I’m often moved to ranting whenever I’m presented with a reminder of one of the many extinctions our species has committed. A recent rant was inspired by a new book from Princeton University Press: Prof. Gísli Pálsson’s “The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction,” a gripping narrative history of the the extinction of the Great Auk.
Continuing with the theme of enormous new books this week here in The Well-read Naturalist, the recently published “Aquatic Plants of Northern and Central Europe including Britain and Ireland” from Princeton University Press in their WILDGuides series is a tome that would indeed cause Neville Longbottom himself to sit up and take notice.
Combining presentations of both long-extinct as presently living species, Prof. Annalisa Berta’s new book “Sea Mammals; The Past and Present Lives of Our Oceans’ Cornerstone Species” provides her readers with a rich understanding of how, where, and at times even why these obligate air breathing creatures have come to spend their entire – or at least a significant part of their – lives in the planets seas.
Like the other volumes in Princeton’s The Lives of the Natural World series, “The Lives of Sharks” presents its subjects in a habitat arranged structure that features representative species presented in lively and accessible text that explains shark biology, behavior, and ecology, all of which material is extensively supported by vivid, captivating photos and well-drawn, informative illustrations.