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kakapokhaos's review
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.25
Given that I am myself currently studying Australia’s extinct marsupial megafauna - my choice of reading this book was indeed atypical but I endeavour to keep this review unbiased.
I found Owen’s work to be a remarkable compilation of first-and-second-hand accounts, political blunders, and sheep-related shame as pertaining to the Thylacine. Personally, I thought the voice and structure to be rather dry and lacking in an overarching through-line from start to finish, but I did enjoy having a place for so many dedicated Thylacine stories.
Thylacine: the Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger is a book I would recommend to those deeply interested in how a species can go extinct, and the immense irony involved in its belated iconography. Not for casual readers, but does its utmost to remain impartial when discussing ethical dilemmas.
I found Owen’s work to be a remarkable compilation of first-and-second-hand accounts, political blunders, and sheep-related shame as pertaining to the Thylacine. Personally, I thought the voice and structure to be rather dry and lacking in an overarching through-line from start to finish, but I did enjoy having a place for so many dedicated Thylacine stories.
Thylacine: the Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger is a book I would recommend to those deeply interested in how a species can go extinct, and the immense irony involved in its belated iconography. Not for casual readers, but does its utmost to remain impartial when discussing ethical dilemmas.
lisa_setepenre's review
4.0
As a resource on the thylacine (aka the Tasmanian Tiger), David Owen's Thylacine: The Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger is absolutely fantastic. Content-wise, there's very little that I feel is missing, and what is missing tends to be things that have occurred post-publication.
For example, when discussing thylacine cloning, Owen says that it's hoped to be completed by 2010 – reading this in 2013 I'm aware that the deadline has been missed. As this was first published in 2003, it's understandable – but as a new edition was published in 2011, I wonder if the opportunity to update the text should have been taken. But it's a moot point, really.
Probably what sticks with me is how hideously depressing and frustrating the tale of the thylacine's extinction is. The thylacine was deemed a pest for hunting sheep – yet the amount of sheep killed by thylacines is nowhere near half the amount killed by dogs. It's enough to make me want to go back in time to punch (some of) the people responsible in the face and, at one stage, I was in tears.
For me, the writing lets the book down a bit. It's not bad, but it's not truly brilliant, and hence the four stars, not five.
For example, when discussing thylacine cloning, Owen says that it's hoped to be completed by 2010 – reading this in 2013 I'm aware that the deadline has been missed. As this was first published in 2003, it's understandable – but as a new edition was published in 2011, I wonder if the opportunity to update the text should have been taken. But it's a moot point, really.
Probably what sticks with me is how hideously depressing and frustrating the tale of the thylacine's extinction is. The thylacine was deemed a pest for hunting sheep – yet the amount of sheep killed by thylacines is nowhere near half the amount killed by dogs. It's enough to make me want to go back in time to punch (some of) the people responsible in the face and, at one stage, I was in tears.
For me, the writing lets the book down a bit. It's not bad, but it's not truly brilliant, and hence the four stars, not five.
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