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Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures
From the award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a “rare and magical book” (Bill Bryson) reckoning with the vanishing wonders of our natural world.
The world is more astonishing, more miraculous, and more wonderful than our wildest imaginings. In this brilliant and passionately persuasive book, Katherine Rundell takes us on a globe-spanning tour of the world's most awe-inspiring animals currently facing extinction.
Consider the seahorse: couples mate for life and meet each morning for a dance, pirouetting and changing colors before going their separate ways, to dance again the next day. The American wood frog survives winter by allowing itself to freeze solid, its heartbeat slowing until it stops altogether. Come spring, the heart kick-starts itself spontaneously back to life. As for the lemur, it lives in matriarchal troops led by an alpha female (it’s not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive). Whenever they are cold or frightened, they group together in what’s known as a lemur ball, paws and tails intertwined, to form a furry mass as big as a bicycle wheel.
But each of these extraordinary animals is endangered or holds a sub-species that is endangered. This urgent, inspiring book of essays dedicated to 23 unusual and underappreciated creatures is a clarion call insisting that we look at the world around us with new eyes—to see the magic of the animals we live among, their unknown histories and capabilities, and above all how lucky we are to tread the same ground as such vanishing treasures.
Beautifully illustrated, and full of inimitable wit and intellect, Vanishing Treasures is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck, to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness.
The world is more astonishing, more miraculous, and more wonderful than our wildest imaginings. In this brilliant and passionately persuasive book, Katherine Rundell takes us on a globe-spanning tour of the world's most awe-inspiring animals currently facing extinction.
Consider the seahorse: couples mate for life and meet each morning for a dance, pirouetting and changing colors before going their separate ways, to dance again the next day. The American wood frog survives winter by allowing itself to freeze solid, its heartbeat slowing until it stops altogether. Come spring, the heart kick-starts itself spontaneously back to life. As for the lemur, it lives in matriarchal troops led by an alpha female (it’s not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive). Whenever they are cold or frightened, they group together in what’s known as a lemur ball, paws and tails intertwined, to form a furry mass as big as a bicycle wheel.
But each of these extraordinary animals is endangered or holds a sub-species that is endangered. This urgent, inspiring book of essays dedicated to 23 unusual and underappreciated creatures is a clarion call insisting that we look at the world around us with new eyes—to see the magic of the animals we live among, their unknown histories and capabilities, and above all how lucky we are to tread the same ground as such vanishing treasures.
Beautifully illustrated, and full of inimitable wit and intellect, Vanishing Treasures is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck, to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 2024
About the author
Katherine Rundell
35 books1,533 followersKatherine Rundell was born in 1987 and grew up in Africa and Europe. In 2008 she was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Her first book, The Girl Savage, was born of her love of Zimbabwe and her own childhood there; her second, Rooftoppers, was inspired by summers working in Paris and by night-time trespassing on the rooftops of All Souls. She is currently working on her doctorate alongside an adult novel.
Source: Katherine Rundell
Source: Katherine Rundell
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
October 31, 2024
From Cara Reilly, editor at Doubleday, to readers: 'The greatest lie we humans tell ourselves is that the world is at our disposal, that it's ours for the taking.' As a result, in the past 50 years we have lost more than half of all wild things. As Katherine Rundell says, we are Noah's Ark in reverse. Her essays on 23 endangered animals are love letters to the magnificence and diversity of the natural world as well as a call to action. I highly recommend reading as well as giving as a gift this holiday season.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this book via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this book via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
December 8, 2024
Greenland sharks: "I am glad not to be a Greenland shark; I don't have enough thoughts to fill five hundred years." (20)
Hedgehogs: "Those hedgerows that still exist are largely at the mercy of British whims and fashions and carefulness: and it takes only a very little reading of history to lose confidence in that particular trinity." (97)
Seahorses: "The largest in the world, the big-belly seahorse, would in fact at a foot long be just large enough for a human baby to ride, if both were so minded." (133)
Tuna (bluefin): "This is the prose of a man who longs in his deepest heart to punch fish straight out of the sea." (172)
Golden mole: "The iridescence is an accidental by-product. It is glory without necessary purpose, cast up by the world's slow finessing." (185)
Hedgehogs: "Those hedgerows that still exist are largely at the mercy of British whims and fashions and carefulness: and it takes only a very little reading of history to lose confidence in that particular trinity." (97)
Seahorses: "The largest in the world, the big-belly seahorse, would in fact at a foot long be just large enough for a human baby to ride, if both were so minded." (133)
Tuna (bluefin): "This is the prose of a man who longs in his deepest heart to punch fish straight out of the sea." (172)
Golden mole: "The iridescence is an accidental by-product. It is glory without necessary purpose, cast up by the world's slow finessing." (185)
October 5, 2024
It’s estimated that there are around 7.8 millions animal species on the planet, many of which we know little about. Unfortunately, some may vanish before we can learn much more – which is a pity, because the variety of life on this planet is far more wondrous and strange than anything our imaginations could conjure up.
This is a quiet and contemplative peek at the natural world in easy bite-sized installments. Each essay discusses an animal species which threatened in one way or another, covering a range of animals from those as seemingly ordinary as the hare to those as unusual and mysterious as the narwhal. Rundell’s writing is bright and playful but also entirely filled with awe – each chapter thrums with wonder.
I’ve always been an animal lover. Some of it is the overfamiliar cuddly fondness one can safely have only toward domestic animals (and I mean specifically my dog), but just a general admiration and interest in all our fellow denizens here on Planet Earth, all going about their business with little interference from us busybody humans – or so I’d thought when I was young.
It’s pretty obvious now that we cannot help but leave an outsized imprint on the natural world, for better or for worse. It’s still good to be reminded every so often of it. And I looked around with fresh eyes at all the wild creatures I see around me every day, and marveled anew.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This is a quiet and contemplative peek at the natural world in easy bite-sized installments. Each essay discusses an animal species which threatened in one way or another, covering a range of animals from those as seemingly ordinary as the hare to those as unusual and mysterious as the narwhal. Rundell’s writing is bright and playful but also entirely filled with awe – each chapter thrums with wonder.
I’ve always been an animal lover. Some of it is the overfamiliar cuddly fondness one can safely have only toward domestic animals (and I mean specifically my dog), but just a general admiration and interest in all our fellow denizens here on Planet Earth, all going about their business with little interference from us busybody humans – or so I’d thought when I was young.
It’s pretty obvious now that we cannot help but leave an outsized imprint on the natural world, for better or for worse. It’s still good to be reminded every so often of it. And I looked around with fresh eyes at all the wild creatures I see around me every day, and marveled anew.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
November 23, 2024
Absolutely loved the book! A lot of animals and insects we think are “everywhere” are actually going to disappear by 2050. Really gives you a perspective of how much damage we’ve done to the planet. I loved how passionate the author was about these wonderful creatures, but was also respectfully telling the reader to do something before these creatures vanish.
My only gripe with the book is how short the chapters are. You’re onto the next one before you can even wrap your head around the previous one.
My only gripe with the book is how short the chapters are. You’re onto the next one before you can even wrap your head around the previous one.
November 22, 2024
I want to rate this higher due to the intent behind it (and the funds going to good causes from sales of it) but I can't. It feels rather hollow and very limited in scope without good reason. If you have time to speak of human myths about these creatures, you have more time to speak of the creatures themselves.
November 6, 2024
I absolutely adore the idea of this book; short chapters exploring some unique and fascinating animals on the brink of extinction.
I just didn’t love the execution of it.
To be specific, I found some factual errors that I think could have been easily corrected if proper research was conducted. It was disappointing and threw the chapters where I had less knowledge into doubt.
This review is based on an arc and if the sections that I flagged have been corrected in the final book, I will come back and change the rating. But I couldn’t speak for all the sections of this book, so I hope there’s some fact-checking going on in the meantime.
I appreciate the opportunity to read this book early and I hope feedback sent to the publisher is helpful to make this book the best it can be.
I just didn’t love the execution of it.
To be specific, I found some factual errors that I think could have been easily corrected if proper research was conducted. It was disappointing and threw the chapters where I had less knowledge into doubt.
This review is based on an arc and if the sections that I flagged have been corrected in the final book, I will come back and change the rating. But I couldn’t speak for all the sections of this book, so I hope there’s some fact-checking going on in the meantime.
I appreciate the opportunity to read this book early and I hope feedback sent to the publisher is helpful to make this book the best it can be.
December 1, 2024
Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell, is not only one of my favourite nonfiction books to date, it's also an incredibly heart-breaking reality check. Humans as a species have in the past and continue to ruin the habitats of animals worldwide, through greed, need for more space and deforestation. Some of these animals were a surprise to me! While I was aware of certain endangered species, I had no idea about the golden mole or the bluegill tuna. Or that some humans when faced with the fact of an animals' extinction try to hurry it along to increase the market value of endangered animal products.
If I could give Vanishing Treasures 10 stars I would.
If I could give Vanishing Treasures 10 stars I would.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2024
This was an interesting history of a wide variety of exotic and ordinary endangered animals told with a history of their existence, fascinating literary tales and reasons why their lives are in danger for a number of different reasons. Good on audio and a quick read, this is a good read for anyone who wants to learn more about ways they might help protect some of the animals.
October 23, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Vanishing Treasures.
I don't read nonfiction much but when I do its only because the topic has piqued my interest.
This is a great book! The author takes us on a tour of the most incredible animals currently facing extinction.
I knew a few facts about some of the animals but I learned so much! 🤯
The author's writing style is warm, empathetic, and humorous, never preachy or snarky.
I'm not sure if there were more illustrations, I only saw the one that began each chapter, but it's possible others didn't come through since I read this on a Kindle.
My only caveat is I wished the book was longer.
The author's plea is clear:
We are responsible for our planet and if we don't protect nature, these amazing creatures and their unique, almost otherworldly talents will disappear forever. And we suffer all the more from their devastating loss.
I don't read nonfiction much but when I do its only because the topic has piqued my interest.
This is a great book! The author takes us on a tour of the most incredible animals currently facing extinction.
I knew a few facts about some of the animals but I learned so much! 🤯
The author's writing style is warm, empathetic, and humorous, never preachy or snarky.
I'm not sure if there were more illustrations, I only saw the one that began each chapter, but it's possible others didn't come through since I read this on a Kindle.
My only caveat is I wished the book was longer.
The author's plea is clear:
We are responsible for our planet and if we don't protect nature, these amazing creatures and their unique, almost otherworldly talents will disappear forever. And we suffer all the more from their devastating loss.
December 13, 2024
[ 4.5/5 stars ]
VANISHING TREASURES is a collection of essays dedicated to 23 underappreciated (endangered) creatures.
With beautiful illustration opening each chapter, this book has a great capacity to make the reader wonder at these living things, threatened by human impact and environmental destruction. Blending urgency with tenderness, Rundell shows their magnificence and ordinary charm, providing from early records to legend/folklore facts that easily feed one's curiosity.
I was able to discover new species (not me googling each animal while reading the book) and my heart ached for these vanishing creatures. However, these glimpses of the world's wildlife also offer some kind of solace and their lifespan allow an unexpected meditation on one's own mortality.
For appreciator of animals or not, VANISHING TREASURES is inspiring and astonishing. This is a call for us to engage actively and educate ourselves. The book that I now treasure and I didn't know I needed.
(ps: half of all the author royalties from this book will go to charities working with climate change)
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Doubleday books . All opinions are my own ]
VANISHING TREASURES is a collection of essays dedicated to 23 underappreciated (endangered) creatures.
With beautiful illustration opening each chapter, this book has a great capacity to make the reader wonder at these living things, threatened by human impact and environmental destruction. Blending urgency with tenderness, Rundell shows their magnificence and ordinary charm, providing from early records to legend/folklore facts that easily feed one's curiosity.
I was able to discover new species (not me googling each animal while reading the book) and my heart ached for these vanishing creatures. However, these glimpses of the world's wildlife also offer some kind of solace and their lifespan allow an unexpected meditation on one's own mortality.
For appreciator of animals or not, VANISHING TREASURES is inspiring and astonishing. This is a call for us to engage actively and educate ourselves. The book that I now treasure and I didn't know I needed.
(ps: half of all the author royalties from this book will go to charities working with climate change)
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Doubleday books . All opinions are my own ]
December 6, 2024
4⭐️ “The greatest lie that humans ever told is that the Earth is ours, and at our disposal. It’s a lie with the power to destroy us all.”
November 27, 2024
This is excellent. A lot of little facts about a lot of my favorite animals like raccoons, giraffes, crows. 4.4
Shelved as 'tbr-is-too-long'
December 7, 2024a) I could listen to her speak all day and I am so happy she narrates the audiobook.
b) I love what she's saying (Talk Nerdy podcast 25 Nov 2024) about how it is the writer's job to know what is important about their subject to communicate to the reader and winnow the material down appropriately and not put that onus on the reader to have to make all those decisions because she values our time as readers and I wish more writers thought like this.
b) I love what she's saying (Talk Nerdy podcast 25 Nov 2024) about how it is the writer's job to know what is important about their subject to communicate to the reader and winnow the material down appropriately and not put that onus on the reader to have to make all those decisions because she values our time as readers and I wish more writers thought like this.
December 1, 2024
There is so much to be gleaned from this short book. It is a call to conservation with the information to back it up. Even some of the smallest creatures have a positive impact on our lives that will be sorely missed when they are gone.
November 27, 2024
This was SO good! It's a bunch of tiny, bite-size essays (each 4-7 pages in length) about different kinds of animals that are currently endangered. Katherine Rundell's writing is beautiful, and you can feel the love and respect she has for each of the animals she writes about. She weaves in all sorts of myths and literary references, in addition to plenty of interesting facts that I had never come across before. Highly recommend!
November 29, 2024
Beautifully written - a true marriage of the arts and biology.
November 30, 2024
A call for conservation. A cry that there’s still time to reverse what could occur.
If you want to learn about animals this is your book.
I don’t say this often but read the authors note.
If you want to learn about animals this is your book.
I don’t say this often but read the authors note.
November 22, 2024
I listened to this as an audiobook and it was fantastic. I am a huge animal lover and I appreciated each chapter and how they were dedicated to endangered animals. The crow 🐦⬛ chapter was especially sweet. I never knew crows were so faithful and loyal. Overall 5/5 ⭐️ loved it.
November 14, 2024
“The greatest lie that humans ever told is that the Earth is ours, and at our disposal. It’s a lie with the power to destroy us all.”
November 9, 2024
4.5 stars
November 5, 2024
A poignant look into the lives of some of planet Earth’s most unique and threatened creatures. A good reminder of what’s at stake for humanity in the next 50 years. Thanks to Libro.fm for the advance copy!
October 24, 2024
As someone who can never learn enough about animals, I absolutely loved this book. This felt like watching the Planet Earth Series in book form with a witty narrator. I learned so much about each of the animals featured and underlined so much. But I think the best and most important part of this whole book was how it talked about all the reasons why each of these animals are endangered and what we can do about it.
October 13, 2024
3.5/5. Read like the best kind of scholastic book fair books did growing up - witty, novel, moving, full of pretty illustrations and brimming with the kinds of animal fun facts you can’t wait to rattle off to your parents and friends.
Essay structure admittedly felt a bit repetitive and predictable, but still such a fun and insightful collection!
Essay structure admittedly felt a bit repetitive and predictable, but still such a fun and insightful collection!
November 11, 2024
Link to my review in this past Sunday's Pittsburgh Post Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/books...
Full text below:
VANISHING TREASURES: A BESTIARY OF EXTRAORDINARY ENDANGERED CREATURES
By Katherine Rundell
Doubleday ($26)
At the end of her treatise on “The Hedgehog,” number 14 of the eponymous vanishing creatures of this remarkable book, Katherine Rundell muses, in matter-of-fact sort of way, that “these are hard times, and the world is already aflame. The least we can do is refrain from setting alight some of the world’s sharpest and gentlest creatures.”
This is a fairly consistent refrain in the text as Rundell lavishes us with histories, legends, and small miracles over the course of these 22 chapters dedicated to endangered species. Consistent because, at the end of each of these fascinating accounts, the reader is always left with the true issue, the moral question underlying the medieval bestiary, which is the problem of humans.
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, in the introduction to his 1996 edited collection “Monster Theory: Reading Culture,” writes “it is time to ask the question that always arises when the monster is discussed seriously: Do monsters really exist?” He quickly answers his own question with “Surely they must, for if they did not, how could we?”
Though many of the creatures that Katherine Rundell writes about in “Vanishing Treasures” have been thought of, fairly or unfairly, as monsters (like the bat, spider, wolf, bear or shark), none is as monstrous as the subject of her introduction and her conclusion to the book: humans.
Each chapter homes in on our own abdication of responsibility to these creatures and to the world around them. Because the world around them is also the world around us — a seemingly obvious consideration that we nevertheless seem to forget on a daily basis.
Like all bestiaries, this is a moral tale. There is curation, intention and purpose to the beautiful descriptions and impossible realms. And part of that purpose is, perhaps, to remember these delicious facts when the creatures are inevitably gone. But the greater sum might be to prove that monsters do exist, that we too are a part of the bestiary — ever-present and extraordinarily dangerous creatures.
It would be remiss of me to spoil too many of the more impossible-yet-somehow-true facts that Rundell inundates the reader with in this collection, though I can’t help but think of the golden mole which is iridescent for no apparent reason.
Its iridescence is of no obvious connection to any of the other creatures on earth (like the Morpho Butterfly) who developed it as a means for survival. Except that the golden mole, perhaps, has developed fur which is densely-flattened and low-friction to make burrowing easier. Its colorful array is, as Rundell writes “an accidental by-product. It is glory without necessary purpose, cast up by the world’s slow finessing. So they burrow and breed and hunt, live and die under the African sun, unaware of their beauty, unknowingly glowing.”
I can’t tell you if Katherine Rundell, Fellow of St. Catherine’s College at Oxford and scholar of the poetry of John Donne (composer of some of the most beautiful lines in the English language), intended for this collection to be so unaware of its own glory, also unknowingly glowing, but it is gorgeous. Each fact captured in these declarative sentences sits like some blown-glass Chihuly sequitur pushing us ever-further into the field of what is possible on this planet.
And, truly, I wish I could just remind you, as Rundell does, that “if we were to make a vast web out of spiders’ silk as thick as a ballpoint pen, it would halt a Boeing 747 mid-air” and have that strange picture be the end of it.
But, as the genre of bestiary always must, there is a moral to this story. And its moral is the monstrous things we’re doing to the world around these vanishing treasures. Because, as this former classicist turned poet couldn’t help but observe, there are, in fact, 24 chapters in total for this collection. It is an epic poem, as it turns out, replete with shining islands, towering mountains, small glittering gods and us — the monsters.
Full text below:
VANISHING TREASURES: A BESTIARY OF EXTRAORDINARY ENDANGERED CREATURES
By Katherine Rundell
Doubleday ($26)
At the end of her treatise on “The Hedgehog,” number 14 of the eponymous vanishing creatures of this remarkable book, Katherine Rundell muses, in matter-of-fact sort of way, that “these are hard times, and the world is already aflame. The least we can do is refrain from setting alight some of the world’s sharpest and gentlest creatures.”
This is a fairly consistent refrain in the text as Rundell lavishes us with histories, legends, and small miracles over the course of these 22 chapters dedicated to endangered species. Consistent because, at the end of each of these fascinating accounts, the reader is always left with the true issue, the moral question underlying the medieval bestiary, which is the problem of humans.
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, in the introduction to his 1996 edited collection “Monster Theory: Reading Culture,” writes “it is time to ask the question that always arises when the monster is discussed seriously: Do monsters really exist?” He quickly answers his own question with “Surely they must, for if they did not, how could we?”
Though many of the creatures that Katherine Rundell writes about in “Vanishing Treasures” have been thought of, fairly or unfairly, as monsters (like the bat, spider, wolf, bear or shark), none is as monstrous as the subject of her introduction and her conclusion to the book: humans.
Each chapter homes in on our own abdication of responsibility to these creatures and to the world around them. Because the world around them is also the world around us — a seemingly obvious consideration that we nevertheless seem to forget on a daily basis.
Like all bestiaries, this is a moral tale. There is curation, intention and purpose to the beautiful descriptions and impossible realms. And part of that purpose is, perhaps, to remember these delicious facts when the creatures are inevitably gone. But the greater sum might be to prove that monsters do exist, that we too are a part of the bestiary — ever-present and extraordinarily dangerous creatures.
It would be remiss of me to spoil too many of the more impossible-yet-somehow-true facts that Rundell inundates the reader with in this collection, though I can’t help but think of the golden mole which is iridescent for no apparent reason.
Its iridescence is of no obvious connection to any of the other creatures on earth (like the Morpho Butterfly) who developed it as a means for survival. Except that the golden mole, perhaps, has developed fur which is densely-flattened and low-friction to make burrowing easier. Its colorful array is, as Rundell writes “an accidental by-product. It is glory without necessary purpose, cast up by the world’s slow finessing. So they burrow and breed and hunt, live and die under the African sun, unaware of their beauty, unknowingly glowing.”
I can’t tell you if Katherine Rundell, Fellow of St. Catherine’s College at Oxford and scholar of the poetry of John Donne (composer of some of the most beautiful lines in the English language), intended for this collection to be so unaware of its own glory, also unknowingly glowing, but it is gorgeous. Each fact captured in these declarative sentences sits like some blown-glass Chihuly sequitur pushing us ever-further into the field of what is possible on this planet.
And, truly, I wish I could just remind you, as Rundell does, that “if we were to make a vast web out of spiders’ silk as thick as a ballpoint pen, it would halt a Boeing 747 mid-air” and have that strange picture be the end of it.
But, as the genre of bestiary always must, there is a moral to this story. And its moral is the monstrous things we’re doing to the world around these vanishing treasures. Because, as this former classicist turned poet couldn’t help but observe, there are, in fact, 24 chapters in total for this collection. It is an epic poem, as it turns out, replete with shining islands, towering mountains, small glittering gods and us — the monsters.
November 27, 2024
Katherine Rundell's "Vanishing Treasures" is an extraordinary achievement that defies easy categorization. Part natural history, part poetic meditation, and part impassioned plea for conservation, this collection of essays introduces readers to 23 remarkable creatures teetering on the edge of extinction. Through Rundell's masterful prose, we encounter animals both familiar and obscure - from the centuries-old Greenland shark to the iridescent golden mole - each portrayed with a combination of scientific precision and literary artistry that makes their potential loss feel personally devastating.
The book's greatest strength lies in Rundell's ability to make the unfamiliar feel intimate. Her writing style seamlessly blends rigorous research with an almost magical realist sensibility that brings these creatures vividly to life. When she describes how seahorses dance together each morning before parting ways, or how bears recycle their own urea during hibernation, the facts feel less like dry biology and more like discovering secrets of the universe.
However, this poetic approach occasionally comes at the cost of scientific depth. While Rundell's research is evident, readers seeking comprehensive biological profiles may find themselves wanting more detailed information about some species' behaviors and ecosystems. The book's structure - organizing each chapter around a single animal - sometimes feels constraining, potentially oversimplifying the complex web of relationships that define natural systems.
Writing Style & Literary Merit
Rundell's prose is nothing short of extraordinary. Having previously won the Baillie Gifford Prize for her biography "Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne," she brings the same literary sophistication to natural history. Her sentences dance with metaphor and unexpected connections, making even the most obscure creatures feel worthy of wonder. Consider her description of the pangolin: "Pangolins are more beautiful than seems plausible in this fallen old world; they look as though they should be strictly prelapsarian."
The author's background in children's literature (including acclaimed works like "The Explorer" and "Rooftoppers") shines through in her ability to make complex concepts accessible without oversimplification. She treats her readers as intelligent partners in discovery rather than passive recipients of information.
Strengths & Notable Elements
- Exceptional research woven seamlessly with historical anecdotes and cultural references
- Vivid, memorable descriptions that bring each creature to life
- Powerful advocacy that never feels preachy
- Thoughtful balance between scientific fact and emotional resonance
- Strong connection between individual species and larger environmental concerns
Areas for Improvement
- Some chapters could benefit from more detailed ecological context
- Occasional tendency to romanticize certain species at the expense of scientific precision
- The structure sometimes feels repetitive despite the diversity of subjects
- Could include more concrete conservation actions for readers
Impact & Relevance
What sets "Vanishing Treasures" apart from other natural history works is its urgent contemporary relevance. Rundell doesn't just describe these creatures - she makes a compelling case for why their preservation matters to human civilization. The book arrives at a crucial moment when biodiversity loss threatens global ecosystems, making its message particularly timely.
Educational Value
The book serves as an excellent introduction to conservation biology for general readers. Rundell's ability to explain complex concepts through engaging narratives makes this an ideal text for:
- Students of environmental science
- Nature enthusiasts
- Conservation advocates
- Anyone interested in understanding biodiversity loss
Conclusion
"Vanishing Treasures" is a remarkable achievement that manages to be both a celebration of life's diversity and a warning about its fragility. While not perfect, its few shortcomings are far outweighed by its considerable strengths. Rundell has created something rare: a book about extinction that leaves readers feeling not just concerned but inspired to action.
The book succeeds brilliantly in its primary aim - to make readers fall in love with the extraordinary creatures we share our planet with, and to understand what we stand to lose if we fail to protect them. It's a work that deserves to be read widely and taken seriously as both literature and environmental advocacy.
The book's greatest strength lies in Rundell's ability to make the unfamiliar feel intimate. Her writing style seamlessly blends rigorous research with an almost magical realist sensibility that brings these creatures vividly to life. When she describes how seahorses dance together each morning before parting ways, or how bears recycle their own urea during hibernation, the facts feel less like dry biology and more like discovering secrets of the universe.
However, this poetic approach occasionally comes at the cost of scientific depth. While Rundell's research is evident, readers seeking comprehensive biological profiles may find themselves wanting more detailed information about some species' behaviors and ecosystems. The book's structure - organizing each chapter around a single animal - sometimes feels constraining, potentially oversimplifying the complex web of relationships that define natural systems.
Writing Style & Literary Merit
Rundell's prose is nothing short of extraordinary. Having previously won the Baillie Gifford Prize for her biography "Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne," she brings the same literary sophistication to natural history. Her sentences dance with metaphor and unexpected connections, making even the most obscure creatures feel worthy of wonder. Consider her description of the pangolin: "Pangolins are more beautiful than seems plausible in this fallen old world; they look as though they should be strictly prelapsarian."
The author's background in children's literature (including acclaimed works like "The Explorer" and "Rooftoppers") shines through in her ability to make complex concepts accessible without oversimplification. She treats her readers as intelligent partners in discovery rather than passive recipients of information.
Strengths & Notable Elements
- Exceptional research woven seamlessly with historical anecdotes and cultural references
- Vivid, memorable descriptions that bring each creature to life
- Powerful advocacy that never feels preachy
- Thoughtful balance between scientific fact and emotional resonance
- Strong connection between individual species and larger environmental concerns
Areas for Improvement
- Some chapters could benefit from more detailed ecological context
- Occasional tendency to romanticize certain species at the expense of scientific precision
- The structure sometimes feels repetitive despite the diversity of subjects
- Could include more concrete conservation actions for readers
Impact & Relevance
What sets "Vanishing Treasures" apart from other natural history works is its urgent contemporary relevance. Rundell doesn't just describe these creatures - she makes a compelling case for why their preservation matters to human civilization. The book arrives at a crucial moment when biodiversity loss threatens global ecosystems, making its message particularly timely.
Educational Value
The book serves as an excellent introduction to conservation biology for general readers. Rundell's ability to explain complex concepts through engaging narratives makes this an ideal text for:
- Students of environmental science
- Nature enthusiasts
- Conservation advocates
- Anyone interested in understanding biodiversity loss
Conclusion
"Vanishing Treasures" is a remarkable achievement that manages to be both a celebration of life's diversity and a warning about its fragility. While not perfect, its few shortcomings are far outweighed by its considerable strengths. Rundell has created something rare: a book about extinction that leaves readers feeling not just concerned but inspired to action.
The book succeeds brilliantly in its primary aim - to make readers fall in love with the extraordinary creatures we share our planet with, and to understand what we stand to lose if we fail to protect them. It's a work that deserves to be read widely and taken seriously as both literature and environmental advocacy.
December 6, 2024
This book is quite simply one of the most fascinating and extraordinary books I believe I've ever read. Katherine Rundell spins exquisite profiles of 23 of our Earth's most unique but obscure species. The majority of these species are either in serious decline toward extinction or have subspecies that are on their way to extinction. The absolutely gorgeous details that she weaves into each of these profiles are mind-boggling.
For instance, take the hermit crab. She starts the story with "It was, perhaps, a hermit crab that ate Amelia Earhart." She goes on to describe how Amelia Earhart crashed on a very small uninhabited Island and by the time the rescue team got to the island which took a week, it was deserted. But since then, researchers have discovered human bones matching Earharts size. And later, another team discovered a compact mirror and a pot of anti-freckle cream. Earhart was known to hate her freckles. Only 13 bones were found and the human body has 206 so where are the other 193?
Well perhaps crunched to fragments because that island that she apparently crash landed on is home to a colony of coconut hermit crabs, the world's largest land crab. They can grow 40" across and their claw grip is 3,300 Newtons of force. The bite of a wolf is around 2,200 Newtons. So you sort of get my drift.
So this is just one of the bizarre starts to these 23 stories. I was consumed and fascinated through the entire book. The last story, the Golden Mole, literally had my jaw hit the floor with some of the facts that she lets us relish and then I had great sadness and emotional reaction of this mole which really isn't a mole. It is more related to an elephant.
The very last story in this book is called Humans and she describes an ancient fable about an old woman who knew everything about the Earth and the world with her travels and stops in a village with nine books about all of the things that she knew and what happens to those nine books in the four times that she stops at the village.
I must say, that chapter made me very emotional because it really explains what humans have done to species of this Earth. And no species are even mentioned in that last chapter. Yeah it made me almost weep.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
For instance, take the hermit crab. She starts the story with "It was, perhaps, a hermit crab that ate Amelia Earhart." She goes on to describe how Amelia Earhart crashed on a very small uninhabited Island and by the time the rescue team got to the island which took a week, it was deserted. But since then, researchers have discovered human bones matching Earharts size. And later, another team discovered a compact mirror and a pot of anti-freckle cream. Earhart was known to hate her freckles. Only 13 bones were found and the human body has 206 so where are the other 193?
Well perhaps crunched to fragments because that island that she apparently crash landed on is home to a colony of coconut hermit crabs, the world's largest land crab. They can grow 40" across and their claw grip is 3,300 Newtons of force. The bite of a wolf is around 2,200 Newtons. So you sort of get my drift.
So this is just one of the bizarre starts to these 23 stories. I was consumed and fascinated through the entire book. The last story, the Golden Mole, literally had my jaw hit the floor with some of the facts that she lets us relish and then I had great sadness and emotional reaction of this mole which really isn't a mole. It is more related to an elephant.
The very last story in this book is called Humans and she describes an ancient fable about an old woman who knew everything about the Earth and the world with her travels and stops in a village with nine books about all of the things that she knew and what happens to those nine books in the four times that she stops at the village.
I must say, that chapter made me very emotional because it really explains what humans have done to species of this Earth. And no species are even mentioned in that last chapter. Yeah it made me almost weep.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
December 13, 2024
A compendium of wonderous animal facts told lovingly and carefully. The author wants us to know about the wonders of the world so that we might want to preserve them and stop the extinction of these animals. The very thing that makes this book interesting is what contributes to its disappointing shallowness; a 500 page book would not have held the attention of everyone it needs to reach. I would have read it, though.
November 27, 2024
Short and very informative. Our world has so many interesting and cool animals.
December 4, 2024
This was an interesting book!
December 10, 2024
3.75 rounded up. This book was sad and infuriating. So many interesting species being wiped out by greed.
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