Marie's Reviews > Lost Animals: Extinction and the Photographic Record

Lost Animals is such a gem of a book! In it, the author introduces us to 28 distinct species that have gone extinct, and shows us photos of the animals. I know we've all seen illustrations of extinct animals; the dodo is a good example; but there's something extra special, extra touching about seeing photographs of extinct animals.

Personally, I can't think of a better way to present this book. The author did a near-perfect job with it. Each animal is given nearly equal consideration. The author showed as many photographs as possible, and of the highest quality possible. Then, at the end, the author presents an appendix containing illustrations of many of the animals, so that the reader can get an idea of the coloration of or a clearer picture of the animals. (Many of these photos were taken 100+ years ago and are not of the quality we have come to expect today.)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the animals also. The author presents us with a brief overview of each animal; where it lived and what it ate and proposed reasons for it's extinction. All of this is presented very scientifically; you can tell that the author really did his homework researching these fascinating creatures.

I highly recommend this book.