Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene

by Lydia Pyne

Amid the historical decimation of species around the globe, a new way into the language of loss
  An endling is the last known individual of a species; when that individual dies, the species becomes extinct. These “last individuals” are poignant characters in the stories that humans tell themselves about today’s Anthropocene. In this evocative work, Lydia Pyne explores how discussion about endlings—how we tell their histories—draws on deep traditions of storytelling across a variety of narrative types that go well beyond the science of these species’ biology or their evolutionary history. Endlings provides a useful and thoughtful discussion of species how species start and how (and why) they end, what it means to be a “charismatic” species, the effects of rewilding, and what makes species extinction different in this era. From Benjamin the thylacine to Celia the ibex to Lonesome George the Galápagos tortoise, endlings, Pyne shows, have the power to shape how we think about grief, mourning, and loss amid the world’s sixth mass extinction.

Genres: Philosophy, Animals

104 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2022

Reviews

[sanch]

“it remains always to come, and to come back”
jd

[Kermodii · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
a lot of sentimental soul-searching without directly offering any substantial alternatives to Aesopian fables. im all for finding the silver linings, but you can't title a book Endlings, talk about mass extinction, and use isiZulu as an end-all feel-good "soul brother" vernacular to conjure up some false hope about humanity. isn't that just as manipulative and ill-conceived as these Endling canons?
the way I see it, we're doomed. only when humans begin to mourn our own respective endlings in each lineage, do we even begin to conceive that notion of - not simply "saving" the planet - but rather living in harmony, waiting for the appropriate punishment we've deserved for decades.

[Lila Clementine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as I’m coming to an end of my environmental science degree. For the past four years, I’ve wondered why I chose this major, but this book reassured my love to learn about animals and the planet that I’ve had since a young age. Coupled with storytelling, a skill that is often under appreciated and the use of language.

[Luke Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

baffled by the low ratings?? I loved this and can already tell it'll inform my work for years