The Photo Ark: One Man's Quest to Document the World's Animals

The lush and unique photography in this book represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals—especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art: to know these animals is to save them.

Sartore is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. With a goal of photographing every animal in captivity in the world, he has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, and an inspiring foreword from Harrison Ford, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet.

JOEL SARTORE is a renowned photographer and a 30-year contributor to National Geographic magazine whose life mission is to create portraits of all animal species in human care; he has so far documented more than 16,000 species. His books include Photo Ark Vanishing, Photo Ark Wonders, Birds of the Photo Ark, and Photo Ark Insects. Sartore and his work have appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, the NBC Nightly News, NPR's Weekend Edition, as well as in a three-part PBS Nova documentary. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

HARRISON FORD is an American actor and film producer, best known for his starring roles as Han Solo in the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones. He is an enthusiastic advocate for wildlife protection.

DOUGLAS CHADWICK has reported on wildlife around the world. He has written dozens of articles for National Geographic magazine and 13 books about wildlife and conservation.