Customer Reviews

Swift as a Shadow

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Each photograph of Swift as a Shadow greets the reader as a quick slap in the face. The range of 'grotesquely beautiful' images leaves the reader with a sense of helplessness when the initial awe of beauty turns to the realisation that in most cases the creatures displayed are gone forever. The multitude of animals, birds and even fish represented is an amazing array seldom found in one volume. Some animals represented are quagga, barbary lion, thyacine, javan tiger. The birds are an extensive collection (usually more than one example) representing most of the infamous and unfortunate extinctions of our time; Carolina Parakeets, Passenger Pigeons, Great Auk, Pink Headed Duck, Labrador Duck, Paradise Parrots (amazing!) Huias plus Dodo bones and Elephant Bird eggs to name a few!

Text is sparse, and given the stark, sometimes ghoulish photgraphic reality, this is not a detraction from the books theme. All photographs are high gloss quality, if a little detail restricted by 'photographing for arts' sake' eg; back neck view only of the quagga, skin pattern only of the Balinese Tiger. I'm sure that enthusiasts of endangered animals will now strongly consider a visit to the Natuurhistorisch Museum of Leiden, Netherlands, once in their lifetime.

I'm afraid I was dissapointed in the book. Either it was a lame attempt at an artsy style or there was a decision to try and keep costs down by limiting the number of photographs. In way too many cases the photographer seemed to be obsessed with dramatic lighting of extreme closeups. Although the photos were well done, in very few cases were there full body pictures. In other cases the head would be brightly lit while the rest of the body (of what there was included) would be in deep shadow. The most dissapointing were the Cuban Macaw, and the Cape and Barbary Lions. The text, although well written, was also very sparce, and could have used some map diagrams to show population ranges. In short, there was a lot of empty space that could have been filled with photographs and information. The only reason I would reccomend the book is that as far as I know its the only one of its kind. I sincerely hope someday another book will be made with more descriptive text, and several photographs of various angles for a more "scientific" and comprehensive coverage. Those stuffed animals will not last forever and there is definitly a need for a well documented record.

The photos in this book are not images you want to put in your child's nusery, but they tell the story of animal extinction better than any post-card shot could. This book highlights the finality of extinction as well as the importance of natural history museums.

The Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis of Leiden, Netherlands, exhibits a collection of extinct and near extinct animals. Photography on this part of the museum collection is done by Rosamond Purcell. Texts are written by Lars v.d. Hoek Ostende, Martien van Oijen, Rinus Hoogmoed, René Dekker and Chris Smeenk. Editing was done by educational officer Lars. So the bibliographic refernce best should read: Swift as a Shadow, ed. Hoek Ostende (Lars v.d.) Photography Rosamond (Wolff) Purcell. Being a museum employee I may not appear to be an objective reviewer but the collection is famous. Photography and text are fully worth buying it!

Don't dismiss these photos as artsy studies. I felt that in each picture, the artist was attempting to restore some glimmer of these poor specimens' lost lives. In one case, though the specimen itself was so obviously dead, the shadow it cast strikingly suggested the living animal. Or in another case, a close-up of the animal's fur might help you better grasp the reality- this is not a stuffed doll, but a real animal that was once once on this earth. And the accompanying text- by the museum curators- almost always included some small, moving detail of the animal's personality or physicality.

I heard about this book in a magazine before it came out, and I just had to own it. The combination of rare photographs and case studies on each animal were irresistable. Such animals would be forgotten without the artistic eye of Purcell and the efforts of naturalists to complile their stories.The photographs of the museum specimens are haunting, but with a clear purpose. It shows the importance of conserving the species we have left, so that we do not have to depend upon mishapen skins to remember them. I hope those who read this book recognize the human error in the past so that we cannot make the same mistakes in the future.