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Product Description
From School Library Journal
- Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
— The Times
“This is life or death stuff, but Adams is a writer who chooses not to shake his finger at the reader.”
— Los Angeles Times
“Who would have thought that a book in the field of “ecology/nature”…could be as lively, sharply satirical, brilliantly written and even funny as this one is?…ranks with the best set pieces in Mark Twain.”
— Atlantic Monthly
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hitchhiker's guide to the animal kingdom,
This review is from: Last Chance to See (Paperback)
Douglas Adams' sense of humour is so strong, it could inject a bucketful of laughs into an obituary. Needless to say I wasn't surprised when this book, his elegy for endangered species, turned out to have a welcome balance between laughter and melancholy.Adams is joined by zoologist Mark Carwardine, as they use their last chance to see a variety of animals on the brink of extinction, such as the Komodo Dragon, the White Rhinos of Zaire, New Zealand kakapos, and Yangtze river dolphins. Adams, amateur wildlife lover, is wise enough to know the purpose of his journey: to shine some of the glare from his celebrity as a "science-fiction comedy novelist" on the issue of global extinction. He does wisely not to downplay the plight of these animals in the favour of commerciality, but manages to produce an entertaining work nonetheless. Carwardine, and the other people we encounter, sometimes come off as little more than characters in a Douglas Adams novel. I am hesitant to believe that everyone he encounters has the same dry, deadpanned British sense of humour. Nonetheless, the characters' eccentricities further shed light on the kinds of people who are willing to undertake the monumental task of saving these beautiful beasts. It is not work for the dispassionate. "The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong," he notes at one point, "is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along." Which brings up the second theme he hopes to illustrate here. Humans are dumb. No, that's too simple. Humans are egotistical, selfish, wasteful, materialistic, impudent, and dumb. The single, overwhelming reason why most of these animals must fight for their survival is the sheer audacity humans have in moving into their natural habitat, and upsetting the balance of nature. Adams has no time for individual moments of human idiocy, best exemplified by his wonderful line skewering young Yemeni men who insist on wearing rhino tusk costume jewelry: "How do you persuade [them] that a rhino horn dagger is not a symbol of your manhood but a signal of the fact that you need such a symbol?" His exasperation is evident in this and other such pearls of prose. I admit that I read this book more for Adams himself than for the subject matter. It is a credit to the author that by the end, I felt some sense of emotional investment in the animals, without the bitter feelings that usually emanate whenever I am subject to an overt tug at my heartstrings. Adams walks that fine line quite well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Book,
This review is from: Last Chance to See.... (Hardcover)
This was a wonderfully unexpected find. Douglas Adams writes in his famous witty and comical fashion, while sharing the fantastic true story of his adventures. This book sheds light on the dire situation of our most endangered species without leaving one feeling depressed about it. Great book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gets the message across with humor..,
By lemonzest "Jenn" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Chance to See (Paperback)
I picked up this book because like so many others, I'm a huge fan of all of Douglas Adams' work. I didn't know what I was about to read, but this book definitely surpassed all of my expectations. Adams and Carwardine tell the true story of their various journeys to exotic locations around the world to track down endangered species for a BBC radio program. Using Adams' trademark sarcasm and humor, the seriousness of the subject is eased into readers' perception while still providing plenty of material for those who are already champions of endangered species. Seeing the humorous style used by Adams in his fiction works applied to a nonfiction topic is refreshing and enjoyable.This is a truly excellent read for anyone who is a fan of Douglas Adams or environmentalism, and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down for long. :)
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