Promotional Information

Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine lead us on an unforgettable journey in search of the world's most endangered species

About the Author

DOUGLAS ADAMS was born in Cambridge in March 1952. He is best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life as a BBC Radio 4 series. The book went on to be a No. 1 bestseller. He followed this success with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, The Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (1984); Mostly Harmless (1992) and many more. He sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. Douglas died unexpectedly in May 2001 at the age of 49. Zoologist MARK CARWARDINE is an active and outspoken conservationist, award-winning writer, TV- and radio - presenter, widely published photographer, magazine columnist and consultant. He presented the weekly programme Nature on BBC Radio 4 for many years and is co-presenter, with Stephen Fry, of the BBC-TV series Last Chance to See. The author of more than 50 books, including several bestsellers, he has been Chairman of prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition since 2005.

Reviews

YA-- The BBC asked this team to film some of the most endangered animal species throughout the world. Adams has recorded their adventures seeking the komodo dragon, northern white rhinoceros, mountain gorilla, kakapo, baiji dolphin, and the rodrigues fruit bat. There is biological information here, but it is inaccessible for report writers due to the lack of an index and the wordy descriptions. However, these same accurate portrayals and Adams's entertaining style will expose students to the worlds of these animals. He moves rapidly from informal, laugh-out-loud descriptions of his travels to serious pleas for awareness and conservation of all animals. The full-color photographs are in two separate sections and help readers to visualize the unusual animals (including the authors).-- Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Descriptive writing of a high order ... this is an extremely intelligent book * The Times *
In every case, the presence and personality of the endangered animals rise off the page - even when the authors don't manage to find them. The writing may be witty, but this book is a sobering reminder of what a very great deal we have to lose * Independent on Sunday *
This is life or death stuff, but Adams is a writer who chooses not to shake his finger at the reader. He fails completely in the self-righteous-piety department. Instead he invites us to enter a conspiracy of laughter and caring * Los Angeles Times *
It is a book one reads in a rush, always looking forward to the next perverse paragraph, wise insight or felicitous phrase * The Canberra Times *
Last Chance to See brings out the best in Adams' writing ... constantly springing on the reader the kind of dizzying shift in perspective that was the stock in trade of Hitchhiker' * The Listener *