A Gap In Nature

By Tim Flannery, illustrated by Peter Schouten
Hardcover : 192 pages
September 10, 2001

A Gap in Nature : Discovering the World's Extinct Animals is an illustrating world representing nearly all of the animals that have gone extinct since the year 1500. (A list in back contains other animals and the reasons for why they weren't included.)

Each entry contains information about the creature- where it lived, how it died, what its behavior was like- and a fully colored illustration. The book contains some well known extinctions, like the Dodo, the Passenger Pigeon, and the Carolina Parakeet. It also has dozens of animals that you may have never knew existed, like the Bulldog Rat and Atitlan Grebe.

What amazed me is the number of birds, and island birds at that. So many of those species were only found on a few tiny islands, and died out so quickly after human contact that we know little about them.

I'd recommend this book to any animal lover. The illustrations are gorgeous and the information is fascinating, but sad. It's a great read for learning about the human impact on the animal kingdom over the last 500 years.

Read More

When Bugs Were Big, Plants Were Strange, and Tetrapods Stalked the Earth

By Hannah Bonner
Hardcover : 48 Pages
March 1, 2004

The second book of Bonner's book chronologically, (though the first published) When Bugs Were Big takes a look at the Carboniferous and Permian periods. This span includes the movement to land by insects and tetrapods, the changing world, and the mass extinction that would give way to the Mesozoic and the age of the Dinosaurs. Once again Bonner has created a text that explains the timeperiod in a fun, illustrated way.

Read More

When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm

By Hannah Bonner
Paperback : 48 Pages
September 8, 2009

Chronologically the first of two books by Bonner, When Fish Got Feet... explores the rise of fish in the Silurian and Devonian periods with wonderful comics, cartoons and illustrations. She takes difficult material, such as the rise and fall of the very fish classes (Sharks! Acanthodians! Placoderms! Bony Fish!) and makes it accessible to a younger audience. Even as an adult I really enjoyed this book and it gave me some wonderful ideas on future things to learn about!

Read More

Evolving Eden

By Alan Turner, Illustrated by Mauricio Anton
Paperback : 304 Pages
August 1, 2007

For the past 35 million years, the continent of Africa has been host to a plethora of evolving mammals of all shapes and sizes. Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna, written by Alan Turner and illustrated by Mauricio Anton, outlines the natural histories of specific mammal groups, highlighting both extinct and extant species. After these outlines and an analysis of valuable dig sites on the continent, the book closes with an excellent summary that captures the rise and fall of the continent's various mammal families. This book is definitely accessible to the layperson, though I would recommend some background knowledge in the topic.

Read More

Prehistoric Mammals

By Alan Turner, Illustrated by Mauricio Anton
Hardcover :  192 Pages
October 1, 2004

Prehistoric Mammals is another wonderful pairing from the Turner/Anton super duo. It's an introductory book intended for a younger crowd, but even as an adult I really enjoyed it. The visuals are absolutely stunning and are found everywhere in the text. It has a really broad coverage of mammals dating back millions and millions of years, and profiles specific species from the well known to the relatively obscure. It additionally provides introductory information on mammalian evolution and the prehistoric time line. It additionally provides insight into how such wonderful artistic reconstructions are put together.

Read More

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

By Jared Diamond
Paperback : 432 Pages
Originally published January 1992, Paperback Edition January 2006

Even though The Third Chimpanzee is primarily about the evolution of humans, humans are still animals, and our primate relatives are featured strongly so I'm going to throw it a review and add it to the list. While some of the information in this book is now out of date (Homo sapiens did cross-breed with Neanderthals after all!) it still paints a great portrait of why we are who we are, and how close our link to modern primates actually is. Did you know that the common ancestor between humans and chimpanzees is more recent then that between chimpanzees and gorillas? The version I picked up is a reprint that includes an afterward addressing new developments in anthropology since the initial printing (like Homo floriensis) so if you can grab the 2006 edition, it adds a bit more!

Read More

Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur

By Sy Montgomery
Hardcover : 272 Pages
April 6, 2010

Birdology is a book about a woman and her experiences with, and passion for, birds. Each chapter outlines a different species or family (you can probably guess which by the descriptive sub-title) and juxtaposes the author's personal anecdotes with facts and findings about those specific birds. This book was informative, funny, and exciting, and made me wish I had a flock of hens of my very own, and the time and money to embark on my own personal quest for the Cassowary.

Read More

The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea

By Philip Hoare
Hardcover : 464 Pages
February 2, 2010

It's a bit hard to describe exactly what The Whale is. It's part biology, part history, part memoir, part literature, part travel guide. Overall, it is the story of the author and his experiences with whales. A great deal of this book deals with the whaling industry, paralleling the author's journey with Moby Dick, Ishmael, and the life of Melville himself. But at the same time it is a work of natural history, explaining the hows and whys of whales and their place within the ocean and within human history and industry. It was a fascinating work, and the inspiration for at least one of my posts (with more to come I'm sure.)

Read More

Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water?

By Robert E. Wells
Hardcover : 32 Pages
January 1, 2006

Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water? is a children's book that deals with how water is used and reused over and over within the water cycle. Concepts are explained with help from dozens of illustrations.

Wells discusses processes like evaporation, precipitation, and how it is that we are drinking the same water molecules that the Dinosaurs did millions and millions of years ago. The book also talks about the importance of water to not only ourselves, but to all living things, and suggests steps that you can take to conserve water.

Recommended for ages 4-8. Includes an epilogue.

Read More

Bird

By David Burnie
Hardcover : 72 Pages
May 5, 2008

Bird is one of many books in the DK Eyewintess series, which is known for its concise, informational paragraphs and wonderful use of photographs and images. Bird is no different.

The book contains sections on all aspects of avian life, and is complete with diagrams, photographs, and hundreds of captions. Flying, eating, and reproductive behaviors are topics that are especially highlighted, and the book contains some great comparison photos of feathers, eggs, and nests.

The concise nature and language of the book makes it most suitable for those of a younger age, but I’d say the graphics and diagrams are quite fun to look at for readers of all ages.

Contains a beginners guide to bird watching and identification, as well as a glossary and index.

Read More

Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds

By John Long and Peter Schouten
Hardcover : 208 Pages
September 1, 2008

Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds is a book of beautiful illustrations and accompanying text about feathered Dinosaurs and early Birds. In the past few decades more and more evidence has come to light to suggest that some Dinosaurs did in fact have feathers. Long and Schouten take these findings and use them to craft this guide.

The book begins with a chapter on the history of Paleontology and an overview of Dinosaur evolution. It then includes short chapters on several important Orders and Families. The remaining chunk of the book is made up of dozens and dozens of Dinosaurs illustrated in full color, complete with a short “biography” as well as an authors note regarding the depiction.

This is a beautiful and informative book, and I recommend it to anyone who has any interest in Dinosaurs. It really makes you think about these amazing animals of the past and how they may have looked completely different from how we’ve envisioned them for so long.

Contains references and index.

Read More

What’s Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah?

By Robert E. Wells
Hardcover : 32 Pages
January 1, 1997

In this installment of Wells’ science book series for kids we take a look at the concept of speed. What’s Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah? starts out with the titular feline and compares it to other animals, before moving on to planes, rockets, and to concepts like the speeds of sound and light.

Wells combines his child-friendly text with whimsical illustrations and diagrams to create a cohesive, informative work. One of my favorite parts is the fact that the Cheetah, Falcon, and other animals from the beginning move through the rest of book, first as passengers on the aircraft, and then in space suits.

Recommended for ages 4-8, or anyone who just wants to look at a fun book about science.

Contains some additional information in back, along with a chart of how long it would take various animals/machines to travel from the Earth to the moon.

Read More

Dinothesaurus

By Douglas Florian
Hardcover : 56 Pages
March 10, 2009

Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings is a short, illustrated work that features the poems and paintings of Douglas Florian. All of the material relates to Dinosaurs or other prehistoric reptiles (since Plesiosaurs and Pterosaurs are not technically Dinosaurs.)

The book includes short poems, typically only a few lines long, that highlight a specific species or type. The poems are accompanied by a painting (often in collage style) of that animal, which also reflects the text in the poem. The poem on Deinonychus for example, mentions that they could ruin your whole day. The painting includes illustrations of Deinonychus with a background of newspaper clippings of days of the week.

Florian covers all sorts of species, some that I've never even heard of, like Minmi and Troodon. The drawings are rather interesting, and poems are cute and highlight an important feature of the species. Each poems also includes a pronunciation guide, which is especially helpful for Micropachycephalosaurus. The book also includes a glossary that covers all of the species mentioned, as well as a list of notable museums and fossil sites.

Overall I really liked this book. If you're looking for something with catchy poems and fun illustrations about Dinosaurs, then this is the book for you!

Read More

Last Chance to See

By Douglas Adams, Mark Carwardine
Paperback : 256 Pages
October 13, 1992

In 1988, writer Douglas Adams teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine to travel the word and see some of its rarest and most spectacular animals. Their journey was made into BBC radio series, as well as a book that Adams penned.

In Last Chance to See, we follow these two as they search for the Aye-aye, the Kakapo, the Northern White Rhino, the Baiji, the Komodo Dragon, Mountain Gorilla, and the Rodrigues Fruit Bat. These are all species that were down to scarily low numbers.

Fact : The Kakapo is the cutest bird.

While the material is now dated*,  the book was a delight to read. I'm a big fan of Adams and his Hitchhiker's Guide series, and the book reads with his same voice and sense of humor. It's amazingly entertaining, on top of being an informative work on some of the most critically endangered species of the time.

Not too long ago, Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine went back and revisited some of the animals from the original 1988 trip (Adams died in 2001), this time making a video documentary series. I'm seriously considering buying the DVD off Amazon. Stupid Netflix.

*The Baiji is now extinct, the Northern White Rhino is most likely extinct in the wild, and other species have been rebounding well due to conservation efforts.

Read More

The Greatest Show on Earth

By Richard Dawkins
Hardcover : 480 Pages
September 22, 2009

Written by the famed (and perhaps infamous) evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution explains the Theory of Evolution in wonderful detail, providing information from expeditions, experiments, and from the observation of nature itself. Like the man or not, he really knows and loves this material, and that devotion to the science shines through.

Though there are copies in audiobook form read by the author, as well as black and white eBook editions, I would recommend the print version which is chock full of color diagrams, illustrations and plates that back up and enhance the arguments, and help to bring better understanding to the examples.

Read More

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


I read Last Chance to Seeby Douglas Adams last week, and I absolutely tore through that thing. That's probably the fastest I've read in a long while. Last Chance to See was a project put together by Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine, they go around the world looking for rare animals, and the project was finally assembled as a book and BBC radio show. It is a really funny, entertaining, and informative, and I'll be getting the review for that up soon. I also need to hunt down the updated documentary version with Carwardine and Stephen Fry. Just watch this video!



This week I'm not sure what type of animal joy I'll look at. I just got a Nook this past weekend so now I have even more options!

While I sort out what longer text I want to look at, I got a handful of Robert E. Wells books in, as well as Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings, which looks adorable.

Read More

Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin

By Samuel Turvey
Paperback : 256 Pages
October 15, 2009

Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin is without a doubt, one of the saddest books I’ve ever read. It is the true life account of the final Yangzte River Survey to locate any remaining Baiji, and the story of the Baiji and Chinese conservation in general.

Turvey, who was the lead author on the paper that announced the probable extinction of the species back in 2006, cares deeply for this subject, and pours out his frustration with the international conservation community. I had never realized the amount of bureaucracy involved, it gets really infuriating just reading it. The book details all of the failed efforts over time, juxtaposing them with the successes and failures of other species around the world.

QiQi, the only successful captive Baiji

I’m really glad I read this book. It gave me new insight into wildlife conservation and all of the steps and measures required to save a species from being gone forever. Unfortunately, Turvey’s Yangtze Project was too late, and the fabled River Dolphin is most like extinct. Witness serves as a passionate and well-written warning to scientists and lay-people alike about the fragility of our endangered species and speed at which they can disappear without true, proactive help.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in Dolphins, Endangered Species, or Conservation in general.

Read More