A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals [Hardcover]

Tim Flannery (Author), Peter Schouten (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2001

Since humans first wandered from their original habitat in Africa, over fifty millennia ago, they have radically altered the environment wherever they have gone, often at the cost of the animals who'd ruled the wild before mankind's arrival. Humanity's spread throughout the globe has begotten what paleontologist Richard Leakey has termed the "sixth age of extinction" -- the most deadly epoch the planet's fauna have seen since the demise of the dinosaurs. And in the last five hundred years, since the dawn of the age of exploration, this rate of extinction has accelerated ever more rapidly. In A Gap in Nature, scientist and historian Tim Flannery, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Peter Schouten, catalogs 104 creatures that have vanished from the face of the earth since 1492. From the tiny Carolina parakeet to the majestic Steller's sea cow, which was over twenty-five feet long and weighed ten tons, all of these animals have become extinct as a direct result of the European expansion into every corner of the globe. Flannery evocatively tells the story of each animal: how it lived and how it succumbed to its terrible destiny. Accompanying each account is a beautiful color representation (life-size in the original painting) by Schouten, who has devoted years of his life to this extraordinary project. Animals from every continent are represented -- American passenger pigeons, Tasmanian wolves, and African blaauwboks -- in this homage to a lost Eden. This extraordinary book is at once a lament for the lost animals of the world and an ark to house them forever in human memory.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This work offers a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of 103 mammals, reptiles, and birds that have become extinct since 1492. For each animal, Flannery (The Eternal Frontier) describes what is known of its habitat, behavior, and probable cause of extinction. These accounts are beautifully written, often anecdotal, and almost always poignant. Whitney Award-winning wildlife painter Schouten produced the accompanying illustrations, which are stunning, full-color, and sometimes spread across two pages. In some cases, these illustrations may be the most accurate renderings anyone has ever produced of these creatures. Flannery and Schouten did extensive research into the literature and reviewed, in person, skeletal and other remains located in museums; numerous species were excluded owing to insufficient materials upon which to base an accurate drawing. A little more in the way of factual data, such as probable size, would have been appreciated in some of the descriptions. For example, the Kawekaweau, a lizard that once inhabited New Zealand, is described as "giant," but no estimated length or weight is given, even though the authors viewed the skin of one of these geckos. Nevertheless, this book, which includes the "big names" such as the dodo and passenger pigeon as well as many lesser-known but fascinating animals, is highly recommended for all academic and large public libraries. (Map not seen.) Lynn C. Badger, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

There are gaps in every natural area on the planet, created when animal species paid the price for the expansion of our own species--in other words, extinction. The initial spread of humans from our ancestral home in Africa happened so long ago that most of the first victims were never preserved or even depicted. Flannery and artist Schouten show 103 species that have gone extinct between 1500 and 1999, species adequately enough known for Flannery to write about and Schouten to illustrate. Flannery begins this homage to these lost animals with an essay on the age of extinctions, explaining the loss of animals as humans colonized new areas. Presented chronologically, the following portraits and text reveal the extent of our knowledge of each animal. In many cases, little is known except where the animal came from and perhaps a little about what it ate. The true strength of the book, which almost necessitates its purchase, is Schouten's illustrations. This book is as close as we will ever get to these irretrievable animals, and it is highly recommended for all libraries. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (October 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871137976
• ISBN-13: 978-0871137975
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly Beautiful, December 3, 2002

By 

J. J. Kwashnak "voracious reader" (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals (Hardcover)

We've often heard about the loss to our world due to extinction. Flannery and Schouten put "faces" to this loss. These 'Ghosts of Species Past' represent just a handful of the things that we have directly or indirectly caused to disappear from the Earth. Many books try to give us an idea of the loss through descriptions and stories. What sets this book above the rest are the illustrations by Schouten. Often working with only skins, parts of the animal, or old drawings, he has created hauntingly beautiful illustrations of what these animals might have looked like were we to see them in their natural habitats. And that is what you will take away from this book, more than just the scope of loss, but the physical beauty and diversity that these animals represent. And that is a shame. Many of these animals were only seen a few times, so the information on them is sketchy, yet Schouten breathes life into these ancient corpses. The book's message will stay with you. Let's hope that we can cut back on contributing to the next volume in the world today.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gap in Nature, April 2, 2003

By 

Ricky N. "Ricky C. Nelson" (Commerce, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals (Hardcover)

"A Gap in Nature" is a truly extraordinary book. It gives details of many species that are lost to us forever. The illustrations are beautiful. Each species that is covered has a matching picture, its range, and reasons why it became extinct. The human species is mostly to blame for the loss of many of these creatures with destruction of habitat, over hunting, and introduction of disease and predators. Some of the species like the Dodo bird, the Great Auk, the Passenger Pigeon, and the Carolina Parakeet are well known whereas others are not known. It's very sad in a way. We have been able to save the California Condor and the Whooping Crane, but have probably lost the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, and Bachman's Warbler in recent years. This book is excellent, but really only covers the tip of the iceberg when it comes to species we've lost forever.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book For The Pictures., March 1, 2002

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals (Hardcover)

"A Gap In Nature" by Tim Flannery and illustrated by Peter Schouten. Sub-titled, "Discovering the World's Extinct Animals." Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001.

When my grandchildren visit, they often ask me the classical question of how I can read a book without pictures. Not with this book! The pictures are the chief attraction of "A Gap In Nature". Organized by the Australian writer, Tim Flannery, this book collects in one place a tribute to the many species that have become extinct in the recent past, since the first voyage of Columbus.

The artist, Peter Schouten, spent years drawing life-sized portraits for each of the 103 animals, for the beautiful illustrations of this book. Schouten's brilliant, full color illustrations are a delight to look at, and will keep the attention of even a three-year-old boy. My grandson asked, "What's that?" as we turned the pages and then, "Is that a mouse?" when looking at the "Pig-footed Bandicoot" on pages 96-97. No, I found out that the Bandicoot was not a mouse, but rather an Australian marsupial, about "...the size of a kitten". I had never seen such an animal before, and that is the poignant message of this book. The beautiful pictures show animals that no longer exist.

The author, Tim Flannery, has previously expounded his thesis that the arrival of humankind heralded the extinction of so many different animals on so many different continents and islands. For example, in his recent book, "The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples", Flannery ascribes the destruction of the mammoths, mastodons and giant sloths to the arrival of the first humans in North America some 13,200 years ago, in what he terms "a megafauna barbecue". In "A Gap In Nature", Dr. Flannery does not have to dwell too deeply on the culpability of humans in this worldwide extinction. It is enough to sit there and sadly turn page after page, picture after picture, of so many beautiful animals, which no longer exist.