The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds (Paperback)

by Diane Ackerman (Author) "In daydreams I have seen its face: a bulbous head covered in silvery fur, with black buttonhook-shaped eyes, a snout on which springy nostrils open..." (more)
Key Phrases: monk seals, golden lion tamarins, bombardier beetles, Big John, East Island, French Frigate Shoals (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
How do bombardier beetles choose their mates? Why does a firefly's tail light up at night? What does a monk seal talk about, barking out there on the offshore reef? These questions all have some bearing on the way we humans live our lives, strange though they may seem. Diane Ackerman, a tireless explorer of the natural world, looks for answers among animals that are fast disappearing as their native habitats are destroyed--creatures such as the monarch butterfly, the short-tailed albatross, and the wonderfully named golden lion tamarin. She writes with grace and compassion, but also with a considerable command of science, which makes her work essential for students of nature writing.

From Publishers Weekly
Naturalist and poet Ackerman visits remote places, from Hawaii to Brazil, observing animals and their ecosystems.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (January 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679776230
• ISBN-13: 978-0679776239
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,991 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What We Stand to Lose, January 30, 2002

By	"naia1" (HI, United States) - See all my reviews

Ackerman's gift is her ability to capture and convey her wonder, delight and fascination with the creatures that inhabit the Earth. She is equally at home with whales and crocodiles, finds cuddling baby penguins as entertaining as discussing bombardier beetles and thinks nothing of tackling stormy seas and the vertical slopes of volcanic islands to catch a glimpse of a rare sea bird.

In this, her latest attempt to help humans see and understand the "interlocking business of species," Ackerman introduces us to some of the world's most beleagured inhabitants. Meet the Hawaiian monk seal with its "bulbous head covered in silky fur, with black-buttonhook-shaped eyes, a snout on which springy nostrils open full like quotation marks, tiny tab shaped ears, a spray of cat's whiskers, and many doughy chins;" the golden tamarind monkey, with its "sunset-and-corn-silk coloring;" and the magical monarch butterfly, "gliding, flapping and hitching rides on thermals like any hawk or eagle."

Then there are the creatures of the Amazon river - armoured catfish, cashew piranhas, striated herons, sphinx moths, yellow-footed tortoises and bewhiskered dolphins. On the volcanic Japanese island of Torishima, we are introduced to the last of the short-tailed albatrosses and the young Japanese orinthologist who is trying to save them.

Whether she is bushwacking through rainforests, fighting seasickness or summoning the nerve to touch a shiny beetle, Ackerman is always fully and actively present for her reader. Reading one of her books is the next best thing to being in the field with her, and certainly a lot less strenuous. This book is a treat that shouldn't be missed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars beautiful journey, July 7, 2004

By A Customer

Diane Ackerman takes us on a journey from continent to continent exploring the habitat of several rare animals, including the golden lion tamarind, short-tailed albatross, and monk seal. In every case, Ackerman doesn't just observe, she gets right up close, in some cases risking or sustaining injury. She catches crickets, tags seal pups, and presses bombardier beetles to see them spray a warning. (All this is done under the eyes of experts in the various fields.) Her descriptions of the habitats are, as usual, beautiful but real enough so that you are transported right into these remote locations with her. By simply describing the work of those who study and handle the animals, Ackerman reminds us how important it is to preserve what's left of their habitats, always worth emphasizing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Collection of essays on endangered species, March 2, 2004

By	Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds (Hardcover)

I want Diane Ackerman's life. She gets to visit weird, remote, exotic locations, observe unusual flora and fauna, write about them - and earns enough money to go out and do it again.
In The Rarest of the Rare, she gathers together 6 essays previously published elsewhere; all deal with endangered species such as the golden lion tamarind, the monarchs, monk seals, and others. But she's not just a do-gooder naturalist: she's also a poet, a philosopher, and a heck of a good writer. Some of her musings, the questions she asks of herself, the parallels she makes, remind me of Annie Dillard's nature writing - her books such as Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
It's a joy to share these things that I will never experience through the eyes of such a consummate scientist and writer and human being.
Also, for an entirely different approach to observing endangered species, see Daniel Glick's Monkey Dancing.