At the end of the 18th century the New World was still an Eden - in a naturalist's words - "swarming with Bisons or buffaloes, Stags, and Virginian Deer, with Bears, and great variety of game." At the end of the 19th century the buffalo and the white-tailed deer were nearly gone, and at least 11 species of North American mammals and birds had been wiped out - a record of extinction unmatched in any other large area on earth. . . .
I have been writing since my teen years, when I covered high school sports for my hometown newspaper, The Herald, in Bridgeport, Conn.
I continued working at the paper while I was in college. In the mid-1950s I began working for The New York Daily News, writing feature stories. In 1963, I left The News, going to Chilton Books in Philadelphia, and then to the National Geographic Book Division. I began freelancing in 1981, but I continued contributing to Geographic publications.
