functionally extinct back in 2006, alas. Show Less
LibraryThing member hailelib
Last Chance to See is a great read, combining humor, facts and a very serious subject in an entertaining book. Adams and Carwardine travel to remote locations to see seriously endangered animals and all but their first journey were recorded for BBC Radio. While some of their experiences were
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hilariously narrated by Adams the underlying message was always that mankind should be doing a better job of taking care of the Earth. Whether you like Adam's fiction or not give this book a try. Or read the much more recent version where Carwardine and Fry revisit these places. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laurel1
Exams effects of human activity on animal habitants around the world. Funny, ironic observations on the serious subject of human encroachment on animal habitats.
LibraryThing member Lenaphoenix
Mark Carwardine was a zoologist working for the World Wildlife Fund when he was hired by a magazine to take Douglas Adams to see the world’s rarest nocturnal lemur, the Madagascar aye-aye. The trip was enough of a success that they decided having Adams write funny things about his attempt to
During the course of their travels, Carwardine and Adams go to Indonesia to visit the Komodo dragon, Zaire to see the Northern White rhinoceros, New Zealand to see the Kakapo parrot, China to see the Yangtzee River dolphin and Mauritius to see the Rodrigues fruit bat. Adams’ style of absurdist humor is particularly well-suited to detailing the problems involved in merely getting to the places where these animals are supposed to be, since they are frequently located rather inconveniently in remote areas of third world countries. His front line reports set the stage by being laugh out loud funny, keeping us so entertained and open that by the time we finally do get to meet these precarious creatures, we have no choice but to care about them and their fates as much as our intrepid reporters do.
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visit endangered species was a good way to raise awareness about animal conservation, so they reunited a few years later to track down some other animals whose numbers have fallen into the double digits. The resulting collection of ecology/travel essays is hands down one of my all time favorite books. During the course of their travels, Carwardine and Adams go to Indonesia to visit the Komodo dragon, Zaire to see the Northern White rhinoceros, New Zealand to see the Kakapo parrot, China to see the Yangtzee River dolphin and Mauritius to see the Rodrigues fruit bat. Adams’ style of absurdist humor is particularly well-suited to detailing the problems involved in merely getting to the places where these animals are supposed to be, since they are frequently located rather inconveniently in remote areas of third world countries. His front line reports set the stage by being laugh out loud funny, keeping us so entertained and open that by the time we finally do get to meet these precarious creatures, we have no choice but to care about them and their fates as much as our intrepid reporters do.
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LibraryThing member michaeleconomy
the best audio book I've ever heard.I picked this up not expecting fiction, but was a little scared when I realized it was not, but was quickly relieved that it was not just up to his high standards, but exceding them! The stories in this book are hilarious and he's such a remarkable storyteller,
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and on top of that you get to learn all about endangered animals!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member fieldri1
Author Douglas Adams is invited by a zoologist to join him on a tour of various locales where, together they will go in search of many of the rarest creatures left on the planet.It could so easily have been a depressing exercise in viewing these animals in danger of extinction as part of a lost
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cause. However, Douglas brings an enthusiasm and joy to the proceedings which make the whole book much more enjoyable.One of the highlights was where they get advice on what to do if they are bitten by a snake. They visit the pre-eminent expert in Australia in order to hear the advice:'Don't get bitten'Understandably they ask 'but what do we do if we are?'. To which the reply is:'Just don't.'The book does have a dark edge to it. These various creatures (and in one case a rare plant) are critically endangered, and even with the best will in the world many of them will probably die out. The danger is even greater now as its likely that with the drive for things like bio-ethanol will cause even more environmental degradation. Show Less
LibraryThing member Terpsichoreus
Adams is an amazingly humorous fellow, but it can be easy to forget that the source of his humor is always surreal profundity. It's as if he sees a completely different world than the rest of us, but one which looks precisely the same. In this book (out-of-print when I found an editor's proof copy)
I personally don't believe in a static view of nature. A lot of species extinction is merely the natural process, but sustainability and wonder must also be considered when we decide what it is we want from this world
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Adams takes that hilariously disparate view and directs it like a spastic and noodly laser at the mis-management of our world. There is a reason that Richard Dawkins recalls Adams so fondly as a compatriot in the fight for reason. Adams is as honest, sublime, and disarming as ever.I personally don't believe in a static view of nature. A lot of species extinction is merely the natural process, but sustainability and wonder must also be considered when we decide what it is we want from this world
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LibraryThing member callmecayce
I'd watched the Stephen Fry documentary that was a sort of follow up to this book/radio series (which I wish I could get a copy of) and was curious about the first journey. I'm not a big fan of Adams', but after reading this book, I'm more than willing to give Hitchhiker's another try. Last Chance
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To See is both hilarious (as if anything written by Adams could be serious all the time) and serious. The animals that Adams gets to see are dying out, or close to it. He gives us, through pictures and words, a trip we won't forget, just like the TV series with Fry. What makes this interesting and not your traditional run of the mill endangered species book is the humor that's twisted intimately with the places and animals they're going to see. If you liked the Stephen Fry docu, I recommend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member kalanasse
This is a great book! I got my copy signed at his last talk at the University of California at Santa Barbara the month before he passed away.
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Douglas Adams travel memoir. Rather than just going on holiday somewhere a rmabling discssion lead to a BBC contract. DNA would go and try and find some rare animals, and explain a bit about their plight. They'd send along a dedicated naturalist - Mark Carwardine, and a film/sound crew. This is the
I don't know who picked the list of animals to visit. There are some straage inclusions and as is usual with any list also some strange omissions. Having travelled all the way to China and endured some off the main routes accomadation, they manage to visit the extremely rare chinese rviver dolphins. However they then don't bother with a detour to see the famous (and only slightly less endangered) Giant Pandas. DNA also reveals his disinterest in birds. Which is a bit odd, as quite a few of the animals they go to see are birds.
DNA does describe the various passionate people he meets on his travels, those who have given up all thoughts of comfort, pensions, and a daily job, in order to help preserve these endangered animals that only exist on odd sheltered islands. Although he tries, he never quite manages to explain why it matters but thoughts about whether it does matter or not are interestesting.
Well worth reading.
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book of that year or so's travels. It was undertaken in 1988 when the global society was very different. It is still well worth reading.I don't know who picked the list of animals to visit. There are some straage inclusions and as is usual with any list also some strange omissions. Having travelled all the way to China and endured some off the main routes accomadation, they manage to visit the extremely rare chinese rviver dolphins. However they then don't bother with a detour to see the famous (and only slightly less endangered) Giant Pandas. DNA also reveals his disinterest in birds. Which is a bit odd, as quite a few of the animals they go to see are birds.
DNA does describe the various passionate people he meets on his travels, those who have given up all thoughts of comfort, pensions, and a daily job, in order to help preserve these endangered animals that only exist on odd sheltered islands. Although he tries, he never quite manages to explain why it matters but thoughts about whether it does matter or not are interestesting.
Well worth reading.
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LibraryThing member isabelx
'All right, you've read the guide book. But do you know about the birds here? Don't you know about the pink pigeon? The echo parakeet? Don't you know about the Mauritius kestrel?'
'Yes, but . . . '
'Then why are you going off to the stupid island of Rodrigues to look for some ridiculous fruitbat?
A re-read. The book of the radio series in which Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine travelled to remote parts of the world in an attempt to see some of the world's most endangered creatures, from New Zealand's kakapo, the world's largest, fattest and least-able-to-fly parrot, to China's Baiji, the Yangtzee river dolphin.
'There you are,' said Richard, pointing at a large cage off to one side in which someone appeared to have hung a number of small broken umbrellas, 'Rodrigues fruitbats. You can relax now, you've seen 'em. Look at them later, they're boring. They're nothing to what else we've got here. Pink pigeons for a start . . . this place has got some of the rarest, sexiest birds in the world.
'Yes, but . . . '
'Then why are you going off to the stupid island of Rodrigues to look for some ridiculous fruitbat?
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We've got a bunch of them at the captive breeding centre if you really want to see one. Common as muck, stupid things. You'd be much better off staying here and seeing some real stuff. Jesus!'A re-read. The book of the radio series in which Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine travelled to remote parts of the world in an attempt to see some of the world's most endangered creatures, from New Zealand's kakapo, the world's largest, fattest and least-able-to-fly parrot, to China's Baiji, the Yangtzee river dolphin.
'There you are,' said Richard, pointing at a large cage off to one side in which someone appeared to have hung a number of small broken umbrellas, 'Rodrigues fruitbats. You can relax now, you've seen 'em. Look at them later, they're boring. They're nothing to what else we've got here. Pink pigeons for a start . . . this place has got some of the rarest, sexiest birds in the world.
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LibraryThing member goofyfootfeather
The book which set me on the path to saving native birds lives. Has New Zealand content with a chapter on the Kakapo, which Don Merton, our recently-deceased saviour of the Kakapo, features heavily. To me, Don represented the epitome of the book, with many folk dedicated to saving the last of a
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species. Thank you Douglas for an amazing story. Your fiction left me less than dazzled - this book has left me hanging on to your wit and wisdom. So sad to know you are not here, but I am glad you are finally catching up with Don. :) Show Less
LibraryThing member flydodofly
douglas adams was a remarkable person, funny and caring and smart. this book was, I think I read that somewhere, his favourite of all the ones he wrote. it is both serious and fun and talks of many important things. read it.
LibraryThing member jgelinmi
This book is one of the prizes of my small collection since it was very difficult for me to get a hold of. For some reason, it is not being published any more and my dad had to hunt through several websites until he finally found it for sale. (Best Christmas gift Evah!) The book itself is very
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moving. It describes the condition of endangered animals and it is heart breaking to see what could be done, as well as what is being done by a handful of dedicated individuals. This was Adam's greatest book since the original Hitchhiker's series and it puts his witty prose to great use. If you have a chance to buy it, I highly recommend it Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1992)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1990
Physical description
240 p.; 7.96 inches
ISBN
0345371984 / 9780345371980