A review by seclement
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams, Mark Carwardine

5.0

When I first picked up this book and saw that it was on the topic of endangered species but from 25 years ago, I thought "what am I going to learn from this?" In the world of environmental science, that's practically ancient because things change so rapidly. However, I shouldn't have doubted Adams. This book is witty and entertaining, just like all of his books, and it's even better because his voice really shines through. The book consists of Adams and companions travelling throughout the world to see rare and nearly extinct animals. Part travelogue, part educational, I couldn't wait to read more of this book every day. I also checked the status of many of the animals in the book, and was sad to see that so many had declined even further. The baiji hasn't been cited in a long time. The white rino is extinct in the wild. While the echo parakeet is a bit of a good news story, most of the other animals featured in the book are still barely hanging on.

This is an entertaining book on a harrowing topic. Adams' brand of humour suits the topic perfectly, and if you love his other work, I think you'll like this.