Watching, from the Edge of Extinction

In this mesmerizing series of interviews with dedicated people who work to save endangered species throughout the world, an alarming truth emerges: the obstacles of human politics, greed, corruption, folly, and hypocrisy can present as much danger to a species` survival as biological causes. The dramatic lessons of this book shed new light on the problems of declining species and offer hope that we may yet change their fate.

The Stearns offer about a dozen case stories of endangered species, tales of the social forces that have driven them to the edge of extinction, and the scientists and environmentalists who fight to keep them alive and reproducing. It's a fascinating collection and a physically attractive one, too.

Beautifully written and lovingly illustrated, this powerful report on endangered speciesAand on the efforts of conservationists, scientists and activists to save themApersonalizes the ongoing saga of mass extinctions of animals and plants around the globe. Stephen Stearns, a zoology professor in Switzerland, and his wife, Beverly, a freelance journalist, relate stories that are inspiring, heartbreaking, touching, infuriating. Their dispatches from the environmental frontlines are peopled with unsung heroes, like marine biologist Aliki Panou, fiercely protective in her efforts to save Mediterranean monk seals that hide in remote caves in Greek islands in order to avoid tourists, fishermen's nets and developers' dynamite; biologist Jeremy Thomas, who since 1983 has led a project to reintroduce the spectacular large blue butterfly into Britain; and environmentalist Wendy Strahm, working to save hundreds of rare plants and animal species overrun by an exploding human population on the island of Mauritius. The authors detail inadvertent man-made disasters, like the introduction of the Nile perch into Lake Victoria, which led to the extinction of hundreds of species of fish, jeopardizing traditional livelihoods. Yet much more often, the destruction is deliberate or due to indifference, caused by wanton habitat destruction, poaching, indiscriminate hunting and fishing, the greed of private interests, and governmental and public disinterest. By focusing on people whose work and lives have been linked with disappearing species, these survival tales summon readers to respect the uniqueness of earth's other inhabitants. This important, often shocking report shows that loss of the planet's biodiversityAexemplified by the collapse of entire ecosystemsAultimately affects everyone. Drawings and photos.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Intelligently affecting stories of animals reduced to rarity, what leads to their predicament, and the people and ideas working to ward off extinction. Considering the current wave of extinctionroughly estimated at two species per dayjournalist Beverly Stearns and her husband Stephen (Zoology/Univ. of Basel, Switzerland) ask how much of it is natural, how much attributable to poaching, indiscriminate harvesting, disease, predators, habitat loss, and competition with exotics. What is the significance of a creatures disappearance? The Stearnses have taken a small but diverse sample to elucidate the many roads to extinction; in their ten cautionary tales, with protagonists ranging from snails to dodos to wild dogs, the deleterious role of humans is always in evidence. Some episodes show punctuated equilibrium meeting a dead end, but for the most part we see people with principles, who think about evolutionary potential and the effect of species loss on our values, battling the greedy, corrupt, and hypocritical, who think about personal power, money, and ego display. The more pungent stories include the tale of a landowner fighting to protect the Hawaiian crow (`alala) after incompetent researchers from the National Audubon Society bungle their fieldworkthough the details of how the clever crow got into such a fix remain unclear. Other intriguing tales show the English large blue butterfly losing its improbable adoptive parents (red ants) through human ignorance and then being reintroduced, trailing in its wake pale dog-violets and pearl-bordered fritillaries. The saga of the Barton Springs salamander proves to be a Texas tale of ordinary folk, town meetings, and a Boy Scout turned environmental lawyer going to bat against a multinational corporation with politicians in its pocket and billions to throw about, to protect a unique pale pink salamander. This survey of representative extinction dramas makes one thing clear: The fate of endangered species is not sealed. Though they try hard for journalistic objectivity, its clear where the authors sympathies lie as they chart different courses that can reduce the human contribution to extinction. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Extinction and the loss of biodiversity are topics of ongoing discussion, and a number of books have focused on the biological and conservation aspects. Beverly and Stephen Stearns, a journalist and a professor of zoology (Univ. of Basel), respectively, attempt to provide a more personal perspective through interviews with individuals who have worked with endangered or extinct species around the globe. Though admittedly biased in favor of conservation, the authors allow their subjects to speak for themselves. The results are mixed, both in the quality of writing and in the depth and complexity of the coverage. Those who can make it past the dull and plodding prose of the first chapter will find more engaging material throughout the rest of the book. For readers at the high school level and beyond, Watching can serve as an introduction to the individuals who work with endangered species.ABrian Westra, Montana State Univ. Libs., Bozeman
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.