Don't blink!
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Somewhere in the depths of its vast corporate wisdom, the Guardian/Observer news organisation found a pearl of good sense. The pearl hatched a precious jewel of an idea. Send Douglas Adams, creator of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, accompanied by zoologist Mark Carwadine, to seek out some of the Earth's disappearing species. His account is classic Adams, with vivid description, poignant observations and incisive study of the people and places he encountered. The age of this book is of small account, even with the "Mark's Last Word" update segment closing the book. The book remains a pleasure to read.
Starting by his admission that he was "entirely qualified" for his role as "an extremely ignorant non-zoologist", Adams then describes their visit to Madagascar to find the aye-aye. A nocturnal lemur that "seems to be assembled from bits of other animals". He notes that the island was bypassed by the monkeys due to continental drift. It was the lemurs that occupied the aboreal environment. This was fine for the lemus until a different monkey, humans, arrived and began cutting down the trees. The lemurs, having fewer places left to hide, are increasingly constrained for habitat. This, of course, is the theme of the entire book.
The touring team moves through Southeast Asia to view the komodo, which may be the origin of the many "dragon" myths. Komodos are eating machines. Adams description of the way tourists are entertained by feasting komodos isn't something for the squeamish. Yet as he rightly points out, there is a tourist dollar factor to consider in how some disappearing species are to be saved. Government action is to be considered, but when wildlife becomes symbolic to a regime, endangered animals are just as likely to be further threatened. A "Leapordskin Pillbox Hat" resting on a President's head isn't the best example of conservation of species.
Of all the poignant accounts in this narrative, the kakapo must rate very high in our concern. Adams sets the scene with a vivid description of New Zealand's South Island - a place to "make your brain quiver". Landing a helicopter in that landscape also makes the brain quiver as Adams account of flying onto a ridge top demonstrates. His radio operator refuses to look over the edge while interviewing the pilot. But all the skilful piloting is of no avail as the team seeks the object of their quest. A strange, flightless bird, whose mating call was like "A Heartbeat in the Night", no longer offers his call from the ridge top. The kakapo, which inhabited the mountains for millennia, mate infrequently in a courtship beset with difficulties. With no natural predators, they failed to adapt to human-introduced dogs, cats and rats. Consequently, the population is down to about forty individuals when Adams visited New Zealand. In this case, a government has expended much effort in protecting this plump, lonely bird. An island suffered an extinction due to New Zealand's conservation efforts - it killed every cat on it. Free of predators, the island is now home to all the kakapos in existence. Every parrot bears a number tag, and a name. We meet finger-chewing Ralph whose sharp, powerful beak that never did duty as a defensive weapon.
Adams travelled to Africa to find rhinos and China to locate baiji dolphins in the murky Yangtze River. The rhinos almost escaped his gaze, but the baiji remained out of sight. The silty river caused the dolphins to adapt their hearing to life in the dark, but the multitude of noises created by human boats confuse them. The slaughter of dolphins by boat propellers is exterminating them. More active disturbances by our species have already extinguished the dodo on the island of Mauritius. Other species face similar fates. Adams encounters one of conservation's more exotic figures, Carl Jones [who also received attention from David Quammen in "Song of the Dodo"]. Jones' methods of preserving the Mauritius kestrel provides Adams with one of the most hilarious accounts in the book. How well Jones has succeeded remains to be determined.
The book is a delightful read, but that doesn't distract from the seriousness of the issue, nor Adams dedication to species preservation. Graced with some enchanting photographs, this highly personalised account still captures the reader's heart. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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Endangered animals meets British humor
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Do you like humorous books? How about one's with travel, nature, and exotic, endangered animals? This book covers all of those subjects and more. The author and narrator of this book is Douglas Adams who travels along to many countries with Mark Carwardine. They go to places such as Komodo island (to search for the Komodo Dragon of course), Zaire Africa, Madagascar, and those are just naming a few. They go there to track down endangered animals, and they keep it interesting with their intelligence and humor.
Adams is a brilliant writer never leaving out anything. For example, when he can't think of anything else to say he writes that he can't think of anything else to say, even printed in his book. When they were flying to China to look for the baiji dolphin Adams bought several different aftershave's just for the heck of it. That's where a lot of the humor comes in.
I can think of laughing at so many points in this book. Adams sarcastic and witty comments toward everything make you smile and puts you in a good mood. Such as when he talks back to a man in a blue polyester suit, in Tanzania at the "airport." Another person that I found to be quite humorous was Dr. Struan Sutherland a man who had devoted his whole entire life to the study of venom. Adam's and his crew went to go ask him what to do if they got bit by a Komodo dragon or a snake. His response was simply, "Don't get bitten." There was more, but I don't want to give it away.
This book is very adventurous, and a bit suspenseful at times with all the dangerous animals. They risked being hurt several times, which is definitely more interesting to read. So if you are interested in anything I've said Last Chance to See is a must read for you.
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Don't miss this one!
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I loved reading this book. It is a must-read for all who care about the environment, love travel-reading and think Douglas Adams is one of the funniest writers ever!
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Solid, Serious Fun
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This book touches on a very serious topic, basically, the extinction of several species of animals that adams is fortunate enough to get to see. As his title suggests, this might well be the last chance he (or anyone else) has to see some of these amazing creatures. However Adams does not loose his sense of humor and with the keen eye of a true observer of anything interesting, he manages to make the reader laugh out loud many times with some of his descriptions of places, people and even animals. His description of the echo-locating Chinese cyclists brought tears to my eyes.
This book is great, get it.
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Last Chance to See
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Last Chance to See Ballantine, 1990, 222 pp., $...
Douglas Adams ISBN 0-345-37198-4
Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams, is a powerful and insightful look at the alarming number of endangered animals and the attempts being made to preserve them. Written by Douglas Adams, the hit writer of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Last Chance To See is a non-fiction book that appeals to the entire range of senses. Adams manages to intertwine humor into a glum topic, which sets this book apart from others, such as Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
In the book Adams travels around the world with a zoologist, Mark Carwardine, and relays the humorous and sad details of everything he sees. In one part he receives a letter from a government official in the Zairian airport. The letter, which is supposedly written to the citizens of the country asking them to help the visitors, is not even written in the most common language. Adams does a great job with his imagery and draws the reader into the beautiful areas that he sees these magnificent animals in.
Even though chapters of this book were written between 1985 and 1989, Adams is able to tie them together beautifully to create a story that never stops. Most people should enjoy this book because it has many faces. It is a comedy yet it still speaks about the animals and their habitat. The book is accompanied with interesting color photographs of the animals Adams treks around the world to see. I really enjoyed this book. As fan of the comedy series I believe that it follows in it foot steps. So whether you are a fan of comedy, non-fiction, or just interested in animals Last Chance To See if a must read.
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