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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Of the animals discussed in this book, which was published in the 1980s, two are pretty much gone. The Chinese River dolphin is believed to be extinct and the Northern White Rhino basically is in the wild, though the eggs of the female rhinos have been harvested and saved.
The other animals seemed to have done a bit better.
If anything, the book reminds you of how much we lost when we lost Adams. Even today, when I answer 42 to a question in a class, at least 5-10 students (all of whom were born long after Adams died) will get the joke and break into laughter.
This book isn't academic, and is basically a travel log and plea to do something. It is also a memory of what was (duty free shopping on airplanes for instance, China pre Tiananmen Square.
There are some moving stories and some very funny ones. There is a whole bit about Latvians.
The other animals seemed to have done a bit better.
If anything, the book reminds you of how much we lost when we lost Adams. Even today, when I answer 42 to a question in a class, at least 5-10 students (all of whom were born long after Adams died) will get the joke and break into laughter.
This book isn't academic, and is basically a travel log and plea to do something. It is also a memory of what was (duty free shopping on airplanes for instance, China pre Tiananmen Square.
There are some moving stories and some very funny ones. There is a whole bit about Latvians.
tracycumming's review against another edition
5.0
The best, funniest, laugh out loud stories of importance and gravitas that I have read.
alfyboy's review against another edition
4.0
Quite a discouraging book about all some of the animal species in the world which are currently critically endangered.
Nonetheless, Adams writing is very witty, and the book ends with some encouraging words about the future of the worlds wildlife.
Nonetheless, Adams writing is very witty, and the book ends with some encouraging words about the future of the worlds wildlife.
stirbooksalot's review against another edition
3.0
I have always enjoyed Douglas Adams' sense of humor. His dry wit and his sarcasm. I also have always loved learning about animals and their behavior. Unfortunately, Mr. Adams appears to be more interested in poking fun at how difficult it is to travel in third world countries than he is in talking about the animals that are about to disappear from this planet. Perhaps that was the goal of the book? Alas, I do not think so.
Three stars for an amusing read. I wouldn't call it a waste of time -- I did enjoy the chapters on the Kakapo and the Rodrigues Fruit Bat -- but this book had the potential to be much better.
Three stars for an amusing read. I wouldn't call it a waste of time -- I did enjoy the chapters on the Kakapo and the Rodrigues Fruit Bat -- but this book had the potential to be much better.
firstwords's review against another edition
4.0
More enjoyable the second time around, but also a bit more depressing as I had read [b:Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams|6105931|Last Chance to See In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams|Mark Carwardine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347399860s/6105931.jpg|21514031] in the interim between when the first and second readings of Adams' original.
Short enough that you can knock it out in a long evening, it sounds exactly what Adams fans think a book on endangered species written by him should sound. The guy is funny, and as dry as ever. Seeing the raw admiration and affection he has for the people globally who protect these animals (and, in some cases, the animals themselves), is enjoyable. This is NOT a serious/heavy zoological study. It's Adams traveling with/to extremely talented people and basically making a very funny case for preservation.
Short warning, his impression of what was then Zaire are colored by colonial humor (while also being entirely accurate). [a:Mark Carwardine|5652|Mark Carwardine|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1350242868p2/5652.jpg] does a better job in his follow-on postulating why the bureaucracy is so bad in certain African former colonies.
Short enough that you can knock it out in a long evening, it sounds exactly what Adams fans think a book on endangered species written by him should sound. The guy is funny, and as dry as ever. Seeing the raw admiration and affection he has for the people globally who protect these animals (and, in some cases, the animals themselves), is enjoyable. This is NOT a serious/heavy zoological study. It's Adams traveling with/to extremely talented people and basically making a very funny case for preservation.
Short warning, his impression of what was then Zaire are colored by colonial humor (while also being entirely accurate). [a:Mark Carwardine|5652|Mark Carwardine|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1350242868p2/5652.jpg] does a better job in his follow-on postulating why the bureaucracy is so bad in certain African former colonies.
firstwords's review against another edition
4.0
Mark is no DA, nor is he Stephen Fry. However, for those who loved DA's first [b:Last Chance to See|8696|Last Chance to See|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867839s/8696.jpg|525730], Carwardine clearly loved DA about as much as many fans, and this is a loving follow-up. The writing tries at times to have a bit of DA/Fry humor (humour?), sometimes succeeding and sometimes falling short. That's OK, though, because writing aside, the story is extremely interesting, depressing, and hopeful at the same time. I could actually have used more length, spent more "time" with each species and those who care for it/destroy it.
Mark also clearly loves the species he visits with and the people who care for them, and the end of the book is a flat-out plea to help, with a list of organizations to donate to to save these and other species. Perhaps it was written for this express purpose, and that's fine. It does well on its own, and gets a biased 4-stars from me as someone who just misses DA and his writing, and who thinks Stephen Fry is hilarious and intelligent (a sentiment echoed and proven in the book and by the author).
Mark also clearly loves the species he visits with and the people who care for them, and the end of the book is a flat-out plea to help, with a list of organizations to donate to to save these and other species. Perhaps it was written for this express purpose, and that's fine. It does well on its own, and gets a biased 4-stars from me as someone who just misses DA and his writing, and who thinks Stephen Fry is hilarious and intelligent (a sentiment echoed and proven in the book and by the author).
zskies92's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
Felt like this was more travelogue than I was hoping, and the portions about travel logistics didn't feel like they ended up lending much context to different views on conservation, to the degree it should with such a big chunk of the page length dedicated to the topic. Overall left me pretty disappointed and wanting a more in depth book on these topics.
a_a_ron3891's review against another edition
4.0
Douglas Adams is an example of infectious Britishness. When you consume and love his work, you internalize it and no matter where you are from, you are now about 0.2% more British than when you started. It's weird, I know, but I think it's true.
I've loved his writing in the Hitchhiker & the Dirk Gently books, and recently stumbled upon recommendations for this book on Reddit. It did not disappoint, even if the subject matter inevitably breeds disappointment with the human species. :(
Per Wikipedia, the journeys undertaken were to see:
The aye-aye in Madagascar - STILL KICKIN', THOUGH ENDANGERED
The Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo in Indonesia - VULNERABLE
The kakapo in New Zealand - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED, ADORABLY STUPID
The mountain gorilla in Zaire - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED, FUCK YOU HUMANS
The northern white rhinoceros in Zaire - AS OF 2011 "Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild)"
The Yangtze river dolphin in China - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BUT FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT, I guess that really was their last chance to see...
The Rodrigues fruit bat on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Personal Note: finished in the hotel the morning after Nicole's wedding.
I've loved his writing in the Hitchhiker & the Dirk Gently books, and recently stumbled upon recommendations for this book on Reddit. It did not disappoint, even if the subject matter inevitably breeds disappointment with the human species. :(
Per Wikipedia, the journeys undertaken were to see:
The aye-aye in Madagascar - STILL KICKIN', THOUGH ENDANGERED
The Komodo dragon on the island of Komodo in Indonesia - VULNERABLE
The kakapo in New Zealand - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED, ADORABLY STUPID
The mountain gorilla in Zaire - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED, FUCK YOU HUMANS
The northern white rhinoceros in Zaire - AS OF 2011 "Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild)"
The Yangtze river dolphin in China - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BUT FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT, I guess that really was their last chance to see...
The Rodrigues fruit bat on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Personal Note: finished in the hotel the morning after Nicole's wedding.
vickysimpson7's review against another edition
5.0
Book reviews remind me of high school and sweating over how to make a great book sound appealing without giving away too much information. I'm not sure how to do it so I'll just say that this book is fantastic and I loved it.. It's moving, funny and fill of interesting and sobering information that left me awe struck at how beautiful the world is and saddened by how destructive humans are.