Remains of a Rainbow: Rare Plants and Animals of Hawaii

by David Liittschwager, Susan Middleton, W.S. Merwin (Foreword)

More than three hundred full-color photographs present portraits of endangered animals and plants from Hawaii, photographed against a plain black background, along with articles on the natural history of the islands, environmental changes, and preservation efforts. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

David Liittschwager is a freelance photographer who grew up in Eugene, Oregon. Between 1983 and 1986, he worked as an assistant to Richard Avedon in New York City. After working in advertising, he turned his skills to portraiture with an emphasis on natural history subjects.

Now a contributing photographer to National Geographic and other magazines, Liittschwager is also a successful book author. In 2002 he produced the books Skulls and X-Ray Ichthyology: The Structure of Fishes for the California Academy of Sciences. Liittschwager’s books in collaboration with Susan Middleton include Archipelago, Remains of a Rainbow, Witness, and Here Today.

Recipient of an Endangered Species Coalition Champion Award for Education and Outreach and a Bay & Paul Foundation Biodiversity Leadership Award, Liittschwager lectures and shows his work in both fine art and natural history contexts. His photographs have been exhibited at many museums, including the American Museumhere of Natural History in New York City; the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.; the Honolulu Academy of Art in Hawaii; and currently at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Liittschwager was honored with a 2008 World Press Photo Award for his article on marine microfauna, which appeared in the November 2007 issue of National Geographic magazine. He lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were rating the book on beauty alone it would get a five. The photographs offer close-up, beautifully taken, and powerful portraits. They eloquently witness how much we will miss if we let these creatures go.
I had a hard time with the text. It was frustrating to keep hopping back and forth from the photographs to the informative blurbs in teeny-tiny print at the back, especially because the book's binding isn't high quality. I guess the publisher wanted to keep these wonderful images affordable and accessible, which is also an admirable goal.

[Christine Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and gorgeous and so educational! My brother and I loved looking through these extraordinary photographs. We tremendously enjoyed learning about all of the species. Also such a fun coincidence I learned about W. S. Merwin today!

[Woody Debris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful photo-poem to one of the most beautiful places on Earth-Ua pa‘amau ke kia o ka ‘Aha Pūnana Leo ma kona nu‘ukia: E Ola Ka ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous pictures of plants and animals. So detailed.