The Kingdom of Rarities

by Eric Dinerstein

When you look out your window, why are you so much more likely to see a robin or a sparrow than a Kirtland's warbler or a California condor? Why are some animals naturally rare and others so abundant? The quest to find and study seldom-seen jaguars and flamboyant Andean cocks-of-the-rock is as alluring to naturalists as it is vitally important to science. From the Himalayan slopes of Bhutan to the most isolated mountain ranges of New Guinea, The Kingdom of Rarities takes us to some of the least-traveled places on the planet to catch a glimpse of these unique animals and many others. As he shares stories of these species, Eric Dinerstein gives readers a deep appreciation of their ecological importance and the urgency of protecting all types of life — the uncommon and abundant alike.An eye-opening tour of the rare and exotic, The Kingdom of Rarities offers us a new understanding of the natural world, one that places rarity at the center of conservation biology. Looking at real-time threats to biodiversity, from climate change to habitat fragmentation, and drawing on his long and distinguished scientific career, Dinerstein offers readers fresh insights into fascinating questions about the science of rarity and unforgettable experiences from the field.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, Biology, Natural History, Environment

Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2013

Reviews

[Daniel R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book reads like an exotic travel journal instead of a scientific exploration of why some animals are rare and others abundant. The effects of habitat destruction by humans and the introduction of invasive species are two leading causes briefly touched on but are not explored in any real depth or rigor. For most of the species mentioned in the book more questions and unanswered research topics are posed than answered. Instead each chapter is filled with descriptions of how one travels to these remote locations and the author's philosophical ramblings about topics unrelated to rarity. I'd give this book a pass.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traveling around the world to exotic locales in order to observe nature and wildlife firsthand is the ideal life I wish I could have. Being an armchair natural historian and experiencing vicariously through books such as this is far from ideal, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. Dinerstein is a veteran conservationist who has led this kind of life for decades, and his book is part travelogue and part science writing about the biology of rare animals and the environments they live in. We get insights into the work of field biologists on the front lines of wildlife research and conservation, subjects ranging from song birds, fruit flies and monkeys to jaguars and rhinos.

The chapters set in Asia are particularly close to my heart due to their familiarity, and here I can be more critical. The author's optimism on Indochina I found to be quite misplaced, having had first hand experience of Vietnam and Cambodia myself and witnessing the absolute disregard of the people for conserving their natural heritage. And while the last chapter showcasing the wonderful harmony of man and nature in Bhutan is inspiring, his attribution of Buddhism to this success is questionable given the lack of such positive outcomes in Thailand and Burma, both also predominantly Buddhist nations but with the majority of their wild places long given over to development. Instead, it is more likely the result of strong governance and top down decree from the Bhutanese authorities that has led to the preservation of pristine nature in that country, in my opinion. Not to mention it is less of a struggle probably given Bhutan's far smaller physical extent and population compared to other Asian nations.

[Washington Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinerstein’s message is a serious one: We are seeing more populations that are rare largely because of human activities, and this trajectory will continue unabated until humankind starts demonstrating a bit of humility and restraint. But what makes his book a good read is his deft writing and ability to bring his audience to the places he and his scientific colleagues have visited. Read the review: http://wapo.st/16EsCPr

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book's commentary on what constitutes and causes rarity among animals (and plants) is worthwhile, and some of the "field notes" were interesting, but too often it diverted toward self-indulgent travelogue. The prose was irritating and way too "try hard". The author played with metaphor and other literary devices with about as much success as a toddler playing with a flamethrower.

There were also many places where the author went "off message" and ventured into areas outside of his expertise, to very poor results (he may know his chosen field, but outside of that ... yikes).

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Kingdom of Rarities, Eric Dinerstein explores rare species and asks some interesting questions, including: Why are so many species rare? Have they always been rare, and, if not, what causes or environmental changes have contributed to rarity? What be done to save rare species? Dinerstein asks “Why, wherever you land, do you always find a few superabundant species and a multitude of rare ones?” While rare species are found everywhere, we really know very little about why this is the case. Are all these rare species are on the brink of extinction or have there always been rare species?

Dinerstein says, "To understand rarity in nature, whether as an artist or a biologist, one of the best places to look is in the tropical belt. The Amazon and Congo basins, Southeast Asia including Sumatra (Indonesia), and New Guinea are the four largest expanses of rain forest; along with some smaller regions, they hold more than 60 percent of the world’s known species—crammed into less than 5 percent of Earth’s surface."

"The island of New Guinea is especially interesting to biologists because so many of its species are found nowhere else." This is especially true of the Foja Mountains in the heart of Papua Province. The Kingdom of Rarities covers Dinerstein's travels, as well as the travels of others, across the world, considering various rare species.

Some of the rarities Dinerstein explores include Birds of paradise, the golden fronted bowerbird, the orange faced honey-eater, the Juan Fernández firecrown hummingbird on an island called Más a Tierra, (Robinson Crusoe Island), Kirtland’s warbler, rhinoceroses, including the greater one-horned rhino, and, in South America, jaguars and pumas, the giant anteater, giant armadillo, and maned wolf.


Factors discussed that influence rarity are extreme habitat specialization, an isolated population (especially if this isolation is geographic), and a changing environment due to outside factors introduced, such as agriculture. “Wholesale conversion of land [to agriculture] not only threatens to make no small number of common species rare through human activity,it also threatens the very existence of what is now rare.”

Eric Dinerstein is Chief Scientist with the World Wildlife Fund, where he has spent the past 24 years working to save rare species globally. Certainly this gives him the insight and experience to consider the question of rarities across the world. Dinerstein does a superb job discussing the question in a manner that will capture the attention of a lay person as well as a professional. He includes illustrations, maps, annotated bibliography, and index. The Kingdom of Rarities is a fascinating, entertaining, thought provoking book.

Very Highly Recommended

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy Kindle edition was courtesy of Island Press and Netgalley for review purposes.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

after reading the book, it sounds like some species will always be endangered. Their overspecialization within their limited environment will keep the species' survival on a precarious balance. Also, don't poach.

[Grrlscientist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why are some species naturally rare whilst others are common? Do rare species make any difference in the larger scheme? These questions have puzzled biologists for centuries. Truth be told, even today, scientists have uncovered just a few pieces within this complex puzzle, as we discover in Eric Dinerstein’s The Kingdom of Rarities [Island Press, 2014]. In this engaging and informative narrative, the reader accompanies the World Wildlife Fund’s chief scientist on his lifelong journey to visit some of the world’s rarest species and remotest places. Along the way, Dinerstein discusses contributions from a variety of disparate scientific fields that shed light onto why some species are rare whilst others are not.

Dinerstein begins by retelling the story that captured my attention like no other at the time, that amazing story of Bruce Beehler’s expedition to the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea. This remote region was noteworthy because no one — not even the local tribespeople — had ever set foot there. The purpose of this expedition was to survey all species that could be found in this pristine place but Beehler also had a personal objective: to rediscover several “lost” species of rare birds. Specifically, Beehler hoped to discover the home of the golden-fronted bowerbird, a bird so rare that it was known only from four dusty old museum skins purchased from locals in the mid-1800s. These tribesmen reportedly obtained the skins somewhere in western New Guinea.

Soon after Beehler and his colleagues arrived, it became obvious that nestled within the Foja Mountains’ rugged and forbidding terrain was the topographical isolation necessary for new species to evolve and adapt to restricted niches. Although the spectacular golden-fronted bowerbird was incredibly rare overall, they were quite common here. But other rare birds were also locally common, including the mysterious six-wired bird of paradise and a new-to-science honeyeater that was voiceless, a most peculiar trait for a songbird.

This points to the fundamental question: what is rarity? We can all agree that those species comprised of just a few individuals inhabiting small ranges are rare, as for the golden-fronted bowerbird and other residents of the Foja Mountains, but what about species that are locally uncommon but widespread? Are they rare, too? This is precisely the situation for thinly-distributed “apex predators”, such as the New World’s puma and jaguar. In the case of these big cats, each species occurs within a vast range and occupies a wide variety of habitats, ranging from montane forest to desert and even tundra (in the case of the puma). Both puma and jaguar are sparsely distributed throughout the rain forests of Central and South America, where their natural histories and their interactions are poorly known.

Many scientists maintain that the food pyramid adequately explains the scarcity of large predators since it takes a lot of herbivores to support just a few predators — particularly the largest “apex” predators perched at the top of the food pyramid. This hypothesis is consistent with the argument presented in Paul Colinvaux’s book, Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare .

But how do pumas and jaguars live side by side in the Amazon rain forest? Despite these two big cats’ overlapping ranges, their similar habits and shared prey preferences are some of the reasons they carefully avoid each other — effectively making each species even more scarce. But the explanations are more complicated and subtle than this since, for example, jaguars show clear sex-based habitat preferences: adult female jaguars reside along rivers and on flood plains whereas males, which are nearly twice their size, live higher up and farther from rivers. Why would they do this? The evolutionary and ecological rationales for these distinctive behaviours are not known at this time.

Overall, wide-ranging but thin distribution patterns make intuitive sense for large predators, but what might you conclude if you learned that scarlet macaws, which range widely, are also locally scarce? Additionally, what might you think if you learned that bald-faced saki monkeys are so rare that most primatologists have never seen them in the wild? Further, even particular tree species, such as mahogany, are so scarce that only one individual can be found in every few hectares or less. Why would certain tree species have a population distribution pattern that resembles that of an apex predator?

According to biologist Deborah Rabinowitz, there are three reasons why species are rare. In addition to the two already mentioned, there’s a third, more complicated, reason; extreme loyalty to a particular habitat. Basically, this is the situation faced by America’s most imperiled bird, the Kirtland’s (Jack pine) warbler, Setophaga kirtlandii. These colourful songbirds breed only in fire-prone small-stature Jack pine groves in northeastern North America. Yet when these trees are made available through land management practices, this still isn’t enough; even the soil and undergrowth must be just right for this ground-nesting species to prosper.

Unfortunately for Kirtland’s warblers, after the appropriate habitat had been restored, these diminutive birds were confronted by a second threat: invasion of brown-headed cowbirds. Originally known as “buffalo birds”, cowbirds are nomadic nest parasites whose entire life history evolved around following enormous herds of bison that roamed the American West, scaring up clouds of delicious edible insects. After human settlers substituted herds of domestic cattle for the newly-exterminated bison, cowbirds survived because they managed to transfer their allegiance to a new partner. Where ever cattle went, cowbirds followed.

This is how Kirtland’s warblers met cowbirds. Having never experienced nest parasites before, the evolutionarily naive warbler ended up fostering hoards of cowbird chicks. Soon, almost no Kirtland’s warbler parents were raising their own young. Only after the US Fish and Wildlife Service launched a program to daily capture and euthanise the thousands of cowbirds that popped up inside Kirtland’s warbler breeding habitat did this species began to recover. But how long must Kirtland’s warbler be managed so intensively? some people ask. Forever, perhaps?

But this simple question has universal ramifications: there are other, more famous, examples of extreme habitat specialists, including some of the world’s most iconic and beloved animals; giant pandas and polar bears, northern spotted owls and penguins.

Dinerstein then moves on to consider other critically important questions: are all rare species on the verge of extinction? Have all species that are currently rare always been historically rare? Which common species are likely to become rare in the future? What sort of impact do rare species have upon their habitats and indeed, upon the overall function of larger ecosystems?

I actually read this book as a hardcover almost one year ago, but other projects prevented me from writing my review then. (And for this, I apologise.) But this personable travelogue was such an intellectual delight that I just had to tell you about it so when I learned this title had recently been republished as a paperback, I seized the opportunity to remedy my oversight. Rereading this book was a pleasure — if anything, it was even better the second time through. The writing is compelling and at times, poetic, the stories, captivating, and the scientific data, illuminating and well-chosen.

In this engaging and thought-provoking chronicle, we tag along with the author as he shares the story of his lifelong quest to appreciate rarity in all its facets. His search takes us on a personal guided tour through the world’s four major tropical rain forests — the Amazon and Congo basins, Southeast Asia and (my favourite place) New Guinea. We sit next to him before crackling campfires when he joins fellow scientists and listen as they explain their life’s work to understand the many nuanced reasons that make some species rare. Dinerstein examines decades of research in both mammals and birds and, in contrast to so many books I’ve read, he frequently discusses findings for plants, too. Passionate but never polemic, Dinerstein deftly weaves together findings from many disparate fields of research, along with the urgent necessity to conserve these rare species.


NOTE: Originally published at The Guardian on 9 July 2014.

[Nola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn’t exactly what I expected. I don’t know now, as I had hoped why robins are so common while mountain bluebirds are not. But I did gain a new perspective on what rarity is and how common it is. Eric Dinerstein gives the definition of rarity as having a narrow geographic range or a low abundance or both. He also put forth the idea that there are many more rare species than common ones, with about 25 percent of species accounting for 90 to 95 percent of all individuals on earth, which leaves 75 percent of species as rare. Dinerstein has examples that make this concept clear and he has other thoughtful ideas and questions about rarity and its role in nature. This ties into why and how to save species from climate change and other human-caused problems. The background of the ecological role of rarity is brought out early in the book. The remaining chapters describe how this works in several areas of the world that each have their particularly interesting species with unique ecological roles. I loved these chapters, reading about animals about which I knew little or nothing and the ecosystems of which they are a part. Here I appreciated the maps and the exquisite hand drawings. The end is a bit philosophical, giving a hopeful idea of what could help prevent species extinctions. This is one of many books I have read lately that make me think about the lifespan of non-fiction books and wonder how well they will hold up as the world rapidly changes.

[Noel نوال · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an assigned reading for my Biological Conservation class, and if it wasn't worth a grade there is no way I would have had any desire to finish reading this book. There were some moments few and far between that really piqued my interest with this book, but for the most part this is written as a travelogue of a guy who loves birds and tags along with different conservationists. I would much rather read books written by them about their studies instead of what he prefers to write about. I am so relieved to finally be done with this book. I have read many other conservation books in the past and great topics don't have to be written about in such mundane ways. Scientists can be fun writers too. This guy is not one of those scientists.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in friendly prose, this eco-adventure explores the environments where poaching, deforestation, or just natural obscurity make various species "rare," and discusses what rarity even means in the ecological world. Part travelogue, part natural history textbook, part call to action, "The Kingdom of Rarities" is full of informative and accessible introductions to rare species (many I had never heard of) for the biologically curious layman.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great message and fascinating subject material, but the author's style is as dryyyy as the Sahara Desert.

[Dennis Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natural history and eco science gorgeously rendered

This is a beautifully written eco adventure chronicle that reports on the current state of rare species and explores why so many species are rare. Dinerstein, who is Director of Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions at RESOLVE after many years as Chief Scientist with the World Wildlife Fund, has an almost magical style reminiscent of travel tales from years gone by. Darwin would love this as would probably every naturalist who ever lived. It’s that good. Dinerstein’s style also reminds me of the work of Peter Matthiessen, whose book, “The Snow Leopard,” I read many years ago. Both writers have a consciously lyrical style that celebrates the beauty of nature.

But Dinerstein is more than a very good writer. He is a widely traveled scientist who is an expert on ecology and evolution with a passion for saving our plant’s wildlife.

Dinerstein begins in Chitwan National Park in Nepal looking for the rare one-horned rhinoceros (and in a later chapter returns to it). He discovers a symbiotic relationship between the rhinos and a tree called “bhellur” (Trewia nudiflora) and learns why the rhinos have become so rare. In the later chapter he explains why rhinos were so abundant in the past. (See pages 123 and following.)

I was particularly interested in the chapter on jaguars and pumas. The trick to finding these elusive animals was to play recordings of their breeding calls and vocalizations of their prey from an airplane!

Factoid: In the Los Amigos area of Madre de Dios in Peru there are more than 1,000 tree species; in the UK there are only 15 native tree species. (p. 69) Why? Dinerstein asks. And why are the great boreal forests not nearly as diverse? (Insects are part of the interesting answer on pages 70-71.)

I also liked the chapter on the Kirtland warblers, and I was surprised to see how much Dinerstein knows about the animals and plants of Hawaii, where I live. He writes that there are over 500 species of fruit flies in Hawaii and the number is growing (p. 192). I believe him (!) and think there are probably hundreds of species of moths as well.

Very interesting was the use of scent dogs in South America to collect scat from pumas, jaguars, and maned wolves. (p. 165)

One of the themes of the book is the unexpected impact on an ecology made by some large and rare species. When I was young I learned that large predators like lions and wolves helped to keep the herd healthy by mostly picking off the lame and old; but what I learned here is what the large predators are more importantly doing is protecting some of the PLANT life by killing off herbivores. The effect on the ecology when apex predators on land or sea are removed is called “trophic cascading,” and it is surprisingly extensive. (See page 77 and following.)

There’s a bit about the horrors of Agent Orange in the chapter “Ghosts of Indochina.” And then there’s this interesting observation: In Vietnam and Sumatra civets are said to eat only the best coffee beans. Dinerstein writes, “…some insist civet droppings yield the world’s finest java. (p. 217) Yum…I mean, I’ll get by with something less than the best.

Finally I would like to note that Dinerstein pays tribute to Buddhism and Bhutan’s government’s dedication to “gentleness and kindness toward all beings.” (p. 260) Would that more people felt this way.

--Dennis Littrell, author of “Understanding Evolution and Ourselves”

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To be a Naturalist is better than to be a King”

This book has taken me on a joyous jaunt round the world in the company of some amazing creatures and a guide whose enthusiasm and love for his work shines through every word. A storyteller of extraordinary skill, Dinerstein could make the smallest, greyest rodent fascinating if he chose. But since he has a world full of rare species to tell us about, instead we are treated to tales of the golden-fronted bowerbird, the scarlet minivet, the red panda, the jaguar, Mrs Gould’s sunbird…

There is a serious purpose to this book: to look at why rare species are rare and to determine what intervention is required to conserve them and their habitats. Dinerstein shows us the effects of Big Ag in the rainforests of South America, of war in Vietnam and Cambodia, of species invasion in Hawaii, and speculates on the possible effects of global warming on these threatened rarities. Sometimes such books are read with a sense of duty and a heavy heart – but not this one. All through Dinerstein highlights the positives as much as the negatives, offers solutions, tells us of the amazing things that are already being achieved both by nature and by man; and left this reader, at least, with an enormous sense of hope.

Generously Dinerstein name-checks many of the naturalists and ecologists, past and present, who have and are doing so much to reverse the trend towards extinctions, and plays down his own role as a leading conservationist and Lead Scientist at the WWF. The sciency stuff is slotted in so seamlessly amidst the glorious descriptions of flora and fauna that it’s easy for a non-academic to absorb – especially if a dictionary is close to hand! Dinerstein’s writing style is natural and flowing, sometimes ascending to the lyrical – it’s like listening to a friend tell you all about his greatest enthusiasm, with his thoughts, passion for the subject and plenty of humour all on display.

The book has some lovely little pencil drawings of some of the species discussed and maps of the various regions visited. I would have loved there to be more pictures, but so many wondrous things were discussed I could see the impossibility of having pictures of them all. A combination of Google Images and youtube filled that gap, though it slowed my reading rate to a crawl as every chapter is crowded with rare, fascinating and quite amazingly beautiful things. I feel as if I’ve had a glorious holiday and come back relaxed, refreshed and with a sense that the future for these fragile rarities is in the best of hands. Highly recommended as an informative and wonderfully enjoyable read.

NB This review is of a proof copy provided by the publisher.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s unlikely I’ll ever walk through viper-infested grasses of Brazil in search of the maned wolf or wander around Indochina trying to find a kouprey. So I’m glad that Eric Dinerstein could take me on such adventures in his book, “The Kingdom of Rarities.”
He explores the many reasons for rarity – how a species might be small in number but found in lots of geographic areas; or be very plentiful but limited to life on only one small slice of the planet. The book shares the stories of the golden-mantled tree kangaroo, Kirkland warbler, greater one-horned rhinoceros, giant anteater and other rare creatures, and the scientists studying them. Included are nice illustrations, so you can figure out what a saola or golden langur actually is.
Reading about vanishing species isn’t all that jolly, but Dinerstein manages to keep this from being a bleak book. That’s probably rare for a book on rarity. Credit his genuine awe and appreciation for these unusual animals.
“The Kingdom of Rarities” is really a book about connections. Read it and you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for rarity and its complexity.

[Katie Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I loved about this book is the engaging stories of expeditions past and current, including field journal notes. The text encompasses things like natural history, paleontology, and geographic history to explore and find out why some species are rare and others are not, and how to even define “rare”. The content is easy to read, not cluttered with lofty niche terminology, and I felt as though I was right there with Dinerstein on these harrowing adventures.

The thing I love about scientists is that they have not lost their insatiable curiosity about the world around us, a trait many adults have outgrown. This is easily seen in The Kingdom of Rarities, as we traverse the globe in search of truth, the basic questions of our origin and ultimate destiny, and the quest for a world where man is in harmony with nature. Dinerstein truly delights in the miracles of nature’s beauty, and so did I, reading his accounts.

I would recommend this book for nature-lovers, conservationists, National Geographic subscribers, and anyone who has not lost their thirst for knowledge of biology and life sciences. 5 stars.

[Maggie Hesseling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though intersting, I was dissapointed in the amount of times that I was left with more questions than answers. Not only would I then need to go an look up more information on the subject, it resulted in a text that feels less scientific because of it's lack in foundation. When I'm left with so many questions and no answer to at least why they aren't answerable, it seems as if the author has purposefully omitted them, which is the most tragic aspect of this text.

However, Dinerstein's way of writing redeems himself. He's an engadging writer, in a field that seems almost unexplored (at least that's how it seems from the text). Hopefully, we'll see future texts regarding this with more attention to the detail lost in this one.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written book that seeks to explain why some species are almost impossible to find and some are everywhere. It reads like a combination of a travelogue and textbook, and avoids becoming either too dense for most readers or too high-level to the point of oversimplification. The book's analysis is nicely comprehensive, identifying trophic levels and metabolism, climate, co-evolution, and human influence as among the factors in determining a species' rarity. I wish this book had been around when I was in college, it makes for a much more enjoyable read than the biogeography or ecology tomes I had foisted on me. The maps and illustrations are also a welcome little detail. The Kingdom of Rarities is certainly worth your time if this is a subject you're curious about.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kingdom of Rarities is chock full of interesting information! Eric Dinerstein did a great job of making the reader feel engaged in the material while also learning about why some species are rarer than others. I felt as though I was with Eric Dinerstein on adventures as he relayed his travels and findings from each location. He argues that humans have an impact on the ecosystems and species that we witness, but that there are also remote places that he has been to that require particular environments which limit certain species as rarities rather than expanding to a larger presence in the world because of their natural requirements. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone with a curious mind about all of the interesting things within our world!

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

part travelog and part zoological treatise, this work's title comes from the fact that most species are both rare and endemic making a threatened existence not atypical. circumscribing the hunting territory of the jaguar to determine what is needed, bird watching in Southeast Asia, learning of the resilience of Asian rhinos and more are here. being a Michigander, I very much liked the deep exploration of the predicament of the Kirtland's warbler among the jack pines threatened by cowbirds and fire-preventing forest management.

this work is a good reference, too, for its long index and annotated bibliography.

[Tfalcone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The question came up in one of my classes - are humans an exception because they are the only species left in their family? As it turns out, most species are rarities. A few species are abundant and the rest live on the fringe.
Part of that rarity is due to extreme geographic isolation, but part of it seems to be driven by our own expansion. Something to think about when considering conservation measures.

This book kept things interesting reading a little bit like a travel log. There were a lot of animals I never heard of.

Thank you Net Galley and Island press for the free reading copy.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully descriptive account of Dinerstein's travels to some of the most remote regions of the world. Throughout this memoir Dinerstein provides some up close depictions of the ecological principles and conservation challenges that are at play in our world today. He writes with the intellectual accuity of a scientist, the wordsmithing of a poet, and the insight of a philosopher...yet still makes this an easy-read. Highly recommended for those interested in ecology, conservation, travel, or man's relationship to the rest of the animal kingdom.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating study of the biology of rarity, and the organisms who are rare.

The writing is quite academic and scholarly, but the stories and case studies are fascinating.

Dinerstein gives an excellent survey of rare creatures, taking the reader on a world tour of conservation and scientific research. The joy that unerpins the written jargon pulls you along.

An important read for biologists, or just those interested in saving species.

[Emma Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this was a book only an ecologist could love. I only managed to make it through a couple of the meandering case studies, but I am left without a clear impression of what the author was trying to say about rarity beyond the classical biological reasons that have been well documented.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinerstein paints a vivid picture of several rare species throughout the world and attempts to describe the various forces that act in making a species rare. This book is accessible to lay readers though all the units are reported in metric, as is the practice for biologists.

[Neha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to rarity and conservation. I liked his anecdotes about different ecosystems and conservation issues, particularly the chapter on Kritland's Warbler. However, at some points, his writing was a little too flowery.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting profiles of conservation efforts going on around the world to protect rare animals and help them flourish.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing read about the increasingly rare and fragile creatures that share our planet.

[Science For The People]

Featured on Science for the People show #219 on June 28, 2013, during an interview with author Eric Dinerstein. http://www.scienceforthepeople.ca/epi...

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter on Bhutan

[Charles Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of rarity in the world.