Lost Fish: Anthologies of the Work of the Comte de Lacepede

2008. 231pp. Colour illustrations. "The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw a veritable flood of scientific inquiry, as new species were discovered and new disciplines founded. Writers such as Rousseau and Audubon expounded on the beauties of nature, while naturalists like Linnaeus, Buffon, and his successor, the Comte de Lacépède, struggled to catalog the world around them. Today, only the very deepest crevasses of the ocean elude us. But many of these species, so meticulously described by Lacépède, are lost to us today, or pushed to the brink of extinction, put at risk by the planet's changing climate. Lost Fish presents a chance to meditate on the beauty of these beings before it is too late. Nearly two hundred antique illustrations of these wonders of the deep are paired with Lacépède's introductory musings on man's relationship to the marine Acclaimed environmental reporter Elizabeth Kolbert provides an introduction that elucidates the perils facing the ocean today—a fate inextricably linked with our own. As Jacques Cousteau put it, "Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat."" Both book and unclipped dust jacket are in excellent condition. All contents are tight and clean. There are no inscriptions. The jacket is covered with removable clear plastic for protection. PLEASE NOTE: Heavy book so extra will be needed for shipping to non-UK customers.