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The Great Auk
The protagonist of this novel is heroic, majestic, a born leader, a devoted husband and proud father. He is destined to be long remembered by whoever reads about his life. His is a great auk.
The great auks were the only flightless species of North Atlantic bird. Their tiny wings were not capable of raising their large bodies into the air. Yet these ridiculous flipper-like appendages—pumping in perfect harmony with the vast splayed feet with their tough rubbery webbing—could propel the birds on or beneath the billowing ocean surface faster than six strong men could row a boat. When standing upright, the great auks resembled penguins.
These noble birds have been extinct for more than one hundred years, but they live again in this amazing novel that follows them and their last leader from their North Atlantic summer mating grounds on Eldey Island south top the Carolinas. On the island and along three-thousand-mile migration route lurk many perils—storms, killer whales, fishhooks, scientists, and the "terrible tune of swishthump" that marks the onslaught of profiteering hunters with their murderous clubs.
Before the story is finished, we witness the growth of the young great auk from the dramatic moment of hatching, into his adventures as a timorous fledgling, until the time when he himself becomes the monarch of hi dwindling flock. As the seven remaining birds begin their return to Eldey Island, the reader fears what he knows is inevitable, that these great auks are the last, that there will be no more. Such is the power of Allan Eckert's novel and its remarkable characters.
The great auks were the only flightless species of North Atlantic bird. Their tiny wings were not capable of raising their large bodies into the air. Yet these ridiculous flipper-like appendages—pumping in perfect harmony with the vast splayed feet with their tough rubbery webbing—could propel the birds on or beneath the billowing ocean surface faster than six strong men could row a boat. When standing upright, the great auks resembled penguins.
These noble birds have been extinct for more than one hundred years, but they live again in this amazing novel that follows them and their last leader from their North Atlantic summer mating grounds on Eldey Island south top the Carolinas. On the island and along three-thousand-mile migration route lurk many perils—storms, killer whales, fishhooks, scientists, and the "terrible tune of swishthump" that marks the onslaught of profiteering hunters with their murderous clubs.
Before the story is finished, we witness the growth of the young great auk from the dramatic moment of hatching, into his adventures as a timorous fledgling, until the time when he himself becomes the monarch of hi dwindling flock. As the seven remaining birds begin their return to Eldey Island, the reader fears what he knows is inevitable, that these great auks are the last, that there will be no more. Such is the power of Allan Eckert's novel and its remarkable characters.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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About the author
Allan W. Eckert
80 books293 followersAllan W. Eckert was an American historian, historical novelist, and naturalist.
Eckert was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, but had been a long-time resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, near where he attended college. As a young man, he hitch-hiked around the United States, living off the land and learning about wildlife. He began writing about nature and American history at the age of thirteen, eventually becoming an author of numerous books for children and adults. His children's novel, Incident at Hawk's Hill, was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1972. One of his novels tells how the great auk went extinct.
In addition to his novels, he also wrote several unproduced screenplays and more than 225 Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom television shows for which he received an Emmy Award.
In a 1999 poll conducted by the Ohioana Library Association, jointly with Toni Morrison, Allan W. Eckert was voted "Favorite Ohio Writer of All Time."
Eckert died in his sleep on July 7, 2011, in Corona, California, at the age of 80.
Eckert was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, but had been a long-time resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, near where he attended college. As a young man, he hitch-hiked around the United States, living off the land and learning about wildlife. He began writing about nature and American history at the age of thirteen, eventually becoming an author of numerous books for children and adults. His children's novel, Incident at Hawk's Hill, was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1972. One of his novels tells how the great auk went extinct.
In addition to his novels, he also wrote several unproduced screenplays and more than 225 Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom television shows for which he received an Emmy Award.
In a 1999 poll conducted by the Ohioana Library Association, jointly with Toni Morrison, Allan W. Eckert was voted "Favorite Ohio Writer of All Time."
Eckert died in his sleep on July 7, 2011, in Corona, California, at the age of 80.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 7, 2018
Damn…just…damn.
Don't think I'm spoiling anything in saying things don't turn out well for the Great Auk.
The first half of this book is actually quite underwhelming: here is the life of an animal…that’s it. The Auks themselves aren’t anthropomorphized, except for a tiny bit at a few moments, and we are very much an observer to these birds lives as if watching a nature documentary. Sure there are some dangers, but nothing more than what other animals face (with the exception of a foreshadowing event at the beginning of the book). The longer you read the more it seems you are lulled into a false sense of security, till you almost forget what is inevitably going to happen.
Then, as suddenly as Bambi’s mother being shot, we are struck with a great harrowing disaster and this becomes a different book in tone, it turns from a ‘nature-documentary’-like story into a tragedy.
The contrast between the two halves is very effective. I found myself mentally-screaming in frustration at the Auk’s misfortune (in a good way).
By the end, I was very impressed with the impact this book left on me. If you can find a copy (and they seem as rare as the Auks themselves these days) I would recommend this book for any that have a day to spare.
Don't think I'm spoiling anything in saying things don't turn out well for the Great Auk.
The first half of this book is actually quite underwhelming: here is the life of an animal…that’s it. The Auks themselves aren’t anthropomorphized, except for a tiny bit at a few moments, and we are very much an observer to these birds lives as if watching a nature documentary. Sure there are some dangers, but nothing more than what other animals face (with the exception of a foreshadowing event at the beginning of the book). The longer you read the more it seems you are lulled into a false sense of security, till you almost forget what is inevitably going to happen.
Then, as suddenly as Bambi’s mother being shot, we are struck with a great harrowing disaster and this becomes a different book in tone, it turns from a ‘nature-documentary’-like story into a tragedy.
The contrast between the two halves is very effective. I found myself mentally-screaming in frustration at the Auk’s misfortune (in a good way).
By the end, I was very impressed with the impact this book left on me. If you can find a copy (and they seem as rare as the Auks themselves these days) I would recommend this book for any that have a day to spare.
January 3, 2022
Forgotten Gem! I am so delighted I was gifted 2nd hand copy of this book, I have never read anything so skilfully written about the life of an animal. The 3rd- person narrator brilliantly describes the challenges The Last Great Auk faced, you feel like you are there with the flock and crying because you know how it will end. (The spoiler is in the title and in the fact that it is historically accurate)
Reading this, you will experience storm, drive to migrate, orcas, mating behaviour and much more from a perspective of a now extinct bird. And I have never read or heard hatching from an egg described so beautifully. The author manages all this without using overly anthropomorphic terms - for example words like “friendship” or “respect” are never used, but you know exactly that’s what the main character is experiencing (or a bird equivalent of that)
The book is well ahead of its time IMO. If it was written today, it would be on the shelves of every wildlife and environmental advocate.
Highly recommend!
Reading this, you will experience storm, drive to migrate, orcas, mating behaviour and much more from a perspective of a now extinct bird. And I have never read or heard hatching from an egg described so beautifully. The author manages all this without using overly anthropomorphic terms - for example words like “friendship” or “respect” are never used, but you know exactly that’s what the main character is experiencing (or a bird equivalent of that)
The book is well ahead of its time IMO. If it was written today, it would be on the shelves of every wildlife and environmental advocate.
Highly recommend!
July 14, 2025
The Great Auk, "the original penguin"—what a majestic bird it was.
Once populating the North Atlantic by the millions, the great auk sadly fell victim to human greed and ignorance, joining the tragic company of other species driven to extinction by mankind: the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the moa. Yet, little more than a century and a half after the death of the last great auk, this bird has been unjustly forgotten, despite having been part of the cultural fabric of both European and North American peoples for millennia.
Allan W. Eckert offers us a vivid account of the life of the last great auk, beginning from its very birth. His depiction of life inside the egg is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful descriptions of embryonic life ever written. The narrative is in third person, and although it is technically a novel, the animal's life is portrayed with the rigor and detail of a nature documentary. There is little room for sentimental humanization—the story remains grounded in the raw reality of nature: magnificent, brutal at times, governed by chance and necessity.
Man appears as a constant threat to the delicate balance of the natural world. Eckert paints stark, unflinching scenes of the hunt, partly drawing from historically documented events. This is not a book for the faint of heart, yet it is one of the most powerful works I’ve read in this genre.
This book is an unjustly forgotten gem, more relevant now than ever. A warning cry about what continues to happen to millions of species across the planet. A scream for action.
Once populating the North Atlantic by the millions, the great auk sadly fell victim to human greed and ignorance, joining the tragic company of other species driven to extinction by mankind: the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the moa. Yet, little more than a century and a half after the death of the last great auk, this bird has been unjustly forgotten, despite having been part of the cultural fabric of both European and North American peoples for millennia.
Allan W. Eckert offers us a vivid account of the life of the last great auk, beginning from its very birth. His depiction of life inside the egg is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful descriptions of embryonic life ever written. The narrative is in third person, and although it is technically a novel, the animal's life is portrayed with the rigor and detail of a nature documentary. There is little room for sentimental humanization—the story remains grounded in the raw reality of nature: magnificent, brutal at times, governed by chance and necessity.
Man appears as a constant threat to the delicate balance of the natural world. Eckert paints stark, unflinching scenes of the hunt, partly drawing from historically documented events. This is not a book for the faint of heart, yet it is one of the most powerful works I’ve read in this genre.
This book is an unjustly forgotten gem, more relevant now than ever. A warning cry about what continues to happen to millions of species across the planet. A scream for action.
June 22, 2023
Sorts bit slow, but becomes a really compelling fictionalized narrative of the Great Auk. The migration scenes are particularly compelling. In someways, this is a strange novel, but it is a good look at extinct fauna in North America in the 19th century.
February 21, 2024
Such a sad story featuring human greed.
March 8, 2025
Probably the best book I’ve read this year so far in 2025.
March 10, 2025
Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. This should be required reading for high schools
October 4, 2014
(I guess this is not a true spoiler)-- All the Great Auks are dead.
I so appreciate inter-library loans, so I could find this copy of 1963 book. Recently read, "The Collector of Lost Things", by Jeremy Page, a novel that was based on the true story of the mid-1800's demise of this bird. Of course, that inspired me to learn/read a bit more and I discovered this author's depiction of the last years of this species - recounted thru the life of the last one to die.
Well done depiction of it's life from hatching, feeding, swimming, migrating, leading the group, finding a mate and the first (& last) bird to hatch.
I noticed some discrepancies - of what the auks might keep in their collective memories and other times things that might be forgotten within hours - but overall, didn't feel there was any sappy anthropomorphism - it was the bird's life.
What a horrible shame that man has destroyed so many species and that the plunder still exists.
I so appreciate inter-library loans, so I could find this copy of 1963 book. Recently read, "The Collector of Lost Things", by Jeremy Page, a novel that was based on the true story of the mid-1800's demise of this bird. Of course, that inspired me to learn/read a bit more and I discovered this author's depiction of the last years of this species - recounted thru the life of the last one to die.
Well done depiction of it's life from hatching, feeding, swimming, migrating, leading the group, finding a mate and the first (& last) bird to hatch.
I noticed some discrepancies - of what the auks might keep in their collective memories and other times things that might be forgotten within hours - but overall, didn't feel there was any sappy anthropomorphism - it was the bird's life.
What a horrible shame that man has destroyed so many species and that the plunder still exists.
December 30, 2023
The romance of an extinction. This is one of the saddest books in my collection. Saddest, and most merciless. Eckert is very keen not to anthropomorphise its protagonists exceedingly — his auks don't speak, don't introspect, and have no stream of consciousness. When he describes situations, the author doesn't judge events: he just reports them. This only makes the narration more painful. When the last population of great auks is slaughtered — for meat, and for "scientific reasons" — no word is spent in condemning the acts, reasons and dialogues of the butchers. With no moral ramblings to accompany the falling numbers of the auks' flock, the mood of the last chapters is just as cold as the weather, as harsh as the cliffs of Eldey Island where the last breeding male is born and killed.
Together with Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (which came out just one year before, if I am not mislead), "The Last Great Auk" is certainly the most unforgettable ecologist account I've ever read.
Together with Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (which came out just one year before, if I am not mislead), "The Last Great Auk" is certainly the most unforgettable ecologist account I've ever read.
August 31, 2007
beautiful and heart breaking.
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August 11, 2011Most moving book I read prior to turning 10.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews