Rating: 
Summary: A Gap in Nature
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book For The Pictures.
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book For The Pictures.
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: A Gap in Nature
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Great book. It has just enough information on each animal and wonderful drawings to accompany each entry.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Great book. It has just enough information on each animal and wonderful drawings to accompany each entry.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Reading this wonderful book is both exhilarating and depressing. Fantastic artwork and concise text allow us to learn of many beautiful and bizarre animals. But the reader is always stung with a sense of loss and regret that they have only just missed the opportunity to see the real thing and that all these creatures are lost to us forever, largely because of the near-sighted actions of our own species. Tim Flannery should be well known to most natural science readers and his writing in this book does not disappoint being simple enough for the layperson yet informative. However, this is primarily a showcase for Peter Schouten's fantastic illustrations. I've been a fan of his work since his "Prehistoric Animals of Australia" came out in '83 and I can say that his work in "Gap" is his best yet! My only complaint is the decision to exclude recently extinct amphibians and freshwater fish, both groups have suffered tremendously in recent years.
Rating:
Summary: My only complaint is that it is too short
Review: The author and illustrator in this book collaborate to show the reader some of the many species that have been lost to us. The illustrations are just beautiful and the blurbs are informative and to the point. After a while it seems that rats, cats, and Captain Cook caused the extinction of most of these. Fascinating reading.
Rating:
Summary: My only complaint is that it is too short
Review: The author and illustrator in this book collaborate to show the reader some of the many species that have been lost to us. The illustrations are just beautiful and the blurbs are informative and to the point. After a while it seems that rats, cats, and Captain Cook caused the extinction of most of these. Fascinating reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Birds are nice...
Review: This book I found to be mostly illustrations without the rigor of scientific discourse. The illustrations are nice but overall the book is more suited to survey course in high than a more in depth work. Of course this level may suit many but it was too light for me.
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