About this item
Highlights
- Extinction explores endangered and extinct species and the factors threatening them through a behind-the-scenes lens on one of the most important sets of natural history collections in the world.Schlossman combines unique photographs of specimens from the Field Museum in Chicago with informative and insightful text about the species themselves, reasons for decline and the conservation efforts in place to prevent further extinction.
- About the Author: Marc Schlossman has a lifelong interest in ecology and photography.
- 224 Pages
- Nature, Endangered Species
Description
About the Book
All specimens were photographed in the Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois.Book Synopsis
Extinction explores endangered and extinct species and the factors threatening them through a behind-the-scenes lens on one of the most important sets of natural history collections in the world.
Schlossman combines unique photographs of specimens from the Field Museum in Chicago with informative and insightful text about the species themselves, reasons for decline and the conservation efforts in place to prevent further extinction.
The specimens revealed in this book are not on public display and the only way to see many of them is through these photographs, the result of ten years cataloguing key species from the museum's zoology and botany collections. The images lead the reader to the species' stories, promoting a greater understanding of mankind's stewardship of life on Earth at a critical time in history.
Extinction illustrates the crucial importance of museum collections for conservation, education and research. The United Nations recent Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services makes the set of issues affecting biodiversity even more topical.
The book has been designed to have pages with black backgrounds for extinct species and white backgrounds for species nearing extinction. A yellow flag highlights conservation successes, which are interspersed throughout. The conservation success stories highlight the positive work that is happening and the potential there is to prevent the extinction of these and other species.
Review Quotes
"From its image of rusty patched bumblebees to red pandas, the book is a timely, moving look at endangered species and threats to their survival" Sophie Batterbury, The I Paper
"An insightful and timely collection that the photographer hopes will inspire future generations" Amy Davies, Amateur Photographer
"This quirky, rather beautiful book is a collection of both icons and of fascinating stories about species that have vanished from the Earth or are barely hanging onto life. It's a book that informs you about the pathways to extinction but also includes stories of hope - precious species being rescued from the precipice." Rosamund Kidman Cox OBE (BBC Wildlife Magazine former chief editor & Wildlife Photographer of the Year judge
"This is a captivating book, whose pages are full of wonder and inspiration. A unique collection of images that highlights the splendour of evolutionary history and challenges us to preserve the beauty that still remains in biodiversity." Timothy Lamont
"The book is well-designed but sombre in colouration, as is appropriate to its subject matter. On the reader's coffee table this book would be there for discussion, rather than decoration. It should be read by anyone with an interest in our survival on this planet, and that of the plants and animals with which we necessarily co-exist." David Elliott, Archives of Natural History (Edinburgh University Press Journal)
About the Author
Marc Schlossman has a lifelong interest in ecology and photography. He grew up in Chicago, originally completing a BSc in Wildlife Biology at the University of Maine. His freelance photography career began in Boston in 1986, working for various newspapers and magazines. Based in London since 1987, he has won numerous environmental photography awards, was co-founder, producer and curator of FrameZero Gallery and is co-photographer for two travel books. His work has been featured in The Sunday Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The London Telegraph and New Scientist Magazine.