Endangered Species Books

Well I have to say after receiving this book yesterday at 6pm I was done reading it by midnight. I just couldn't put the book down. The writing is so good and the flow of the book so steady, that as a reader you can't help but remain on the edge of your seat. The other nice thing about this book is that while the subject matter is complex, it is presented in a way understandable to all. HIGHLY recommended.

I loved this book, and not just because I am a lifelong turtle nut. I couldn't put this book down although at times it made me cry. Great storytelling, intelligent without being dry, and I wanted to tell everyone I know to read it. A must read for anyone into turtles, marine biology and oceanography, ecology, commercial fishing, commercial agriculture, veterinary medicine, and medical research.

"It all rolls into one, and nothing comes for free" -Robert Hunter

I knew that sea turtles were endangered or threatened but never really investigated the reasons why. I found this book while perusing the book store and it caught my attention so I bought it and read it.
The book is well written and speaks to a non-biologist audience. It simply tells of the authors investigations into the reasons that they think the sea turtles are dying off at an alarming rate. It left me with my mouth gaping open and wondering why more people are not educated about the plight of this species.
While reading, the author makes you feel a part of their experiences, as if you were scuba diving with these creatures.
If the data from this book is any indication of the plight of the Earth's oceans, it is a very scary thought of what may be to come.
I recommend this book for ANYONE who is inquisitive about the hype surrounding "our dying oceans". It gives a detailed account of the afflictions affecting sea turtles and what we are trying to do to save them. The problem appears to go way beyond this mysterious virus. The book made me cry and get angry at the same time. We need to find out what is happening and target the source.
In the preface of the paperback edition, the author makes this statement: "If I could coin a blessing for a new world, it would be this: May your children swim in an ocean full of turtles." Amen to that Osha Gray Davidson.

Unequivocally, I loved this book! Parts biological mystery, turtle evolution, naturalist history and love story to the sea, it's wrapped up in very engaging prose. It made me fall in love with the creatures!! And apparently I'm not the only one...

In a book I read last year, "Costa Rica: The Last Country The Gods Made," the authors' dedicated the book to a green sea turtle!! It read:

"To the green sea turtle who twenty-five years ago bumped the bottom of a boat in Key West, Florida, scaring a little girl. Those tears and this book are for you and your descendants."

Here's hoping that turtle's descendants will STILL be around in another 25 years! But the more people who read this book, the more attention these endangered animals will deservedly get.

Fire In the Turtle House is a thorough, investigative account of many dedicated marine biologist, scientists, and turtle lovers trying to figure out how and why green sea turtles have become afflicted with fibropamillomatosis. The virus is killing off the specie in untold numbers and will lead to their extinction. By the reading the book not only did I learn about sea turtles, and how they live and breed, but I got an enormous education in marine biology and how the ocean is a precious habitat for these creatures. The author helped me understand by giving specific examples as to how man is contributing to the ocean's decline and thus sea life's decline. This isn't a diatribe on man but a well thought out provocative look at a very important topic told so that everyone can understand. There is a quote in the book by Arthur C. Clarke that says that our planet should not of been called Earth but perhaps "Oceana." Very true when most of the planet is made up of water, as are we. My eyes have been open to the truth of this statement after reading Fire in the Turtle House.

I have been reading everything I can find about the gray whale since I am visiting them in San Ignacio, Baja, Mexico in early February. I found this book to be the most informative for someone who is truly interested in how gray whale conservation evolved especially from the standpoint of how politics influences conservation efforts. Fortunately for the gray whale, the Mexican government had enough proponents to stop the Mitsubishi salt mining from expanding. And Mexico is the ONLY COUNTRY which has outlawed gray whale harvesting. If you are visting the gray whales in Baja, this is a definite must read!

I just returned from touring Baja and experiencing the magnificent gray whale. Serge Dedina spent a significant amount of time researching the content; he succinctly conveys the history of politics and conservation in Baja California in this book. After visiting the same places he lived, and experiencing the people, environment and Gray Whale, I can attest to the fact that Dedina's work is dead-on accurate. Reading this will save you months of research. And, if you are fortunate enough to travel to Baja, I can guarantee you will come away wanting more, and wishing you had done your homework.

This book, along with Sightings: The Gray Whales' Mysterious Journey
by Linda Hogan & Brenda Peterson, are required reading for anyone planning to do gray whale watching in Mexico. It is based on the reality of how Mexican politics, not conservationism, determined the perservation of these wonderful animals in Mexico. Most people are not aware that Mexico is the ONLY country in North America that has outlawed gray whale harvesting.

This book combines a captivating portrait of the whales and the people of southern Baja with a well-documented political analysis of the challenges involved in conservation. Plus, it's a great read.

(From Planeta Journal) - For the past several years, one of Mexico's most pressing environmental controversies was whether or not the Mexican government and the Mitsubishi Corporation should develop a new salt mining operation within the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, one of the world's four breeding areas for gray whales. A candid text, Saving the Gray Whale provides an engaging capsule history of whale conservation in Mexico and a timely review of environmental politics.

In fact, the timing could not be more opportune for this book. Within a month of publication, the plans for the salt operation were cancelled. For readers who are only now learning about this issue, this book is an excellent resource.

Saving the Gray Whale is a must-read book for whale watchers and readers interested in Mexican environmental issues. The candid tone stems from the author's travels and research in Baja, not to mention dizzying trips to Mexico City, where the labyrinths of political power stray far from efficiency. The author combines analysis from historical reports, planning meetings and from encounters on the road or from a kayak paddled across San Ignacio Lagoon.

This book is a treasury of little-known facts ("Gray whales are not gray") and a straightforward review of environmental politics in Mexico -- at least as far as the government is concerned. The list of players is a must-read for anyone interested in environmental issues! Unfortunately, it does not have the same depth when it reviews how the conservation groups ("Non-Governmental Organizations") operate. Is the "Grupo de los 100" really Mexico's "most influential" environmental group? Likewise, what do The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund do in Mexico? Reports are kept hush and the author doesn't seem to question the lack of transparency.

Birds are not the only animals who make regular long distance migrations...The caribou indulges in this practice as well. "Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd" follows their journey across countless rivers, mountain ranges, and passes for a thousand mile journey to the Caribou's ancestral calving grounds and then all of that over again so they can return home. A story of the instinct that drives both human and animal, "Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd" is recommended to community library wildlife collections with a crossover to true adventure shelves and for any non-specialist general reader who wants to learn more of these fascinating creatures.

His message on the caribou herd is 5 star message. It is a shame what may happen to the caribou herd if or when drilling happens. All in all a pretty good book.

Having enjoyed the movie by the same title, I decided to read Heuer's book in the hope that it would fill in more of the details of this epic journey in the footsteps of the Porcupine herd of caribou. Without detracting from the movie, the book provides more insight into those aspects of the story that could not easily be addressed on film, such as logistics, nature observations, the passage of days, and the more personal side of what, at times, must have seemed an impossible journey.

While the narrative follows the progress of the caribou herd's trek along a continuum spanning three seasons, it is interwoven with backflashes to planning and preparation for the expedition, reflections on the ecological and cultural place occupied by caribou, and forays into the politics of oil exploration and its impact on the Arctic wildlife.

Having now watched the movie and read the book, I remain amazed at the logistics of this journey -- from both the perspective of this expedition, and for the caribou which they follow. The book fleshed in much of what I suspected from the start -- that the annual migration of the caribou is a grueling marathon through a landscape that is both beautiful, but fraught with perils far beyond our imaginings.

From the perspective of adventure writing, Heuer delivers a fast-paced narrative that provides a good understanding of the landscape and the logistics of the journey. We are given enough details to vicariously feel the weight of a 70 pound backpack, the chill of wading a half-frozen river, and the helpless sense of frustration while watching a lost caribou calf straying from the herd to certain death on the tundra. We're given a generous glimpse into the thoughts of the writer as he and his partner face fear, pain, and fatigue, but also experience joy, excitement, and a growing respect for the caribou - as well as a grave concern for their future.

But this book should be regarded as much more than a travel or adventure narrative. It provides a much-needed window into the lives of the caribou and their place in the unique and fragile web of Arctic ecology. It also provides a background to the political and environmental issues that endanger the future of the north.

It takes a special kind of couple to spend their honeymoon following a herd of caribou across northern Canada and Alaska for four months. Getting used to each other is hard enough, but then to be swimming rivers that are barely free of ice, to climb mountain ranges in the snow, meeting up with grizzly bears that are not overly friendly.

They traveled over a thousand miles to study the caribou to produce a film of their migration to the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The flyleaf of the book says that it is an 'Adventure Narrative' and it is. It's also a lot more than that as most of us don't know what the current debate about drilling for oil and gas in the ANWR is all about. Needless to say, as a wildlife biologist the author has very definite views on the subject.

The ANWR is a place that most of us will never see. It's a place that most people never heard of. And unfortunately, it's probably a place that will be damaged, if not destroyed in the search for energy. As a congresswoman told the author: 'the bottom line for voters on this issue is cheap gas.'

This book is a story of the life of teh animals in the north, and of the people who study them. It's a story worth reading about. Thank you Mr. Heuer for bringing this to our attention.

Husband and wife team of Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison decide to spend their honeymoon in just about the most off-the-beaten-track way possible: they're going to migrate with caribou.

Not just any caribou, but the Porcupine herd of northern Canada and Alaska, the herd whose calving ground is the 1002 Section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the place where Exxon wants to drill to get what will likely be less than six months, maybe one year's worth of U.S. needs of oil supply.

So, skiing and hiking, the duo spend April-September 2003 covering hundreds of miles in the wake of thousands of caribou, starting from Canada's Yukon, going into Alaska, then coming back. On the way, they cross and recross multiple mountain ranges and rivers, the latter frozen on the way up and roiling currents on the way back, battle swarms of summer mosquitoes and other bugs, cut their food budget tight between plane drops, and make psychological connections with both the herd instinct of the caribou and with each other as newlyweds.

Portraying the caribou instinct as a more jazzy, free-form version of the salmon's drive to spawn, their trek sheds valuable new light on caribou activities. It also underscores the fragility and the absolute importance of ANWR's 1002 Section.

To see just what is at stake on the side of the aisle opposite Exxon, and to fall in love with the Arctic North, read this book. Sixteen pages of full-color plates provide a wonderful photographic sidebar.

Informative book with a lot of provocative scenarios (the analogy of the Tokyo fish market and the piece of empty ocean is genius). The illustrations were expert and a welcome surprise. Much of the support for the imminent extinction assertions, however, are buttressed by seemingly Environmental Activists' groups. More balanced sources might add credibility to the general thesis.

As a scientist I thought the book provided an excellent edifying view of our global marine ecosystem. The book builds an extremely strong case of the devastation caused by man to the marine environment. More politicians should read this book, especially the Bush Admininstration with their imbecilic view of global warming. The power of this book can harnessed in the classroom, by planting a seed in future generations for the importance of the biodiversity of life. Great book!!!

Where Empty Ocean wins above a dozen other books is how it takes a bottom line approach, species by species and gives you the facts. Facts verifiable by the ever-handy Redlist(provided online by the IUCN). Ellis goes quite a bit further though, giving a historical account of each species. It is nice to know, for instance, why it is that the Sea Otter has ended up in the predicament it has; never mind that a friend of mine (oh my) was quite unaware that the Dodo was eaten out of existance.


Ellis makes each animal a story--and a worthwhile story at that. I recall sharing 'Wounded Knee' with a friend of mine who gave up after a few chapters saying he 'got the point', and while it works for literary criticism, it doesn't for historical or scientific criticism. I doubt that Ellis's book is in anyway comprehensive, but while most readers will grasp the levity of things very quickly, it deserves to be read in its entirity. I think the various species mentioned here (many in trouble, many already extinct) deserve that much.

Best yet, while Ellis does little to disguise his deep affinity for all those things that would make the sea their home, his arguments rest not at all upon this sentimentality, but rather on the instability of our marine-based economies as populations crash.

At least a dozen eighteenth century extinctions would read like this epitaph "Like the sea cow, it was ridiculously easy to kill and tasted good...", but Ellis exposes how modern methods are far more effective in decimating extant species than any whalers ever could have managed.

Possibly one of the most essential reads for an easy overview of the state of sea-going species, though readers with a greater interest will no doubt want to dig farther into the literature and on-line resources.

This is a truly frightening book. Most people are really unaware of what's going on today out in the world's oceans. Giant long lines nets and factory fishing ships are creating unprecendented damage to the world's fisheries. The odds are that things are sadly even worse than this book states. A few years ago it was revealed that the total world fish catch figures had been inflated as a result of cheating by China, the world's number one fishing nation. This made it look like things were better than they were. The only reason they got caught was that they forgot to rig the local catch figures as well. Think about it. China is a totalitarian state. Do you trust them to tell you the truth about what their fishing fleets are doing right now in the middle of the Pacific and all over the world? We need greater monitoring of what is going on by the UN or some other international body.

Richard Ellis' "The Empty ocean" reads like an encycleopedic obituary for marine life. It's an on going casualty list of oceanic life forms complete with well researched statistics designed to give the reader plenty of "shock and awe."

The book focuses on two age old problems; an infinite population versus a finite food source, and man's greedy Draconian methods used to enhance his own pocket book. Long line fishing boats with 60 to 100 miles of fishing line strung out across the waves dangling thousands of baited hooks is bound to catch "something!"

This book is truly a cornucopia of resource material injected with the author's personal caustic innuendos that serve to highlight his zealous crusade against the onslaught and waste by big corporations and sea food distributors.

A good read, but perhaps an even better source of historical statistics and research for tomorrow's promising marine biologists.

Ellis has put a great deal of effort into his topic. His realism and propensity to "tell it like it is" will slice into your heart and soul, better than any harpoon ... every thrown by Captain Ahab!

This book was so awesome I felt like I was in Florida ! This story was about a girl named Brenna who really liked manatees. One day Dr. Mac
decided to take Maggie,Zoe,and Brenna to Florida to visit a manatee
rescue center,that needs money really bad.You will have to read the
book to find out what happens next. I really enjoyed this story because
I love animals,especially manatees!

This is the fourth book in the WILD AT HEART series about young vet volunteers. You've read about Maggie, Sunita, and David. This book is about Brenna, and manatees. Manatees are large marine mammals. They look something like floating elephants. They're related to elephants, too, as well as to aardvarks and hyraxes. Did you know that? Brenna did. She loves manatees. She did a school project on them and got an A+. Now she gets to travel by airplane to Florida with Dr. Mac and her two granddaughters, Maggie and Zoe, to work in a rescue mission for manatees. And she is jazzed! She takes along her camera with its zoom lens, and she can't wait to meet Dr. Mac's former pupil, Gretchen, who runs the rescue mission. Of course, her mother's parting words, "Be polite, watch your temper, and think before you open your mouth," get Brenna into trouble --- when she forgets them!

They no sooner arrive at the mission than Gretchen and her assistant Carlos get a phone call about a wounded manatee that needs help. Brenna wants to go along, and she makes Dr. Mac mad by asking Gretchen to let them. But Gretchen says it's okay. When they find the manatee, they discover that it's Violet, an old friend of Gretchen and Carlos. She's been struck by a boat. The propeller ripped into her back, broke her ribs, and punctured a lung. She's been floating, helpless and in pain, for weeks. Gretchen and Carlos don't know whether they can save her or not. When they get her back to the mission, Gretchen lets Dr. Mac and the girls watch the surgery.

While Violet is recuperating from the first surgery, Gretchen takes Dr. Mac and the girls on a floating restaurant cruise to the Gulf of Mexico. Is that neat or what? While Brenna tries to figure out which fork to use (she has three), she notices an abandoned baby manatee thrashing in the water. Gretchen uses Brenna's camera with its telephoto lens to see that the baby is tangled in the rope of a crab pot. The tide is coming in, and the baby will drown unless someone rescues him. Gretchen puts on a life jacket and jumps overboard. Brenna thinks she needs help and jumps in, too --- without a life jacket. Gretchen isn't happy about that, and Dr. Mac is steamed about it.

They rescue the baby and take it to the mission. Carlos says Brenna can name him. She names him Key Lime. That's her pie that was melting while she helped Gretchen rescue him. Key Lime needs an adopted mother, and he wants Violet to volunteer. But Violet is getting worse, so Gretchen and Carlos have to operate on her again. But there is even more terrible news than that. The mission is in debt. It needs hundreds of thousands of dollars just to survive, and Gretchen's bank loan is denied. Even if they can save Violet and Key Lime, they can't save the mission. Or can they? I'll give you some clues: Brenna's camera and a baseball game. Got it? Then you'd better read the book!

--- Reviewed by Tamara Penny

I absolutely LOVE any Wild at Heart Books, and I can never put them down. I would strongly suggest that you buy this book for you, friend, or a family member. Anyone could find something that they enjoy in these books!!!

This book is very intriguing, I couldn't put it down! Brenna and two other friends (Zoe and Maggie) went to Florda to study manatees. When they get there they meet a marine biologist who works at a rescue center for manatees and other animals. This place needs ALOT of money to stay open. When Brenna takes a picture of a famous baseball player driving his boat too fast where manatees may be, and then shows it to him after his baseball game... Did she just save the rescue center? I suggest this book to anyone who likes water animals, and alot of adventure.

I think this book is AWESOME it's my faivorite in the series !
It's about this girl named Brenna who gose to Florida with some other volunteers from Wild at Heart animal clinic to reaserch Manatees and really makes a diference. I would recamend this book to any persone that likes water animals or just wants a Great book.

Hi,
OK! This book is just toooooooooooooooo CUTE!!!!!! I've read the whole first series twice!!!!! And this just happens to be one of the sweetest EVER!!! You HAVE to buy it! For those of you who are on the first books and LOVE Ichigo {and no her name is not Zoey}you will love the ending of this series! Also mew mew continues in Tokyo mew mew A La Mode!!! So if I were you I would keep reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy, this is the best book yet! I LUV Kish, he's soooo HOTT. I'm so mad at Ichigo for liking Masaya instead of him. If I were her, I'd consider myself lucky. I cried when Kish died, it broke my heart that he would die to save the girl that doesn't even love him! ANYWAY.......I HIGHLY recomend that you read this book.

By the way, im not a kid. Im just a girl who used the kids review so i wouldn't have to log on. im 14, seriously. Luv ya!

-Rezurii

This book was great. I've read it over 5 times in the first month I've gotten the book. The book is great, and the petite mew mew and extra pages are great!

I loveddd this book it's probably the best book out of the series. It seems so happy until the suprise twist. I'd really like to tell you but it would destroy the suprise part. Read IT!!!!!!!

It was a great book, but it was sort of sad. I mean, Kish dies and he really loves Ichigo and all that. It does have it's happy moments, but in my opinion, it is just plain sad.

Alison Anderson is among the finest literary stylists writing today, writing a carefully crafted lyrical prose which reminds me of Patrick O'Brian's best work in his Aubrey/Maturin saga. Her graceful writing is a poetic throwback to Jane Austen, with much Joycean self reflection thrown in, reminding me too of Andrea Barrett's elegant fictional prose on science and nature. I was quite taken with "Darwin's Wink" as I read through the opening pages, keeping a keen interest in the affairs of the two protagonists, Fran and Christian. To her credit, Anderson has fashioned a tale that I wish didn't end, but yet it did, with ample realism and poetic prose.

Fran is a fortyish American behavioral ecologist and ornithologist who has found sanctuary on Egret Island, a tiny island near its much larger neighbor, Mauritus, trying to save a rare bird from extinction. She also finds herself coping with the unexpected death of her assistant and lover, Salish, a Hindu Mauritian. Salish's replacement, Chris, a former Swiss Red Cross worker, has lost the love of his life, Nermina, a Muslim Bosnian Red Cross worker, he met while both were working in war-torn Bosnia in the mid 1990s. Unexpectedly, they find themselves drawn to each other while contending unknowingly with Mauritians opposed to their conservation work, and who were ultimately responsible for Salish's death.

Starts quiet and sort of stays that way which belies the strength of its voice and story which rings loud and clear -- the power, trauma, guilt and loss as each are worked upon. The tiny Maritian island in this book is a stripped down, bare essentials cosmos. Some will say it's a love story but it's no more nor less than a survival story, and that's beautifully sufficient and gorgeously written (though not over-written). Will be moving on, just as quickly as my feet can scurry to my local, to Anderson's earlier novel Hidden Latitudes. She seems to have a thing for Island novels; works for me!

I really loved this book !
While you get gripped into the suspense which has the two main characters strive to keep alive an endangered species of birds on an island near Mauritius working against an unknown enemy and learn slowly about their secrets wounds in a well constructed story that takes you back and forth between past - the war in Bosnia during which Christian was working for the red cross and lost his girlfriend- and present - the island where Fran suffered her own loss, you really dive into the serenity of this island and the beautiful and lyrical use of words by the writer. It is punctuated with pertinent and philosophical comments about life, survival and relationship.
You will not want to leave Fran and Christian when you reach the last page.

This is a lovely, unusual novel. The writing is lush, the setting and characters complex, and the protagonist's work important. The ending seems quite realistic. For anyone, especially one who cares for endangered species and is drawn to the mystery of islands, this novel should hold one's interest straight through. Beautiful and imaginative.

Off the coast of Mauritius is a coral reef, Egret Island, twenty-five hectares of tropical vegetation. Following the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, even the egrets vanish from this beleaguered place. Fran, a trained naturalist, comes to Egret Island via an independent foundation, her mission to return the island to its pre-human state, replacing plant and animal life, "the exotic with the endemic", restoring the natural habitat and possibly saving the mourner bird from extinction. The fiftyish woman is joined by a younger man, Christian, a Swiss by birth. Deeply scarred by his experiences with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Bosnia, Christian is seeking refuge from the harsh reality of war, "a bloody game of bullies and warlords, a slaughter."

Fran carries her own heartbreak, a love affair with Satish, a younger Tamil immigrant from India who knew the island well, his death still a potent grief. Christian's arrival has awakened Fran's feelings, his romance with a local girl a reminder that Satish is gone, as if Fran's relationship was only an island tale. Socially unacceptable, Fran and Satish's love was something they chose, accepting the challenges of such an affair. At this point in her life, Fran has crossed an invisible line, accepted solitude as a way of life, made stronger within the boundaries of self. Fran finds comfort in her position, having never mastered flirtatious games, removed from island society, safe from the entanglements that expose her vulnerabilities. Watching Christian in Satish's place, Fran hopes that their daily routines will offer this man an opportunity to recover, to regain his balance in the world. Drawn closer by the defining experiences of their lives, Fran and Christian share their stories. Writing in her journal, Fran realizes that anything can be changed in nature, an act of God, Darwin's wink: "What will I do now... my ordered little world is only an illusion of order, thwarted by biology."

Fran is a complex person, having weighed her loneliness and made peace with it, yet allowing herself to embrace Satish, and later, Christian. The years have given her a natural wisdom and compassion, withholding her own needs so that those of others can be met. She offers Christian the freedom to make choices without resorting to trickery or dishonesty. Even Christian realizes that this place and this woman are temporary, a brief respite before he reenters a brutal world with unfinished obligations. Yet Christian is acutely aware of Fran's strength, her unconditional acceptance of what life offers, even if happiness only comes in small measures. Anderson evokes a time and place made real and tactile by the species clinging to life and the wounded humans reaching to each other for comfort. The characters inhabit the novel, Fran, Christian, Asmita, the devious Razel, the lost Nermina and the ghost of Satish. Here passion blooms without interference, but the world waits; this temporary solace belongs to the moment, where old wrongs may be made right, nature tilted gently into balance, Fran and Christian planting the seeds of the future. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

What a great book!! PLEASE parents , get a copy for your kids , this is the most inspiring book ever!

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

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.

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.

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!!!

This book is a labor of love and committment, the author rocks and provides insights into what it takes to assure that today's actions ensure one's goals/ideals, i.e. wolf recovery, survive into the next generation. The illustrations are sweet and the book is very easy to read and enjoyable.

I grew up in Wisconsin and can relate to Richard P Thiel's accurate and colorful descriptions of northern and central Wisconsin landscape. However, his experiences go far beyond those of most others, helped by being able to track wolves by light aircraft and radio telemetry thus getting a bird's eye view of the scene. A good example of the Scientific Method on the hoof, so to speak. The book does not glamorize the profession of wildlife biology; it tells it like it is, including the governmental bureaucracy, physical hardships, bad weather, and long hours, occasionally punctuated with incredible encounters with the wolves that refused to be excluded from Wisconsin. The book teaches people what to expect when wolves share your living space. And what a great ending ... it brings the reader right up to date and sets the stage for proper management decisions in the future. A great humorous book which will entertain you as well as educate. I couldn't put it down.

Good friends presented us this book as a Christmas gift, knowing that we are very interested in all forms of appearance of the nature, inanimate and alive.
It is of great interest for us since just in this years the wolves also return to the forests of our Eastgerman country.
It is wonderful written, understandable also for the laymen and rich in nice figures.
Most important for us is however, that this book is written by a man who obviously feels responsible for the life on our so endangered earth, who understand that human life is tightly connected with all the other appearances of life and that the good evolution of one kind of life is the necessary precondition for the healthy existence of all another creatures.
Men like Richard Thiel give us the hope that life has a chance to survive at our planet.

'Keepers of the wolves' is Richard P Thiel's follow up to his
wonderful 1993 publication 'The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin.'
Once again the author's informative and personal writing style
makes this very fine book an essential work for any Wolf supporter interested in the more complex aspects of the Wolf recovery effort in the United states today.

Keepers Of The Wolves: The Early Years Of Wolf Recovery In Wisconsin by Richard Thiel (coordinator of the Wisconsin Department of natural Resources Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, Babcock, Wisconsin) is the true and fascinating story of the restoration of wild wolves to Wisconsin Forest, from 1978 when they had been gone for twenty years to the present day with an estimated 200 timber wolves in 54 packs. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate a story of political controversies, environmental struggles, and the enduring strength of the wolf itself. A conservationist success story, Keepers Of The Wolves is especially recommended for Wisconsin environmental issues reading lists and wildlife restoration studies reference collections.

Considering George Bird Grinnell's impact on conservation, fair treatment of the American Indian, and the national park movement - and those are but three of his many accomplishments - the lack of a full biography of his life seems downright peculiar. Since I first ran into his name more than a decade ago when I moved into an apartment building named Grinnell and wondered who or what "Grinnell" was, I have often pondered why I didn't learn about George Bird Grinnell in school. Surely, his life is as interesting and his contribution to America is as significant as that of Buffalo Bill (whose path he crossed). Consider, this man founded the first Audubon Society, explored Glacier National Park, and would have accompanied Custer at his last stand, except his professor needed his services for the summer at Yale!

Until now, the most complete exploration of Grinnell's life - excluding the unpublished, autobiographical "Memories" which resides in original at Yale and in copy or microfilm in several other libraries - was John F. Reiger's "The Passing of the Great West." Reiger allowed Grinnell to speak for himself, filling out the picture with supplementary writings by and about him. Gerald Diettert's "Grinnell's Glacier: George Bird Grinnell and Glacier National Park" focuses on one period in Grinnell's life and William T. Hagan's "Theodore Roosevelt and Six Friends of the Indian" (Grinell was one of the six "friends"), focuses on one facet of it. Grinnell's own writings reveal much about him. He was a prolific writer with a keen eye for detail, but his writings with an autobiographical slant are either difficult to obtain, like "Memories," or scattered in various places, such as magazine articles about his home in Audubon Park or the semi-autobiographical series of "Jack" adventure books, which he presumably wrote for his nieces and nephews to acquaint them with the "olden days."

While Michael Punke's "Last Stand: George Bird Grinell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West" is not a complete biography of Grinnell, it is a thorough examination of Grinnell's development from a wealthy and somewhat aimless young man to a mature thinker who grasped the concept of animal extinction and found in himself both the perseverance and tools to combat it.

As Punke succinctly states, "If there were two moral poles in the world of George Bird Grinnell, Cornelius Vanderbilt stood at one of them" and Lucy Audubon, the widow of naturalist and painter, John James Audubon, stood at the other. Punke develops this theme confidently and convincingly throughout his book. Lucy Audubon, who was Grinnell's first teacher and near neighbor in what was then known as Audubon Park, taught him the value of self-denial, which is at the heart of conservation: deny today and preserve so that future generations may enjoy. True, Grinnell probably learned similar lessons from his father, whose reputation remained untarnished and unchallenged (except in the "Brooklyn Eagle") despite two bankruptcies and extended, close business dealings with Cornelius Vanderbilt, the granddaddy of robber barons, but in his later writings, Grinnell gives ample credit to "Grandma" Audubon for her early moral lessons.

Punke is admirable in his ability to keep the various threads of his story moving along simultaneously. Grinnell's maturation, the United States government's subjugation of the American Indian, the near extinction of the buffalo, and the establishment of Yellowstone Park all develop simultaneously, no strand slighted in favor of another. Punke's writing is clear and energetic and his knowledge of the subject matter is extensive.

Occasionally, he misstates a fact; for example, substituting the firm of George B. Grinnell & Co for George Bird Grinnell & Co (George Blake Grinnell did his son a disservice when he named him George Bird - one George B Grinnell too many) and, occasionally he misses an interesting point. September 18, 1873, the day George Bird Grinnell & Co crashed, essentially freeing Grinnell from business and allowing him to return to Yale and embark upon the course that led him west, was the same day that Lucy Audubon, Grinnell's mentor, departed New York City for the last time, returning to Louisville, Kentucky, where she died several months later.

Those bits are tangential, however. This is a splendid book, a welcome addition to the literature about the founding father of American conservation and a very interesting read.
Matthew Spady [...].

This is a fascinating look at an overlooked and underappreciated historical figure: George Bird Grinnell, who led the effort to save the buffalo (and later, Glacier National Park). A man far ahead of his time, Grinnell was trying to save the buffalo when most Americans didn't care that they were disappearing, or were eager to kill them off, either as a way to get rid of the Indians, or as a way to make money. Punke takes you on a thrilling journey, describing exactly how the buffalo were killed off and why, with side ventures into the creation of Yellowstone National Park (and the battles to preserve it that follow), the big baron culture of the 19th centure, the emergence and importance of the magazine industry at the time, and the lives of John James Audubon, Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill and many others. The big will leave you with a tinge of sadness -- we will never again see the wilderness west of the early 19th century -- tempered with hope, that one person can, indeed, make a difference.

Michael Punke has written a very timely account of George Bird Grinnell, the assault on the American buffalo and efforts to keep it from extinction, the creation of Yellowstone National Park, and Grinnell's efforts as a conservationist. Grinnell was able to see into the future to save the buffalo from extinction, and the importance of preserving our environment for future generations. The book deals with poachers who killed buffalo for a living, commercial hunters of birds and fish, and how people felt the supply was inexhaustable. Yellowstone National Park was created in 1872, but many members of Congress voted for it simply because they felt the area was without economic value and setting it aside didn't matter. Grinnell's mentors were Lucy Audubon and Professor Othniel Marsh. Marsh accepted Grinnell as one of a few young men to accompany him out west to search for dinosaur bones. Later Grinnell accompanied George Armstrong Custer's 1874 expedition into the Black Hills of South Dakota on a scientific expedition in which Custer searched for gold. Custer later invited Grinnell to accompany his ill fated 7th cavalry into Montana in 1876, but Grinnell had commitments at the Peabody Museum. Grinnell made the most of his life and devoted it to conserving America's beauty for future generations. It's ironic that his beloved Glacier National Park in Montana is now threatened by global warming. We owe it to him to preserve for future generations what he preserved for us. My copy of this book will go to the local high school in hopes that young people will be aware of the importance of preserving our environment.

Michael Punke is fast becoming one of the most reliable authors for accessible, fascinating books about the west. He's a vivid writer who really knows how to construct a story. I highly recommend it.

Michael Punke threads his love of the wilds of the West throughout his informative, thought-provoking and insightful story of the buffalo and their interrleationship with the Native American population. He effectively evolved and linked this period to the issues with which we are dealing today. The author's research served to illustrate and elaborate on the context of the time. I gained a great appreciation from the story for the challenges and significant accomplishments of George Bird Grinnell. The book should is a must read for all Americans to infuse a much needed political consciousness of what we have done and are doing to our western wildnerness and the native people and animals who inhabit it.

Dr. Judith L. Lyon