The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds - Hardcover

Ackerman, Diane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679403469 ISBN 13: 9780679403463

Publisher: Random House, 1995

Synopsis

The renowned author of A Natural History of the Senses takes readers in search of the "rarest of the rare, " species likely to disappear before most of us have ever seen them. From Brazil to the Pacific to Japan, Ackerman shares her concern at the animals' plight, rejoices at the chance to experience them, and cheers those who work to save these fantastic creatures.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

author of A Natural History of the Senses takes readers in search of the "rarest of the rare, " species likely to disappear before most of us have ever seen them. From Brazil to the Pacific to Japan, Ackerman shares her concern at the animals' plight, rejoices at the chance to experience them, and cheers those who work to save these fantastic creatures.

Reviews

For several years, Ackerman (A Natural History of the Senses) has traveled to remote places to see rare animals and threatened ecosystems. In each case, she observed animals in their natural habitat and worked with dedicated scientists in the field. Here, she focuses on three animals, two ecosystems and the migration of the monarch butterfly ("an endangered phenomenon"). Her account is a sparkling combination of natural history, travel and adventure. Ackerman visited the last refuge of monk seals on French Frigate Shoals in Hawaii and the final stronghold of short-tailed albatrosses on Torishima, a tiny volcanic island south of Tokyo. She joined a group of scientists who restore the golden lion tamarind to its native habitat in the Mata Atlantica region of Brazil. Ackerman then examines the ecosystems of the Amazon and Florida scrublands and ends this rewarding journey in the company of entomologists in Florida. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Like Ackerman's The Moon by Whale Light (LJ 10/15/91), this is a collection of six essays previously published in such venues as the New Yorker and Conde Nast Traveler. In describing her search for endangered species in inaccessible places, Ackerman writes, "As a member of the species responsible for their downfall, I feel an urgent need to witness and celebrate them before they vanish." On low-lying French Frigate Shoals in Hawaii, she accompanies researchers with the Monk Seal Project. In the Amazon, she observes primatologists from American zoos reintroduce golden lion tamarind to the wild. On inaccessible Torishima (bird island), 580 kilometers south of Tokyo, Ackerman falls and cracks a rib climbing rocky cliffs to glimpse the courtship and nesting of short-tailed albatrosses. In California, she delicately tags butterflies so that the Monarch Project can study their migration. Engrossing reading for amateur naturalists, ideal for public library collections.-Laurie Tynan, Montgomery Cty.
Norristown P.L., Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ackerman calls herself an "earth ecstatic" and proves it by writing about nature with tremendous spirit, exuberant lyricism, and lively intelligence. Ackerman's love for animals, evident in The Moon by Whale Light (1991), is at the heart of this set of essays chronicling her adventures observing rare and endangered animals and habitats. In her introduction, Ackerman discusses extinction and why we should be concerned about it with commanding eloquence and striking common sense. Nature can and will "take care of itself," Ackerman assures us. What we need to concentrate on is our own future because every extinction we cause puts us at risk. Having said that, Ackerman moves on to rhapsodic accounts of such rare creatures as the Hawaiian monk seal; the short-tailed albatross, which only breeds on Torishima, a tiny, volcanic Japanese island; and the golden lion tamarin, the "most beautiful monkey in the world." Ackerman electrifies us with her all-embracing sense of life--its energy, beauty, danger, and magic. She is so filled with wonder that even after breaking three ribs climbing the cliffs of Torishima to see the last of the albatrosses, she lies on the earth, gazing up at the sky, and thinks, if her pain "is the toll that must be paid, then it was well spent." Ackerman is a devoted witness and a celebrant, and we're grateful for her ardor and her art. Donna Seaman

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679403469
• ISBN 13: 9780679403463
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 184