Last Chance to See

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Summary: A MUST for anyone interested in promoting ecology!
Review: Douglas Adams shows us that there is more to him than Arthur Dent or Dirk Gently. The master of science fiction humour has turned out a masterpiece of science fact. Adams'story of his involvement in tracking down some of Earths'most endangered species will captivate anyone with the slightest interest in ecology or natural science. His adventures, with Mark Carwardine, span the globe as he become entangled in a search for animals such as the fearsome Komodo Dragon and the Black Rhino. Written in his characteristic style of humour Adams will draw you into the plight of our animal cousins and will leave you with a decidedly different view of OUR place on the planet.

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Summary: A comic relief on a very sad matter
Review: "Last Chance to see" is a jurney after mans effort to protect our world from our damage. After unconcious mistakes and deliberate cruelty, few nature lovers are trying to restore the biological diversity. The book is for all of those who live on this planet, and by knowing or not, contribute to the extinction of many species. After reading it, you might want to contribute to other causes as well..

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Summary: Witty and moving non-fiction from a master of sci-fi humor!
Review: Adams travels the globe with photographer Mark Carwardine to study, write about, and get what is perhaps a final glimpse of some of the world's rarest species of animals. As always, Adams utilizes his witty, scarcastic, and complex sense of humor to keep the pace moving and a grin on the reader's face. Do not be fooled, however, by Adams' lighthearted zeal; this is a topic he takes very seriously, and he does it great justice. I found this book to be an incredibly enjoyable read. I purchased it soley for the fact that I am a huge fan of Adams' work, but found that the appeal of this book went beyond his usual interwoven, tangental sci-fi humor. Indeed, Adams has created a very straightforward work that is touching without being weighty, and should appeal to both the "Universal Reader," as well as the typical Adams fan. I give this book my highest recommendation. -- Michael A. Gresley (May 22, 1996)

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Summary: What an exciting Journey!
Review: Douglas Adams tells us about his extraordinary journey to view near extinct animals around the world in "Last Chance To See." Adams speaks of his encounters with many animals including the Kakapo, White Rhino, and Silverback Mountain Gorilla. What makes this book so interesting is that this is a true story of a man's conquest around the world to see these animals. While he tells us his story, he keeps it very true and honest while informing the reader at the same time. Not only did the book teach me many things that I didn't know, it also made me laugh out loud many of times. "Last Chance To See" is easy to read and written for people of all ages. If you get a chance, take time to sit down and enjoy this excellent book.

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Summary: Last Chance to Read
Review: You know, I normally wouldn't read a book titled, "Last Chance to See". It wouldn't stick out to me or jump out when I walk by browsing, say at a library or something. If I did happen to pick it up by some miracle, and browse the summary and quotes of praise by various media types on the back, I still wouldn't take it home, in all honesty. Perhaps I'm close minded, mean, or just don't really care about the environment (The whole book is about saving animals and how importandt it is to do), but stuff like this has never gotten me excited.
Well, guess what, I go to school. And so you can guess that I read it. The story goes like this. A writer(Douglas Adams, the author) and his animal freak friend (Mark Carwardine)travel the world to view and report on various endangered species. As the book comes to a rather sad and moving cnclusion that what we are doing to out planet and it's inhuman inhabitants is, if not anything else, sad. And out of the whole book, through Douglas' various adventures and realizing the dire and extreme situation that some animals are in, that was the whole point of the book and the most influential to me: that what is happening is just sad. He doesn't scold the readers into this conclusion either, if that's what you're thinking, but just paints a realistic picture of the state of things that most people, himself included, don't usually think about.
So, am I glad that I read this book? Yes. There are a couple small parts that I lost interest, as in any book, but it's very interesting and entertaining as a whole. Douglas Adams has an exaggerated and deadpan sense of humor that makes situations that could be dry very funny and exciting. He talks about these animals that you've never heard of before and makes you want to know more about them. And although I'm not anywhere near sending money to save an endangered monkey or declining to buy a fur coat (that is if I wore fur coats), I would say that the book might have budged something a little in my brain to at least think, yeah, it is sad.
Should you read it? I don't know; should you? Just kidding. I would say if you are set on your views of this planet and don't really care whart happens to it, then this will give you the other side of that argument in a genuine and honest way. You don't have to be afraid of being called uncaring, or worry about pages and pages of facts and numbers on the death rate of a rare bug in Swahili (Well, maybe a little but it's not that bad). And if you love animals and are big on animal's rights, well then to read it would be a no brainer.
The writing is good and for the most part keeps you entertained. There are parts of the book that will make you laugh out loud. I don't think it's on the level of a life altering experience, but it's good. If I had to rate the book from one to five, I'd give it a four. To give it a five would be unrealistic, but to give it a three would make some of you decide not to read it at all, and, that would probably be just sad.

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Summary: Engaging narration of endangered species & their protectors
Review: Adams narrates his adventures travelling the globe with an experienced Zoologist, Carwardine, to see first hand the plight of several seriously endangered species. `Seriously'? Well, as he points out in his `rare or medium rare' chapter, one ecologist might panic about there only being hundreds of one species left - but that's the dream of another ecologist working to save a species with only fifteen: `Hundreds is common'.

I suppose there's some level of compassion-fatigue with endangered species - I was not surprised at the content of most of this book, much as I'm a little dismayed that I'm not more dismayed (if you know what I mean).

Adams, as you might have picked up if you've read any of his books, isn't too bad at this writing thingy, and the prose is engaging, amusing and occasionally insightful. Adams is good company, he's not preachy or condescending, doesn't claim to have all the answers, and describes what he sees without forcing it into some brutal agenda.

To be honest, my greatest pleasure in the book was not being informed - I'm sure you could find out this and more detailed information from other sources - it was in being informed by this particular narrator. I particularly enjoyed his presentation of some of the wonderful boffins in the field, particularly the Australian poisons expert - hilarious. Towards the latter part of the book I found some of these portraits more obviously contrived (and somehow the birds failed to interest as much as the earlier beasts).

That being said, there's enough fascinating people, places and fauna throughout - plus Adams' quirky perspectives, friendly company, consistent wit and occasional comic triumphs to recommend the read.

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Summary: Explaining a tragic situation - the Douglas Adams way
Review: Adams used his extraordinary narrative abilities to describe - in language at once humorous and brutally forthright - not only the endangered creatures he was looking for but how they became endangered. You'll feel an urgency to act while there is still time.

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Summary: Douglas' world tour visiting endangered species
Review: LAST CHANCE TO SEE is probably the book Douglas Adams was proudest of.

If possible, I recommend that the reader not only acquire a copy of the book with its photographs, but also an audio recording of Douglas narrating the text. His writing works best when read aloud by him, I think. The origins of the book are discussed in the first essay, "Twig Technology" (see below).

The text (apart from "Mark's Epilogue", see below) is written in first person by Douglas throughout, an autobiography of his travels in Mark's company under the aegis of the BBC. (If anyone out there can get hold of recordings of the original BBC broadcasts - I envy you.)

"Preface" explains the dedication (to the photographer on the first trip) and also who the coauthor is. "Mark did the tough bits. He did all the preparation and organisation and research involved in mounting the trips, and also taught me most of the small amount I now know about zoology, ecology, and conservation work. All I had to do was turn up with a suitcase and try to remember what happened for long enough to write it all down."

"Twig Technology" is the tale of the monkey-descendants' journey to Madagascar, the last monkey-free refuge for lemurs on Earth, when the OBSERVER COLOUR MAGAZINE sent Douglas along as the "extremely ignorant non-zoologist" who would basically translate the experience of looking for aye-ayes - the then-rarest of the lemurs, with Mark, the expert. Douglas' question, "I've just got a couple of novels to write, but, er, what are you doing in 1988?" led to the rest of the journeys in this book, taking advantage of 'the last chance to see' the other endangered species discussed in the book.

Incidentally, the "couple of novels to write" that delayed Douglas' joining Mark for the trip in 1988 should explain the Mauritius scene in DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY.

"Here Be Chickens" - as well as, of course, Komodo dragons. (The whole incident of the "stuffed" dragon making off with the live chickens was recorded by the BBC, I believe, but the actual live recording isn't included on Douglas' abridged reading of the book, more's the pity. He just includes his version, which is quite entertaining as it is.)

"Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat" is part of a description of an official photo of the president of Zaire (as it was known then), and is offered as a Clue (TM) as to why the wildlife of Zaire is endangered, together with the description of the various government officials going to work on Douglas. "Like most colonies, Zaire had imposed on it a stifling bureaucracy, the sole function of which was to defer decisions upward to its colonial masters. Local officials rarely had the power to do things, only to prevent them from being done until bribed."

The specific species dealt with are the silverback mountain gorillas, who live near the Rwandan border, and northern white rhinos. Some of the good stuff includes the mountain guides ("magnificently smooth characters" with a lot of tales about being ex-commandos, shooting poachers, and so on), German students (referred to as "Latvian" because German jokes are too easy)

"Heartbeats in the Night" - the mating call of the kakapo, the rarest and weirdest of the rather eccentric lot of flightless birds in New Zealand.

"Blind Panic", the duo's trip to China to see the Yangtze river dolphin, isn't included on the abridged audio recording.

"Rare, or Medium Rare?" the grand finale on Mauritius, picking up with more birds and endangered plants. The most famous of Mauritius' birds - the dodo - is also included.

"Mark's Epilogue" - was this really the last chance to see these animals? - isn't included on the abridged audio recording.

"Sifting Through the Embers" is Douglas' version of the tale of the Sibylline books - all the knowledge and wisdom in the world that was destroyed piece by piece, with the surviving bits offered at a higher and higher price to those who turned out to need it.

As well as "Acknowledgements", the book concludes with "One More Chance...", which provides contact information for the various conservation organizations responsible for the species encountered during the authors' travels.

Rating:
Summary: A Surprising book from an unusual author
Review: For an author who specialized in writing odd, strange, and bizarre science fiction, this book was a real surprise. A very good one. He brings his bizarre sense of humor into a very dry subject, and makes it more real. Makes it more approachable, easily understandable, even for those who might not be interested in the topic.

Although it's sad, knowing that the Baiji dolphin pictured in the book has now passed away, and that a dam was built on that river, destroying that species' habitat, such as it was. It's like watching a very bad part of history happen in front of your eyes, knowing a friend has passed away. That's how approachable this book makes the topic.

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Summary: Douglas Adams--In the Real World!
Review: This book is pure Douglas Adams--totally hilarious with a bit of political commentary. But, unlike his sci-fi, it is about real stuff. Specifically, about amazing, highly endangered animals, the people around them and places where they live.

The imagery is great: consider the Komodo dragon slowing swallowing a live chicken one had been traveling with in an open boat which one had been intending to eat oneself; or the day-long effort to buy a condom in 1980's Beijing--desperately needed for a purely technical purpose I will leave to your imagination.

This is among the funniest, most poignant, and most culturally interesting books I have ever read.