The doomsday book of animals: a natural history of vanished species

by David Day, Hrh the Duke of Edinburgh (Foreword)

Describes the habitat, behavior, and physical characteristics of hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish that have become extinct since the late-seventeenth century

Genres: Nonfiction, Natural History, Nature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 1981

About the author

David Day (b. 14 October 1947 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian author of over forty books: poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy, and children's literature. Internationally he is most notably known for his literary criticism on J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.

After finishing high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating from the University of Victoria. Subsequently he has travelled widely, most frequently to Greece and Britain.

Day has published six books of poems for adults and ten illustrated children's books of fiction and poetry. His non-fiction books on natural history include The Doomsday Book of Animals, The Whale War, Eco Wars: a Layman Guide to the Environmental Movement, Noah's Choice and most recently Nevermore: A Book of Hours - Meditations on Extinction (2012).

His Doomsday Book was a Time Magazine Book of the Year and became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century".

David Days best-selling books on the life and works of JRR Tolkien include: A Tolkien Bestiary, Tolkien: the Illustrated Encyclopedia, Tolkien's Ring, The World of Tolkien and The Hobbit Companion.

Day's Tolkien's Ring was illustrated by academy award-winning artist Alan Lee, as was Castles, The Animals Within, Gothic and Quest For King Arthur.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful bestiary containing descriptions of animals that were driven to extinction by humans. Obviously, that makes for very sad material. Most deep looks at nature are pretty sad.

I enjoyed it because it gave me an overview of some of the major extinct species that used to live in the world. There are some major American species that I had never heard about before. E.g., I knew about passenger pigeons, but I didn't know that there had been a species of parakeet that lived in what is now the United States. It makes you think differently about what the world looked like in the days of people like George Washington.

[Wayne Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this makes you feel sad and ashamed about how many of the world's wildlife were needlessly wiped out by our stupidity. Poignant and the beautiful paintings make you wish you could see the real things.