The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction
The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction
The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction
Description
Description
How an iconic bird's final days exposed the reality of human-caused extinction
The great auk is one of the most tragic and documented examples of extinction. A flightless bird that bred primarily on the remote islands of the North Atlantic, the last of its kind were killed in Iceland in 1844. Gísli Pálsson draws on firsthand accounts from the Icelanders who hunted the last great auks to bring to life a bygone age of Victorian scientific exploration while offering vital insights into the extinction of species. Pálsson vividly recounts how British ornithologists John Wolley and Alfred Newton set out for Iceland to collect specimens only to discover that the great auks were already gone. At the time, the Victorian world viewed extinction as an impossibility or trivialized it as a natural phenomenon. Pálsson chronicles how Wolley and Newton documented the fate of the last birds through interviews with the men who killed them, and how the naturalists' Icelandic journey opened their eyes to the disappearance of species as a subject of scientific concern--and as something that could be caused by humans. Blending a richly evocative narrative with rare, unpublished material as well as insights from ornithology, anthropology, and Pálsson's own North Atlantic travels, The Last of Its Kind reveals how the saga of the great auk opens a window onto the human causes of mass extinction.
About the Author
About the Author
Gísli Pálsson is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Iceland. His books include The Human Age, Down to Earth, and The Man Who Stole Himself.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"[An] engaging story."---Andrew Robinson, Nature
"Pálsson affectionately profiles Wolley and Newton and thereby gives readers a colorful view of what ornithology and natural history was like in the decades immediately before the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Review
"Much has been written about the demise of the Great Auk . . . and this work by Gísli Pálsson is an important addition to the body of work on this iconic and enigmatic species. It is scholarly and well-presented."---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds
"Through a combination of scientific analysis, personal narratives, and ecological insights, Pálsson crafts a gripping story that underscores the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect endangered species."---John Hague, The Grebe
"An engaging book."---Tom Tierney, New Scientist
"A fascinating, important, and timely book about a major icon of extinction."---Mark V. Barrow Jr., Science
"[A] moving and well thought out tale. . . . This book is an important part of an innocent species' life."---Deb Hirt, Muskogee Phoenix
"The Last of its Kind is a slow-moving thriller, a murder-mystery where we know from the outset who did it."---Surekha Davies, Times Literary Supplement
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
Pub date:
2024-02-06
Length:
328 pages
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