Priceless : The Vanishing Beauty of A Fragile Planet

Book Description

Everyone has heard about animals that are now extinct. But author Bradley Trevor Greive wants everyone to learn about animals that can be saved'and then to do something about it.In inspiring narrative and striking photographs of everything from humpback whales to pigmy possums to African spoonbills, Greive and wildlife photographer Mitsuaki Iwago spell out Earth's diverse animal inventory. They highlight species that once were plentiful but now are scarce'some that are now sadly extinct'and point out specific dangers that other animals face.The authors also present a call to action: 'To preserve our home and the priceless creatures that dwell within it you need only see the world as it is and have a vision of how it could be.' Priceless is a must-have book for everyone interested in the environment, biodiversity, and in all life on Earth

Customer Reviews:

Inspirational... .......2007-01-24

This is truly a wonderful book with incredible wildlife photos accompanied by a simple yet poignant narrative highlighting the need for conservation.

"In the end, we will conserve only what we love and we will love only what we understand." BABA DIOUM

A Priceless Reminder.......2006-07-09

This is a beautifully photographed book and the language that accompanies these images is heartfelt. This is a must have book in every home and classroom.

A Celebration of Our Environment.......2006-02-13

The combination of breath-taking photography, and insightful and inspiring prose create an awesome yet humbling book. Its appeal is universal--everyone can learn, if we listen to its message.

I Love This Book.......2005-08-19

This book is one of the simplest, yet one of the most inspiring and enjoyable books I have ever read. The photography in it is amazing and Greive deffinately has a way with his words. In addition to this intriging visiual presentation, there is much to learn in this book as well. Learn about endangered and threatened animals thoughout the world while looking at unique images of them. This is a must read for everyone and it should be a required book for schools throughout the world to read instead of many other required books that have no appeal to students.

In addition, on the inside cover it reads, "BTG (author) is donating all his author royalties from the worldwide sales of Priceless to his principal wildlife conservation charity, the Taronga Foundation." Thats gotta say something about the book in itself!!!

My favourite book of wildlife photography.......2003-10-26

Reading through Priceless is a bittersweet experience. It is a joy to look at the wonderful photography of Mitsuaki Iwago, and also a joy to learn amazing facts about some of these animals and to detect the passion for conservation and wildlife protection in author Bradley Trevor Greive's text. But there is a sadness: we learn how difficult it is for most species to adapt to the vast changes made by humans to this planet, so difficult that many of them could not do it, and no longer exist.

We learn that "even polar bears from the Arctic Circle and penguins from Antarctica, creatures from the two most isolated and pure economic systems on earth, have a substantial build-up of toxic industrial chemicals stored in their fat deposits"; we learn that the first bomb dropped on Berlin during the Second World War killed the only elephant in the Berlin zoo; that the last passenger pigeon in existence died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. The most important lesson from the book, however, is that if we don't do something soon to stop poisoning our world, ultimately us humans will be the ones suffering.

But the book ends with a message of hope, telling us that there are ways we can make a difference and giving suggestions of things we can do. Greive finally pays tribute to Gerald Durrell, celebrated zoologist, conservationist and author. The last 25 pages give information and facts about all the animals featured in the photographs throughout the book.

Book Description

In the 1960s, it was believed that no more than about 4,000 orang-utans remained in the wild. Consequently, IUCN - The World Conservation Union - declared the ape an endangered species, demanding its world-wide protection. Nevertheless, the orang-utan today faces extinction because it is dependent on a rain-forest habitat that is rapidly being demolished due to human greed, and a growing human population.
Rijksen was among the first to make a detailed study of the ape in the wild, emerging as an authority on orang-utan conservation. In the late 1980s he became so alarmed by local rumours of the rapid decline of wild orang-utans that he initiated the study leading to this book. Meijaard conducted the ambitious, island-spanning surveys in Borneo and Sumatra to reveal the ape's whereabouts.
This is the story of their findings. It is the first comprehensive study of the ape's distribution and status based on a wealth of first-hand field data, and a frank, disturbing account of a mixture of good intentions, ignorance and greed, spelling doom for our Asian relative.
Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that the orang-utan can survive. A realistic plan to save the ape, and with it thousands of unique wild animals and plants, does exist. It is the authors' hope that Our Vanishing Relative, so urgent and eloquent in its description of the deadly net of problems descending over our helpless relative, will awaken attention and empathy in order to safeguard the future of the orang-utan.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent !!!.......2003-05-17

Seeing its forbidding price here I realize how lucky I was to pick up an Indonesian edition for just a few dollars...
An extremely throughly written book dealing with all imaginable aspects of orangutan conservation, pulling no punches when pointing out mistakes made by conservationists so far.
I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone seriously interested in the survival of these apes.
If you have already read more popular books like Birute Galdikas' "Reflections of Eden" or Linda Spalding's "A Dark Place in the Jungle" and are left wishing for more balanced, serious information you could find nothing better than this one.
Pity for the price!

Average customer rating:

With over 200 color, specially commissioned photos
Excellent book for nature lovers

The Vanishing Tiger
V. R. P. Sinha
Manufacturer: Salamander
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1840654414

Book Description

Featuring 200 dramatic color photographs, The Vanishing Tiger documents the history and lifestyle of this magnificent and endangered creature.

Customer Reviews:

With over 200 color, specially commissioned photos.......2004-03-10

This comprehensive history and guide to the lifestyle of the tiger blends folklore and myths with over 200 color, specially commissioned photos of the Bengal Tiger, plus images of its co-predators and prey. Perhaps the most valuable sections of the book lie in its details on the habitat and range of all tigers in the world. Highly recommended as the definitive tiger guide.

Excellent book for nature lovers.......2003-12-24

Its an excellent book for all nature lovers. The pictures are just awesome. Must buy for all wildlife fans.

The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds

Average customer rating:

Grand Adventures!
beautiful journey
Collection of essays on endangered species
What We Stand to Lose
Heartfelt and beautiful

The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds
Diane Ackerman
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Endangered Species | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0679776230
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Amazon.com

How do bombardier beetles choose their mates? Why does a firefly's tail light up at night? What does a monk seal talk about, barking out there on the offshore reef? These questions all have some bearing on the way we humans live our lives, strange though they may seem. Diane Ackerman, a tireless explorer of the natural world, looks for answers among animals that are fast disappearing as their native habitats are destroyed--creatures such as the monarch butterfly, the short-tailed albatross, and the wonderfully named golden lion tamarin. She writes with grace and compassion, but also with a considerable command of science, which makes her work essential for students of nature writing.

Book Description

Ackerman journeys in search of monarch butterflies and short-tailed albatrosses, monk seals and golden lion tamarin monkeys: the world's rarest creatures and their vanishing habitats. She delivers a rapturous celebration of other species that is also a warning to our own. Traveling from the Amazon rain forest to a forbidding island off the coast of Japan, enduring everything from broken ribs to a beating by an irate seal, Ackerman reveals her subjects in all their splendid particularity. She shows us how they feed, mate, and migrate. She eavesdrops on their class and courtship dances. She pays tribute to the men and women hwo have deoted their lives to saving them.

Customer Reviews:

Grand Adventures!.......2005-06-12

Diane Ackerman writes with such eloquence. This book was such an enjoyable read, it is easy to forget that it deals with tough environmental issues. The author has collected short stories from many of her travels to various places to witness endangered species first-hand. From the rain forest to a remote island in Japan, she blends the story of her trip with information about the endangered species/habitat and the interesting people she meets along the way. She manages to get us to think about our impact on nature without being preachy, and in an entertaining manner. A must for any adventurer, actual or armchair.

beautiful journey.......2004-07-07

Diane Ackerman takes us on a journey from continent to continent exploring the habitat of several rare animals, including the golden lion tamarind, short-tailed albatross, and monk seal. In every case, Ackerman doesn't just observe, she gets right up close, in some cases risking or sustaining injury. She catches crickets, tags seal pups, and presses bombardier beetles to see them spray a warning. (All this is done under the eyes of experts in the various fields.) Her descriptions of the habitats are, as usual, beautiful but real enough so that you are transported right into these remote locations with her. By simply describing the work of those who study and handle the animals, Ackerman reminds us how important it is to preserve what's left of their habitats, always worth emphasizing.

Collection of essays on endangered species.......2004-03-03

I want Diane Ackerman's life. She gets to visit weird, remote, exotic locations, observe unusual flora and fauna, write about them - and earns enough money to go out and do it again.
In The Rarest of the Rare, she gathers together 6 essays previously published elsewhere; all deal with endangered species such as the golden lion tamarind, the monarchs, monk seals, and others. But she's not just a do-gooder naturalist: she's also a poet, a philosopher, and a heck of a good writer. Some of her musings, the questions she asks of herself, the parallels she makes, remind me of Annie Dillard's nature writing - her books such as Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
It's a joy to share these things that I will never experience through the eyes of such a consummate scientist and writer and human being.
Also, for an entirely different approach to observing endangered species, see Daniel Glick's Monkey Dancing.

What We Stand to Lose.......2002-01-31

Ackerman's gift is her ability to capture and convey her wonder, delight and fascination with the creatures that inhabit the Earth. She is equally at home with whales and crocodiles, finds cuddling baby penguins as entertaining as discussing bombardier beetles and thinks nothing of tackling stormy seas and the vertical slopes of volcanic islands to catch a glimpse of a rare sea bird.

In this, her latest attempt to help humans see and understand the "interlocking business of species," Ackerman introduces us to some of the world's most beleagured inhabitants. Meet the Hawaiian monk seal with its "bulbous head covered in silky fur, with black-buttonhook-shaped eyes, a snout on which springy nostrils open full like quotation marks, tiny tab shaped ears, a spray of cat's whiskers, and many doughy chins;" the golden tamarind monkey, with its "sunset-and-corn-silk coloring;" and the magical monarch butterfly, "gliding, flapping and hitching rides on thermals like any hawk or eagle."

Then there are the creatures of the Amazon river - armoured catfish, cashew piranhas, striated herons, sphinx moths, yellow-footed tortoises and bewhiskered dolphins. On the volcanic Japanese island of Torishima, we are introduced to the last of the short-tailed albatrosses and the young Japanese orinthologist who is trying to save them.

Whether she is bushwacking through rainforests, fighting seasickness or summoning the nerve to touch a shiny beetle, Ackerman is always fully and actively present for her reader. Reading one of her books is the next best thing to being in the field with her, and certainly a lot less strenuous. This book is a treat that shouldn't be missed.

Heartfelt and beautiful.......2000-07-17

This is one of my favorite books for many reasons: it's heartfelt, knowledgable, deeply respectful of the animals and landscapes she knows personally, enviromentally conscientious, and written in unforgettable language. I don't know which I admire more-- her integrity, her passion, or the poetry of her language. I've read and reread it and will read it again.

Shadow of the Bear: Travels in Vanishing Wilderness

Average customer rating:

The Plight of the Bears
"Shadow of the Bear" is especially recommended for school and community library Pets & Wildlife collections.
Adventure and Bear Study= Excellent Book

Shadow of the Bear: Travels in Vanishing Wilderness
Brian Payton
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1596911980
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Book Description

Around the world in pursuit of the beast we fear, revere, abuse, and adore.

We’ve been meeting bears in the wilderness, and in our dreams, since the dawn of human history. Celebrated in art and myth since we began drawing on the walls of caves, they cast a long shadow over our collective subconscious. Wherever bears endure, they are an indicator of the health of their ecosystem. Their decline—some to the edge of extinction—foretells a bigger story: that of our planet’s peril.

In a series of remarkable journeys, Brian Payton travels the world in search of the eight remaining bear species. Along the way, he confronts poachers in the jungles of Cambodia, witnesses the cruelty of the bear bile trade in China, and delves into the politics of panda sex. From the reclusive spectacled bears of Peru to the man-eating sloth bears of India, Payton captures the power and beauty of these fascinating creatures while exploring their unique place within very different cultures. Vivid characters, exotic landscapes, and deft storytelling make for an unforgettable trek down the braided path of bear and human history.

Customer Reviews:

The Plight of the Bears.......2007-09-09

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to others. For the past 10 years I have been involved with a bear education program focusing on the American Black Bear. Black Bears are the one species of bear that can live in close proximity to humans. I have read it more than once and have leant the book to others.

Shadow of the Bear brought to light the plight of all bears and the impact it has on our lives.
For me it was a quick read and quite informative. The way Mr. Payton told the story it was both entertaining and enlighting. As I read I felt like I was with him through his adventures. As he discussed each species we also learned about the culture of the geographic area where that species can be found. Politics also plays a role in bear survival and how bears are dealt with. Mr Payton demonstrates his book just how much human actions has contributed to the endangerment of wildlife. This book should be read by those interested in bears, travel, environment and life. Hopefully as more read the book, they too will understand the importance of conserving these beautiful animals.

"Shadow of the Bear" is especially recommended for school and community library Pets & Wildlife collections........2006-11-05

Bears have had many, many books written about them and have been long celebrated: so why the need for yet another? Brian Payton here travels the world in search of the eight remaining bear species, from Asia and Canada to South America. His blend of natural history and travelogue examines human interactions with and beliefs about bears at all levels of society, offering up a warm interaction of bear and human encounters. "Shadow of the Bear" is especially recommended for school and community library Pets & Wildlife collections.

Adventure and Bear Study= Excellent Book.......2006-11-04

A very entertaining and interesting book on bears. As the owner of a large bear library, I really appreciate when a new bear book comes along that tells me things that I do not know. I was especially fascinated by the sloth bear section. The sloth bear's scientific study pales in comparison to the grizzly or black bear, so I really appreciated Mr. Payton's insight into these sometimes very aggresive and violent bears. The author also did and outstanding job of giving a sense of adventure to the book with great tales from remote parts of the world. On the serious side of things, the author points out correctly, that habitat destruction is the main cause of a decreasing bear population in much of the world, while poaching adds to the losses within some bear populations. Great book and an interesting read!

Vanishing Tracks: Four Years Among the Snow Leopards of Nepal

Average customer rating:

An Insightful Look Into Field Biology
A great read!
The best nonfiction book I've read!

Vanishing Tracks: Four Years Among the Snow Leopards of Nepal
Darla Hillard
Manufacturer: Arbor House Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

An Insightful Look Into Field Biology.......2006-12-26

At one time, my favorite wild cat was the snow leopard (it is now the caracal, with sand cats, lynxes, bobcats, and fishing cats all placing above the snow leopard, which I still love). So I read this book. I found it very interesting.

While this book dealt with snow leopards, and has an excellent description on the snow leopards by Rodney Jackson at the end of the book, Hillard spends more time describing what it was like for her and Jackson to be on the field, the personality clashes with other biologists, and the thrill of getting to see snow leopards in the wild.

This book will take you to a place you've never been, and make you want to join them (though you won't want to get bit by a snow leopard as Jackson once was).

A great read!.......2006-12-10

A great book that can just pull you right into it! Big cat lovers, conservationists, and anyone who likes remote field work might enjoy this one!

The best nonfiction book I've read!.......2000-03-29

It keeps you interested throughout the entire book. It feels like you are right there with her. It is a good book for any cat lover.

Vanishing Lobo: The Mexican Wolf and the Southwest

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Vanishing Lobo: The Mexican Wolf and the Southwest
James C. Burbank
Manufacturer: Johnson Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1555660711

Vanishing Species: Saving the Fish, Sacrificing the Fisherman

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A pro-environmental view of fishermen's plight
Publisher's description of excellent book

Vanishing Species: Saving the Fish, Sacrificing the Fisherman
Susan R. Playfair
Manufacturer: UPNE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1584653183

Book Description

Vanishing Species chronicles the fate of groundfishing in New England waters since the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) was enacted in 1996, causing increasingly strict regulations to be placed on the harvesting of fourteen species of edible fish. The SFA mandates that within a ten-year period, the stocks of these fish were to be brought up to levels prescribed by the government. To achieve this goal, strict regulations were put in place to limit net size, how many fish were caught, and the number of days fishermen could spend at sea. The SFA and regulations like it govern how, when, and where fishermen may fish.

Since its inception, the SFA has been a fulcrum for escalating tensions between environmentalists, who argue that the mandates of the SFA are being ignored, and fishermen and their families, whose existence has come to depend on how government employees and a federal judge interpret the SFA. Although some scientists and environmentalists believe the fish stocks remain at levels too low to sustain further harvesting, many fishermen believe that the fish stocks are rising and that the government's means of measuring them is flawed. At the heart of the conflict is the survival of both the fish and the New England fishing communities.

Playfair's compelling narrative brings the reader face-to-face with all aspects of this controversy. She examines the day-to-day business of groundfishing prior to the enactment of regulations, as well as the much-debated issue of farming fish through aquaculture as an alternative to harvesting fish from the sea. She asks how fish stocks fell so low that they became endangered, and she questions whether the fishermen are really at fault or simply are scapegoats for a larger problem. Playfair takes the reader onboard boats with different types of fishing gear; on voyages with scientists and fishermen seeking an equitable way to allow New England fishermen to fish while maintaining the numbers of groundfish needed in order for the populations to spawn and grow; and into seafood restaurants where demand remains high and fresh fish are treated with the respect they deserve. If we lose the fisherman, Playfair reminds us, we lose our access to the fresh fish we now take for granted. The alternative may be a nomadic factory trawler--destructive to the environment, wasteful of the resource, and a sap to the soul of small coastal communities.

Based in large part on interviews with a wide range of people--fishermen and their families, restaurant managers, environmentalists, fisheries scientists, politicians, and government officials--Vanishing Species offers a series of unforgettable portraits of people who are involved in the struggle to find a way to support sustainable fishing and the communities that rely on it.

Customer Reviews:

A pro-environmental view of fishermen's plight.......2004-03-03

Too often, environmental issues are set forth as win-lose propositions. In this thoughtful book, however, the environmentally sympathetic author, an ocean sailor herself, reports with considerable clarity and sensitivity on the world of those whose livelihoods have depended upon fishing in troubled waters off the New England Coast and beyond.

The lessons learned with respect to the New England fishing industry are worth knowing about and understanding, especially for those concerned with environmental issues that abound elsewhere in our world. Indeed, by extension, they are capable of informing sustainability undertakings on the part of governments, corporations and private interest groups just about anywhere.

Publisher's description of excellent book.......2003-06-01

Since its inception, the SFA has been a fulcrum for escalating tensions between environmentalists, who argue that the mandates of the SFA are being ignored, and fishermen and their families, whose existence has come to depend on how government employees and a federal judge interpret the SFA. Although some scientists and environmentalists believe the fish stocks remain at levels too low to sustain further harvesting, many fishermen believe that the fish stocks are rising and that the government's means of measuring them is flawed. At the heart of the conflict is the survival of both the fish and the New England fishing communities.

Playfair's compelling narrative brings the reader face-to-face with all aspects of this controversy. She examines the day-to-day business of groundfishing prior to the enactment of regulations, as well as the much-debated issue of farming fish through aquaculture as an alternative to harvesting fish from the sea. She asks how fish stocks fell so low that they became endangered, and she questions whether the fishermen are really at fault or simply are scapegoats for a larger problem. Playfair takes the reader onboard boats with different types of fishing gear; on voyages with scientists and fishermen seeking an equitable way to allow New England fishermen to fish while maintaining the numbers of groundfish needed in order for the populations to spawn and grow; and into seafood restaurants where demand remains high and fresh fish are treated with the respect they deserve. If we lose the fisherman, Playfair reminds us, we lose our access to the fresh fish we now take for granted. The alternative may be a nomadic factory trawler-destructive to the environment, wasteful of the resource, and a sap to the soul of small coastal communities.

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